Madison Ave. Collective

Abstract

G. Christianson Construction (GCC) specializes in energy-efficient, sustainable building. When ownership of the company passed from father to son, they decided it was time to revamp an outdated website, start generating more leads, and set a new tone for their identity.

We noticed right away that their brand was dated and undifferentiated. With research, we discovered they had a positioning problem, too: their audience’s perception of value didn’t match the quality GCC delivers, or their price point.

As we dug deeper into our client’s values and offerings, we discovered that at GCC, everything revolves around craftsmanship. Why are their buildings energy-efficient? Because of their quality. We recognized that “sustainability through craftsmanship” is a concept with power to define their market position, raise their perception of value, and set a clear new tone for their brand.

Building on this, we created an identity that’s true to the spirit of the original GCC, honoring the business’s family history while expressing new energy for a new phase. Then we equipped them with a custom lead-generation website to deliver on that.

Strategy

Challenge

The first, most pressing problem that GCC wanted to address was their website.

• Its user interface was dated, template-bound, and not optimized for mobile devices.
• It didn’t communicate their value effectively.
• It wasn’t generating quality leads.
• And it didn’t provide the custom functionality that GCC needed to display their projects in a flexible, engaging way.

Goal

Big picture, our client’s goals were straightforward:

• They wanted to generate more leads.
• They wanted their website to serve them more effectively.
• They wanted to express a new phase for their company, while honoring its family history.

Our team added two more points to this list. We wanted to help GCC stand out from regional competitors. We also wanted to help them move from high-level goals to achievable ones. GCC didn’t bring us any specific ROI metrics they wanted to hit; however, measurable results are an essential component of an effective strategy.

Discovery

Our client’s brand was dated and undifferentiated, and their audiences’ perception of value didn’t jive with their quality or price point.

So we started asking, what is GCC, really? It was time to articulate a single, defining idea.

As we dug in, our research kept leading us back to the same question: is GCC “green,” “sustainable,” or something else?

GCC is the only contractor in its area that can deliver net-zero housing. But how should we say that? Energy-efficient buildings appeal to different audiences, motivated by different reasons, at different price points. The terms “green,” “sustainable,” and “energy-efficient” are literally similar, but their connotations are different. If you pick the wrong one, you could paint yourself into the wrong market position.

What we discovered is that at GCC, craftsmanship comes first. GCC believes that if you build it right, it’ll have beauty, durability, and efficiency baked in. They set a high bar. Sustainability is simply a natural result.

Execution

With this discovery, we realized that the brand should be built on the idea of craftsmanship: a concept broad and strong enough to umbrella green building and energy-efficiency within it.

By presenting energy-efficiency as a natural result of high-end construction, we positioned GCC to reframe the conversation around sustainability, and redefine quality, too. In so doing, we established them as unique in their market, raised the perception of value to align with their price point, and defined a core concept on which to build an authentic brand.

From there, we developed a responsive lead-generation website to serve their business objectives. Our client’s new web presence is custom-built to showcase their work and drive conversions.