Family-Owned Construction Company Builds New Brand
The Background
After a while, he believed dewatering could be done better, that it could be done right. In 1979, he started CDS. Eventually, CDS established itself as a leader in the dewatering industry alongside the companies Richard once worked for. In 2012, Richard’s daughter, Lisa Jackson was unexpectedly thrust into leadership and eventually bought the company.
Now, it was up to Lisa to uphold the family legacy. She wanted to put a fresh face on CDS, not just to stand out from its competitors, but to attract new employees. After meeting with Lisa and her team, it was clear to us at Hivehouse Digital that we had a strong family business on our hands. It was time for the website and the brand to be as bold, inspiring, and trail-blazing as the company it represented.
- Brand Archetype Workshop
- Persona Workshop
- Customer Personas
- Buyer’s Journey
- Talent Acquisition Strategy
- Logo Refresh
- Brand Messaging
- Brand Positioning
- Brand Guidelines
- Business Cards, Presentation Deck, Print Sales Collateral
- Brand Photography, Management & Execution
- Site Architecture
- Content
- High Fidelity Design
- Web Development + Launch
- Hivehouse Care Website Support
Our Solution
Branding Done Right
Next, we created a buyer’s journey. We had our audience, now how did they go from realizing they needed dewatering services to working with CDS? The buyer’s journey would help us manage the expectations and needs of potential customers who were visiting the website.
Then came the competitive landscape. We analyzed the digital presence of CDS’ largest competitors, noted what they did well, what they didn’t, and where there were opportunities for CDS to fill gaps in the marketplace. Among the competitors, brand personality and an emphasis on customer service were largely lacking and new technology wasn’t the norm like it was at CDS. In a lot of ways, CDS was the hero the dewatering industry needed. Now, we needed to let the industry know.
The name CDS was well-known in the construction industry, but its branding and website didn’t carry the same weight. Our team got to work, first establishing a brand archetype. The brand archetype would inform the “personality” of the company, meant to be a reflection of the services provided and the overall culture of the company. CDS prides itself on honest, efficient, and important work. Without dewatering, vital construction projects would never begin. To us, CDS felt like The Hero.
As we worked on the brand archetype, we also began building hiring and buyer personas to establish the target audience for CDS. The personas established the goals, challenges, and common questions of these audiences — a guide for the content and style of the website.
Brand Positioning & Messaging
First was the internal messaging. Internal messaging helps establish and describe the current culture while shining a light on where the company wants to go. For this project, we created a Company Purpose, Goal, Strategy, and Core Values. Next up was the external messaging, which included the Boilerplate, Tagline, and Value Proposition for each of their line of services. With all of those branding elements established, we began creating a Voice & Tone guide. This would help our team write the content for the new website in a style that reflected the brand.
Brand Visuals
The black and red color profile and the groundwater symbol were an integral part of the CDS look, our job at Hivehouse was to create a refreshed logo and website look that modernized the classic elements.
Part of the visual branding refresh included photography courtesy of the Hivehouse team and David Sparks. The photography conveyed a dynamic and active workplace and showcased the employees as the heroes of the job site.
Dewatering Done Right.
To deliver dewatering solutions that lay the foundation for stronger relationships.
Contract Dewatering Services Inc., based in Saranac, Michigan is one of the midwest’s leading dewatering solutions companies. Since 1979, CDS has provided safe, dependable, and state-of-the-art dewatering for construction projects ensuring they arrive on time and on budget. Committed to long-lasting partnerships and tackling tough dewatering projects, you can find more information on CDS services at contract-dewatering.com.
A Website For the Next Generation of CDS
We created five foundational web pages, the Homepage, About Us, Careers, Contact Us, and two Services pages.
To fulfill The Hero brand personality, the web pages included the signature bold CDS colors, strong copy, and straight-to-the-point messaging.
With CDS’ messaging and new look established, it was time to begin work on the website. CDS wanted a website that would communicate its culture, services and attract new customers and employees.
The Results
Building Successful Relationships
We helped Lisa and her team create a website and brand that accurately represented the hardworking, reputable, and strong business that CDS is known to be. A stronger brand, a better website should make it easier for CDS to attract more business and more helpful, bold, and eager-to-learn employees.
