Humanizing Commercial Real Estate
Brief Case Study: Lennard Commercial Real Estate, Brokerage
Adding the human touch to a commercial real estate brand to differentiate it in the market.
Founded in 1980, Lennard offers a complete range of real estate services to occupants, tenants, owners, and investors in the office, retail, industrial, and land sectors in Toronto and the GTA, across Canada and North America.
Lennard’s growing team is characterized by high performance and by its special focus on client service. The firm has over 80 employees with offices in Toronto, Mississauga, and Markham.
CASCO worked with Lennard to craft a brand strategy and brand representation which would align with the company’s true character and pave the way to achieving the goals and objectives the firm has set for its future.
Challenge
The first challenge we encountered was a lack of uniformity in the use of the firm’s identity. Marketing materials were being produced by multiple parties within the company without the direction or enforcement of any guidelines. The brand was too limited and did not provide effective tools to meet the agents’ needs. Moreover, lack of consensus on the value proposition narrowed the brand’s focus toward specific services and sectors, diminishing Lennard’s growth potential.
Despite these challenges, the firm has been experiencing significant growth, which motivated the partners to regroup and set a new direction for the business. It was clear to them that after more than 30 years, Lennard had evolved and its brand no longer reflected the business it had become.
CASCO’s mandate was to help Lennard achieve brand cohesion and internal buy-in on the potential for change, while ensuring that the new brand would help meet the mission.
Solution
Lennard began a process of self-assessment over several months, which provided us with ample information about the state of the business and helped us start crafting a brand strategy. Through interviews with internal and external stakeholders, we learned that genuine business relationships built on care and trust were a crucial element in Lennard’s business success. This provided us with the basis of a positioning strategy: a brand character that connects in meaningful ways with business people in the commercial real estate market.
“CASCO understands us. They were able to distil the essence of our brand, both verbally and visually. Our new brand is a total success.”
Establishing a more ‘human’ approach to commercial real estate provided us with a positioning strategy that naturally manifested itself in the theme of ‘conversation’. This was a platform for business conversations, information, and collaboration in pursuit of mutually remarkable results.
The new wordmark represents the initiation of dialogue. The logo is typeset in Georgia, which helps make the brand approachable and trustworthy. A confident orange colour was strategically selected to claim a unique position in the market. The use of the colon opens the door to endless possibilities for verbal and visual representations of the brand. The two dots of the colon suggest two parties doing business, and supporting graphic devices use the colon on its own or as part of a pattern to create a visual language that allows the brand to be flexible and expressive.
“Experienced, reliable, and easy to work with. The CASCO team helped make this a remarkable transformation.”
Using language that business owners and prospects can relate to works as an engaging marketing tool. Agents at Lennard can utilize it to express their unique way of doing business and connect with their clients.
CASCO developed a comprehensive branding platform package that encompasses: strategy, identity design, stationery, sales collateral, signage, environmental graphics, presentation materials, and a new website.