Floura Teeter Landscape Architects has grown, expanding its geographic reach and capabilities in key markets. To facilitate further growth and increase the firm’s ability to attract ideal clients and top talent, Floura Teeter engaged Substance151 to strengthen and future-proof its brand.
Key to achieving these goals was identifying the firm’s most compelling competitive differentiators and value propositions, defining an authentic brand position, and refining messaging and marketing communications in order to project a unified brand voice across all markets and geographies.
Brand Research: In Search of Authentic Truth
Substance151 conducted in-depth brand research, including facilitating internal input sessions and external stakeholder interviews, in order to understand Floura Teeter’s underlying vision and philosophy, as well as its critical points of difference and value drivers.
Brand Strategy: Bringing the Value to the Forefront
Through insights gained from the brand research process, we recognized that the rebrand needed to amplify the value that the firm already delivered and define it in a way that would uniquely belong to Floura Teeter. We expressed this value as the Stronger Partner Promise, the four dimensions that collectively represent the firm’s authentic truth.
With our understanding of how being a stronger partner had shaped the firm’s culture and client and employee experiences, we articulated the four dimensions in public-facing language, increasing the relevance and emotional resonance of the overall promise to prospects, clients, employees and other key stakeholders.
Obstacle to Advantage: Bringing Two Studios Under One Brand
Floura Teeter is organized in two studios: Pathways (transportation projects) and Places (site-specific projects). Originally designed to better serve the unique needs of two separate audiences, this structure had always presented a marketing obstacle for the firm.
How could firm-wide marketing communications present a unified brand message that’s relevant to two audiences with such diverse needs and goals?
Despite seeing the two studios as an external communications challenge, Floura Teeter fully leveraged this internal structure as a critical asset – a conduit for synergy that enhanced collaboration, creativity, problem solving and, ultimately, the end product.
Recognizing the unique value of this cross-pollination between studios to Floura Teeter’s clients, Substance151 saw an equally unique opportunity to showcase the firm’s structure rather than hide it, increasing its relevancy to all audiences in the process. To achieve this, we developed a messaging framework that, for the first time ever, allowed Floura Teeter to turn this obstacle into an advantage.
Brand Design: Balancing High-Design Aesthetic and Distinct Personality
Armed with a differentiating brand and message platform, we developed marketing communications that represent the new brand and carefully balance Floura Teeter’s sophisticated work with the firm’s enthusiastic personality and open, personable culture.
To help Floura Teeter project a unified branded front across all channels and brand touchpoints, we developed a comprehensive design system – a highly functional structure that’s easily customizable to the purpose and anticipated output of each piece.
This approach has brought efficiencies into Floura Teeter’s daily marketing operations while making the firm’s communications immediately recognizable to its clients, prospects, partners, current and future employees and other stakeholders.
Website Redesign
The new website is fully aligned with the firm’s new brand. We translated the new brand platform into compelling high-level messages and page copy that’s unique, effective and speaking directly to the needs and wants of Floura Teeter’s primary audiences. It has won several design awards, including MarCom and W3 Awards.
The team at Substance151 expertly guided Floura Teeter through our rebranding and web redesign project. They helped us focus on our authentic truth and seamlessly translated it into a new brand strategy. I appreciate the leadership and guidance of Ida Cheinman and the Substance151 team and am proud of what we have accomplished together! I would hire them again without hesitation and look forward to having the opportunity to do so.
