Managing Partner Robert Rippee talks about Formo’s unique solution to a brand problem.
Q: DPS Development Company, LLC. is a real estate developer specializing in unique properties in historic locations, with a deep-rooted commitment to preservation. What were the branding challenges presented to Formo?
The problem with DPS was multi-faceted. From an identity perspective, it was very pedestrian. The brand was not differentiated from any other product in its category. From the member or prospect perspective, it didn’t define why anyone would be engaged to this brand. Everything was very conventional. The third problem was the quality of materials. The communications pieces being produced were not at a level that matched the world-class nature of the properties that DPS was designing and building.
So, the main challenge was to define the brand in terms of quality and a reason for engagement. Then, take that definition and reinvent everything to fit the new criteria.
Q: What initial steps did Formo take to identify a more cohesive brand?
We started by simply talking to the members, to get an understanding of what engaged them to the brand. This wasn’t a survey. We actually had meaningful dialogue with the members–sat down and did interviews–and uncovered an array of diverse comments and emotions. Next, we pulled all of that together as a team and found the common elements behind why all of these very different people engaged. That’s how we uncovered what the sporting life really meant. It had very little to do with the product and everything to do with the people and their families. From that perspective, we extracted the conventional marketing approach and position, so people like web designers, information architects and graphic designers had a road map to design things.
There was one additional step, that we called the Big Idea, which was the phrase Life, Well Played. This was not a tag line, but a succinct phrase that defined the engagement between this brand and the families. These people played their lives very well, so it is a statement about their lives, and not about DPS. That was the genius in it–and it was unanimous that we nailed it. That’s how the members view their lives, their property and DPS, as Life, Well Played.
Q: After establishing the core brand and identity, what were the next steps?
Once we defined the brand, we next had to deal with the issues of quality, the construction of style guides, etc. We defined a template that matched everything we had defined. From color to typography to paper stocks, everything would elevate materials to match the position we defined for this brand. Once you’ve got style guide and identity, you can do ads, brochures and Websites.
On a simultaneous track, we also began to understand how people currently consume information about products or services–which is through the Web. We may respond to a print ad or read about something in the paper or hear about something from a friend, but ultimately we go to the Web for information. So we took the idea of having this Web-centric marketing strength for all components–marketing, advertising, promotions, special events–all of these are connected to this core Web environment. And because this connection is not linear, because you can come from anywhere at any time, we call it a cobweb. It’s not orderly, just a mess of lines. The silk thread connecting it all is the brand. This was something we developed to show how customers consume information, and we decided to build the whole marketing strategy around that.
Q: What has the response been so far?
It’s been wildly successful in terms of the response that we’ve seen from the people we communicate with. Looking at all of the analytics, visitor traffic is up 300-500% over the previous year, even in this very turbulent economy. This validates that our customer-centric strategy really works.
It’s important to emphasize that this strategy is about communication between a brand and its customers–not about real estate or insurance or the health industry or any product or service. It’s really about the client, which flips the whole conversation to the point of view of the customer. By doing that, Formo can apply this concept to anyone–it doesn’t matter what industry you’re in.
Q: You are Managing Partner of Formo as well as the CMO of DPS Development Co., LLC. How does your dual role affect client relations?
The value this brings to clients is that not only can I find solutions for their problems, but that I also understand their problems, because I face them as well. I’ve been a CMO many times, and that background has given me the perspective from the client side. So when they say they need to increase sales or have higher quality repeat rates or more dialogue, I understand that because I’ve been dealing with the same issues for 20 years. That’s why Formo is such a solution driven agency. We’re not a typical marketing firm, ad agency, or even a marketing consultant. We’re a hybrid that embodies the best elements of all of those.
The problem with DPS was multi-faceted. From an identity perspective, it was very pedestrian. The brand was not differentiated from any other product in its category. From the member or prospect perspective, it didn’t define why anyone would be engaged to this brand. Everything was very conventional. The third problem was the quality of materials. The communications pieces being produced were not at a level that matched the world-class nature of the properties that DPS was designing and building.
So, the main challenge was to define the brand in terms of quality and a reason for engagement. Then, take that definition and reinvent everything to fit the new criteria.
Q: What initial steps did Formo take to identify a more cohesive brand?
We started by simply talking to the members, to get an understanding of what engaged them to the brand. This wasn’t a survey. We actually had meaningful dialogue with the members–sat down and did interviews–and uncovered an array of diverse comments and emotions. Next, we pulled all of that together as a team and found the common elements behind why all of these very different people engaged. That’s how we uncovered what the sporting life really meant. It had very little to do with the product and everything to do with the people and their families. From that perspective, we extracted the conventional marketing approach and position, so people like web designers, information architects and graphic designers had a road map to design things.
There was one additional step, that we called the Big Idea, which was the phrase Life, Well Played. This was not a tag line, but a succinct phrase that defined the engagement between this brand and the families. These people played their lives very well, so it is a statement about their lives, and not about DPS. That was the genius in it–and it was unanimous that we nailed it. That’s how the members view their lives, their property and DPS, as Life, Well Played.
Q: After establishing the core brand and identity, what were the next steps?
Once we defined the brand, we next had to deal with the issues of quality, the construction of style guides, etc. We defined a template that matched everything we had defined. From color to typography to paper stocks, everything would elevate materials to match the position we defined for this brand. Once you’ve got style guide and identity, you can do ads, brochures and Websites.
On a simultaneous track, we also began to understand how people currently consume information about products or services–which is through the Web. We may respond to a print ad or read about something in the paper or hear about something from a friend, but ultimately we go to the Web for information. So we took the idea of having this Web-centric marketing strength for all components–marketing, advertising, promotions, special events–all of these are connected to this core Web environment. And because this connection is not linear, because you can come from anywhere at any time, we call it a cobweb. It’s not orderly, just a mess of lines. The silk thread connecting it all is the brand. This was something we developed to show how customers consume information, and we decided to build the whole marketing strategy around that.
Q: What has the response been so far?
It’s been wildly successful in terms of the response that we’ve seen from the people we communicate with. Looking at all of the analytics, visitor traffic is up 300-500% over the previous year, even in this very turbulent economy. This validates that our customer-centric strategy really works.
It’s important to emphasize that this strategy is about communication between a brand and its customers–not about real estate or insurance or the health industry or any product or service. It’s really about the client, which flips the whole conversation to the point of view of the customer. By doing that, Formo can apply this concept to anyone–it doesn’t matter what industry you’re in.
Q: You are Managing Partner of Formo as well as the CMO of DPS Development Co., LLC. How does your dual role affect client relations?
The value this brings to clients is that not only can I find solutions for their problems, but that I also understand their problems, because I face them as well. I’ve been a CMO many times, and that background has given me the perspective from the client side. So when they say they need to increase sales or have higher quality repeat rates or more dialogue, I understand that because I’ve been dealing with the same issues for 20 years. That’s why Formo is such a solution driven agency. We’re not a typical marketing firm, ad agency, or even a marketing consultant. We’re a hybrid that embodies the best elements of all of those.
