Friday Flash: The learning curve
No: 1168
We’ve known the Hasson Company for years. Its green signs speckle the neighborhoods of Portland, Oregon, 1000WATT’s home city. Founder Mike Hasson is revered by community and industry leaders here.
So we were thrilled when, earlier this year, we got a chance to help them with something really important.
Hasson came to us in a position we see often. They had a strong market position, high-quality agents, and a strong management team. But the market had become hyper-competitive, and the company wasn’t looking or sounding as good as it actually is. This disconnect was no longer tolerable.
It was time for a sharpened Hasson Company value proposition and message, and a visual brand identity that would excite agents and elevate the company in the eyes of consumers.
The stakes were high. We got to work.
We spent nearly a month interviewing Hasson agents, managers and other stakeholders during our discovery process to get the insights we needed to do work true to the company’s heart and soul.
We then conducted a review of competing brands. Our goal: leave them in the dust in terms of visual presentation, sophistication and fidelity to people and place.
The visual approach started from the idea that the Hasson Company brand should act as a mirror to the Pacific Northwest, reflecting the beautiful contrasts that exist here. From coast landscapes and high desert vistas to suburban and urban environments, the brand needed to reflect the varied geography in which it lived (view the full case study, with visuals).
The new logo placed emphasis on the name Hasson, highlighting the legacy of the company’s founder, and how his values crafted the brand into what it is today.
But a logo is but the capstone on a true brand system. Texture, pattern, color, type, photography and tone were woven together to create a Hasson Company identity.
We anchored the new brand positioning, story and messaging on the slogan “Where you want to be,” which asserts Hasson’s position as a destination for sophisticated, accomplished agents, and reassures clients of the company’s rigorous commitment to quality at every turn. All the new copy we created — for ads, the company’s website, recruiting materials and more — flowed outward from this mantra.
Over the course of our project, we got to know the leadership team well — Mike Hasson, Steve Studley, Lynnae Forbes and Melissa Peterson. Their passion for their company, their agents and their community was highly infectious.
Hasson unveiled its new story and identity at an all-company web meeting yesterday. Marc and Patrick, our creative director, helped present the full picture to Hasson agents and staff. The reception was enthusiastic and moving.
A great company now looks and sounds the part.