The Builders Who Needed Help Building their Brand (and a Website too)
Lane Housing Co. is an enthusiastic new start-up in residential building, the brainchild of three industry experts who all had a burning desire to build beautiful homes that were affordable for everyday families. Nikki, Luke and Andrew have plenty of chops when it comes to building houses, but needed help building their company brand and website.
Lucky for them, we know a thing or two about that.
The Solution: Creative Revolution Provides Brand Strategy, Web Design and Development
As a new start-up, Lane Housing Co. needed to build a brand that inspired trust and communicated their point of difference to other builders in the market. We were literally starting from bare-bones foundations with this project - they had no logo, no branding, no website and no marketing collateral to launch their business with.
Lane Housing Co.'s transparent pricing and generous inclusions distinguish them from their competitors. Our challenge was to come up with a brand strategy that reassures clients there are no tricks or hidden costs with Lane, because their pricing model differs significantly from conventional industry practices that often blow out the cost of home building.
Creative Revolution provided creative solutions in several key areas, all of them integral to the overall success of the project.
Branding
Brand strategy
First of all, we implemented a full brand strategy process. This involved identifying Lane's primary and secondary audience, as well as coming up with a positioning statement, unique value proposition and brand promise - “a home fit for your lifestyle” from a brand personality that is realistic, trusted and approachable.
Logo design
It was our desire to create a logo for Lane that reflected the elegance of their gorgeous home designs. Reminiscent of the classic Hamptons style, the logo is understated yet elegant, with a timeless look that still feels modern. Crucial to the design was that it was not too influenced by current trends, ensuring long term appeal that won't date over time.
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Website strategy
Identifying the target audience
A key aspect of our website strategy is in identifying audience profiles. For Lane, their primary audience was growing families, with professionals, downsizers and knock down rebuilds being the secondary audience. We also researched the user experience with competitor websites, informing our approach to the development of Lane's website.
Converting prospects to leads
One major goal was to convert prospects into sales leads, which meant lead generation from inbound marketing in the form of information sheets, pricing and inclusions downloads and booking forms for display home tours and lifestyle consultations. Our other major goal was to drive visitors to the display home via the website.
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Website Design and Development
Building the content management system
We developed Lane's web application from the ground up using the Drupal content management system, which has the flexibility to add and remove pages easily. The website also features Calendly integration for booking conversions for the display home guided tour, after hours visits to the display home and lifestyle consultation.
Populating the website with data
With the back end set up, we were able to import the content - there was a LOT of unique data in the form of floor plans, facade renderings, technical measurements, image galleries and product descriptions. Accuracy was key, because the website contains a large volume of highly specific data relating to each home design offering.
Content writing
Nothing excites a copywriter - aka me! - more than the prospect of a meaty website project. There was no existing copy for any of the 23 home designs offered by Lane, which meant that there was lots and lots of wordsmithing to be done - with all the essential keyword targeting and SEO stuff that is boring to everyone but copywriters.
Brand collateral design
There was a significant amount of collateral design involved with this project. Every one of the home designs needed its own separate flyer, because every floor plan has its own unique dimensions. We also created a separate stand-alone flyer to establish their point of difference, outlining the generous inclusions which are standard with all Lane homes.
The Results: We launched a fully-formed brand with an attractive high-end website
Unique, mature branding that resonates with the target audience
We developed a unique and appealing brand for Lane that resonates with the target audience, avoiding the awkward looking “DIY” phase that a lot of new businesses launch with. The end result was a fully mature and professional brand that inspires trust with the target audience while conveying confidence, experience and competence.
A polished and professional website that answers user needs
We were able to develop an attractive and easy-to-use website that answers user needs and generates high conversion rates while positioning the brand as a viable alternative to more established brands. The polished and professional end result was a website that builds trust and communicates the high quality service that Lane offers.
Consistent application of the founders' vision across all material
There is something very satisfying about starting with nothing and finishing with a suite of media that all reflect the founders' original vision. From the creation of the Lane logo through to content writing, photography and graphic design, all the elements we worked on share a thematic and visual unity that combine to create a powerful brand.
A final word…
Ultimately, this project was all about building: building trust, building brand identity, building a new website. All of the work we've done ensures that Lane Housing Co. are now well positioned to do what they do best - building beautiful new homes for growing families (which we are totally not envious of at all….)
Time for us to hand the keys over to Lane, and move onto our next build.
