The Challenge
Until 2011 Starved Rock Wood Products had been a small local family business, manufacturing wood products like doors, staircases, cabinets and trim for homebuilders and residences in the Illinois Valley. With its acquisition by CL Enterprises a major expansion plan was started, with large investment in new, state of the art machinery, improved production practices, and a greater focus on kitchen cabinetry. The goal? Gain a larger foothold in the Greater Chicago market. However, despite its growth plans, the company still had the look and feel of a small family business - the brief to marketing was to redefine the brand and prepare it for the larger stage.
The Work
An extensive brand audit was conducted to help the company find its core identity and message. At heart still a family business, the original founder stayed on to help us shape the new company. A combination of product quality (form plus function), eco-friendly practices, fair pricing, and quality service led us to the idea of Wood. Working. Beautifully. A distinct new logo and brand identity gave us strong breakthrough in the highly competitive Chicago marketplace. The brand thinking inspired the design for a spectacular new showroom in the Glenview suburb of Chicago, voted Best Independent Showroom in the USA (2022).
A new website was developed to showcase the company, and also to give a sense of the smooth, seamless experience of working with SRWP.
In an environment when most ads simply featured a beautiful kitchen and a phone number, our goal was instead to communicate the idea of the brand, leading to an award-winning campaign of real distinctiveness, celebrating the beauty of wood and telling a story through that medium.
Results
SRWP gained significant new contracts, both with affluent North Shore residential customers and with larger Home Building companies. Its celebrated showroom in Glenview was featured multiple times on WGTV and other local media outlets, driving a massive earned media response, while the ad campaign (via print and social media) drove a tenfold increase in website visits within three months.
