Architecture, Engineering & Construction
Berglund Construction
A 100th anniversary builds a brand for the years ahead
Berglund Construction had nearly 100 years of history, an impressive project portfolio and deep expertise in construction and building restoration. Its brand hadn’t kept up.
As the company approached its centennial, Berglund saw an opportunity to do more than celebrate a milestone. It wanted to update how it presented itself, reconnect with customers and partners and create a foundation it could use beyond the anniversary.
Challenges
1.
The brand lagged behind the business.
Decades of growth had outpaced the messaging and visual identity.
2.
The centennial needed a bigger purpose.
The 100th anniversary had to engage customers and partners, not just mark a milestone.
3.
Expertise needed an outlet.
Leaders had plenty to say but little time to turn their knowledge into marketing content.
Solution
We used Berglund’s centennial as the starting point for a new brand and content strategy.
Start with the people who know the business.
We interviewed Berglund leaders in safety, preconstruction and restoration to learn what distinguished the company, what mattered to its customers and which stories demonstrated those differences.
Our process kept demands on the experts low. They provided the knowledge and reviewed the work. We turned their expertise into messaging and content.
Give expert insight a regular outlet.
We built a publishing plan with two blog topics a month, one focused on building and the other on restoration. Quarterly planning drew topics from leadership expertise and project archives.
A defined approval process with a small group of contacts kept content moving without repeatedly pulling leaders away from client work.
Get more from every interview.
We repurposed expert interviews and project stories into case studies for proposals and RFPs. The same source material contributed to website content and a keepsake coffee table book of anniversary stories.
One conversation could support several business needs without sending experts back to the blank page.
Build the anniversary into a yearlong campaign.
We developed a yearlong rebranding and marketing program leading to the centennial celebration. Invitations, email campaigns and anniversary content built anticipation and helped reconnect the company with customers and partners.
The campaign culminated in an anniversary event where Berglund could thank the people who had contributed to its first century.
Keep the strategy useful years later.
More than a decade after the anniversary, we returned to the same foundation to update RFP messaging for buyer priorities including customer satisfaction, financial stability and project diversity. We also used it to develop targeted marketing that kept Berglund visible between projects.
Results
1.
Traffic and page views more than doubled.
Traffic increased 104%, while page views rose 110% during the campaign.
2.
The centennial drew 450 attendees.
More than one-third of 1,200 invitees attended the anniversary event.
3.
The strategy worked more than a decade later.
The original messaging and insights provided a foundation for new RFP messaging and targeted marketing.
