CASE STUDY
Setting a
foundation
to last
WORK
Trammell Crow Company
PROJECT
Elevon: Commercial real estate branding
SERVICES
PROVIDED
Research + Strategy
Brand Positioning + Messaging
Naming
Collateral
Social Media
The need
The Central Park neighborhood was once home to Denver’s international airport, and when that moved out of town, the area became known as a quiet place to raise a family. But with a new light rail stop, budding brewery scene, and robust restaurant and cafe options, this neighborhood is now brimming with opportunity and connectivity to town and country, providing more opportunities to a wider variety of people. Trammell Crow Company knew that and came to Heinrich for help with everything that would get that new story to the masses, including brand strategy, naming, verbal and visual identities, website development and channel executions. Seemingly straightforward (and fun), Heinrich jumped at the chance. The added challenge? Changing perceptions and showing Denverites that Central Park neighborhood wasn’t just for families anymore.
What we did
To get people excited about this locale, this brand had to inspire them away from Denver’s saturated, downtown apartment scene. With soaring competition, we focused on what matters to the people who prefer living in buzzing parts of town—a sense of spontaneity. We conveyed a bold statement to renters who worry that practical decisions could lead to a stagnant life, that these apartments hit the sweet spot of living a life in motion. Sculpting a brand strategy through research, competitive analysis and audience insights, we carved out intricate personas, positioning and territories. Using this information, we named this elegant, yet approachable community Elevon as a creative nod to the neighborhood’s historic connection to aeronautics. While always asking ourselves what would enchant culturally vivacious residents to flock to this side of town, the brand the visual and verbal identities took flight, and became enlivened with the tones, hues, and confidence necessary to create a story worth telling, Community collateral and signage was an opportunity to understand the neighborhood even better, as we had to ensure that every detail suited the apartments’ surroundings. And with beauty and precision, we landed on brand guidelines that are worthy of a window seat.
The Results
More important than winning Bronze in the Denver One Club Awards (which is pretty darn important), our client fell in love with the Elevon brand and how we’ve given the apartments wings to fly above the competition. Elevon has since been an inspiration for Trammell Crow Company as pre-leasing of the property is underway and is exceeding expectations.
Like any successful partnership, the process was equally rewarding creatively, revealing more about the spirit of the brand than we had anticipated—the surrounding community was an irreplicable source of inspiration.The up-front research and collaboration were particularly paramount to the brand development process, and the success of Elevon hinged on experience-laden tactics and laid the foundation for this brand to set itself apart in a category with ambitious competition.
WHY THE CLIENT SMILED
“Thinking of working with Heinrich? Do it! If you are looking for an agency to provide tight strategy, beautiful creative and to make your life easier I recommend Heinrich for the job.”
— MICHELLE VIOLANO REGIONAL MARKETING MANAGER, GREYSTAR
THE FULL
story
A deeper look at Elevon’s branding
With steep competition, we set out to showcase Elevon as a place to enjoy spontaneity at your doorstep while fueling wonder for what’s around the corner—a concept we hadn’t seen from other luxury apartments. Experience in real estate has taught us that location context is everything on these branding projects and the surrounding community of the Central Park neighborhood was an irreplicable beacon, guiding us along the way. Union Station and DIA are easy to get to thanks to the light rail stop and there’s an abundance of bars, cafés, breweries, shops, and hiking and biking trails. These opportunities and conveniences meant the world to our audience, and living a life in motion was paramount to their happiness and sense of self. So, we captured that essence, with style.
Strategy that puts life in motion
A sound strategic brand foundation is always a must, but especially so for real estate. Longevity is everything. Heinrich was searching for a balance between honoring the neighborhood’s legacy with its blossoming future. We started by analyzing the market, poking holes in what’s obvious and peering into what other real estate brands had been too timid to explore. We got to know the market and target audience like a neighbor, and a distinctive opportunity revealed itself: Heinrich needed to push this notion of living a life in motion even deeper. For our audience, a life in motion is lived in both a physical sense like access to activities (big in Colorado), and then, in an emotional sense when it comes to feeling a sense of fulfillment and optimism. We positioned Elevon as an incubator of a life in motion, whatever that sense of motion might look like for each resident. The name, voice, and story that followed reflected the sentiment that these homes can be both destination and departure points of for residents’ lives.
A name worth writing in stone
Originally a term for aircraft surfaces that combine the functions of two instruments for pitch and roll control, Elevon fosters a sense of cohesion to help residents keep their footing with work and all that Denver life has to offer. But how did we get to a name that encompasses all that?
Naming real estate takes a very nuanced, special creative skill set. And when a name must be written in stone, literally in the case of real estate, it must be as timeless and strong as the brand and building which bear that name. And we understood how much Trammell Crow Company was entrusting with us on this project. Heinrich researched and brainstormed thoughtfully to tactfully come up with a name. For real estate, a name must encompass culture, context, history, and sense of place. We might not have anthropologists on staff, but we have plenty of creatives that can research just as well to create a name that lasts.
A visual and verbal identity as inviting as a neighbor
We captured a very special sentiment with this brand: Elevating the fulfillment that comes with sophisticated adventure—Elevon is where you launch into a way of life you cherish and the future you desire. So, how does that come alive through tone, imagery, and style?
Inspired by the take-off of an aircraft, the hero logo uses a font that has an upward motion typeface. With earthy, elegant brand colors and an intelligent but friendly tone of voice, residents know that they have a place to love, kick up their heels and reset for their next adventure. Going deeper, Elevon’s brand colors were selected to create a weighted balance between classic and new—honoring the duality between legacy and future for the neighborhood and residents. Additionally, we leaned into the history of the neighborhood and aircraft inspiration throughout our language choices: typography and visuals, using control panel elements like classic symbols of mapmaking contrast, and language that continually pushes the forward moving, life-in-motion strategic narrative.
See the latest
Ready to
bump elbows?
Let’s face it: traditional advertising can only take your healthcare brand so far. At some point, you need to go beyond advertising to build a local reputation—to see and be seen. This is what brands like Monster and Red Bull understand so well. They’ve got two concepts down to a science: 1. bringing positive associations; and 2. encouraging trial and affinity with their brand. That science is called grassroots marketing, and it’s about developing personal connections with potential audiences in the local community.
Where Healthcare Gets Grassroots Marketing Wrong
Too many healthcare organizations think grassroots marketing is about writing sponsorship checks or throwing together last-minute activations. But you can’t just provide a logo or a stack of brochures and call it good. Or scramble to gather some giveaway items together for an event that weekend. Either approach is a waste of time and money.
Just as dangerous for healthcare brands is ignoring and devaluing grassroots marketing all together. The lure of “tangible” results from traditional marketing and advertising channels can be seductive in contrast to measuring grassroots. Figuring out full-funnel attribution and whether leads converted into patients, members or customers can be difficult, but what your brand risks by not doing grassroots marketing is even more important: conveying your values and story. The best way to do that isn’t through tactics like ads or emails alone but also up close, person to person. Nothing beats that one-to-one connection, especially in healthcare where trust and relationships are paramount.
What Healthcare Can Do to Increase Grassroots Marketing Scale and Effectiveness
Create a Strategy
Healthcare brands need to be intentional with their grassroots marketing efforts, starting with key questions of why, where, when and how:
- Why are you doing grassroots marketing? To announce a new location, to grow our patient panel or membership size, to deepen connections in the community?
- Where will your target audience be, and which events make the most sense for you to have a presence at?
- When will you focus on grassroots marketing? Leading up to and during an opening? As an ongoing effort?
- How will you ensure brand consistency and maximum efficiency? How will you empower local markets, especially in rural areas? How will you compliantly track leads?
Here are some tried-and-true tips:
- Develop criteria that establish which types of events you do and do not want your brand associated with.
- Ensure events are close enough to your location/market that they make sense, and they are something your target audience will attend. Let’s say your practice is located about 20 miles south of a large metro area, and most patients live within 3–5 miles of the clinic. While a large festival downtown is a large draw for those who live throughout the area, chances are you’ll meet more people who live further from your clinic than those who do. You may have more luck with a smaller, but more local event instead.
- Consider whether owned events, events you host yourself, make sense for you or not. For a provider with a community space, you could leverage health and wellness talks from providers as a regular, ongoing series.
- Develop event kits, programs in a box and other templates for turnkey, grab-and-go activations. Your materials (signage, collateral and giveaways) should be simple and sturdy enough for a wide range of activations. Be sure your collateral will work for the event location. For example, digital activations may not make sense for daytime outdoor events where sun and glare can defeat the purpose.
- Be sure to think through what types of activities and giveaways will most attract visitors. Freebies are a must. Try to think beyond the usual lip balm and pens that everyone else is giving out. Think about the locals and what they do and love. For example, Denverites are all about their dogs, so dog-themed items that also relate to your brand can help you stand out.
- Think long-term versus one and done. Be willing to tweak and re-evaluate your efforts as things change.
Examples of Success
Clinics Designed with Community Rooms
Grassroots marketing can’t be an afterthought for healthcare providers. Hospitals and clinics aren’t always places people go to casually, but, if you design the space to have a community room that’s welcoming and comfortable, attendees see how nice the space is and how friendly the staff is firsthand. Those positive interactions elevate the provider in the minds of the community. In a time where loneliness has become an epidemic, these communal spaces are more and more important. The provider’s location then isn’t just for medical care but for overall well-being, too. These spaces can be used for those owned doctor-talk events, social activities or third-party activations like Medicare 101 educational events for insurance agents. Many senior-focused primary care clinics Heinrich works with not only have such spaces but also see the value they bring to their patient panels and community reputations.
Retail Collaborations
Health happens everywhere, every day, not just in the exam room. That’s why it’s important for healthcare organizations to be front and center where people make decisions about their everyday health and well-being. There’s perhaps no better place than a grocery store. Heinrich has helped Medicare insurance agents nationwide host tabling events in store and we’re also helping to connect the dots between Medicare Advantage spending allowances and local retail chains. We’ve developed messaging to help eligible shoppers better understand how to use the spending allowance in store but also generate increased interest in the carrier, simultaneously boosting the store’s basket ring, average ticket, and overall incremental revenue.
Leaders Deeply Engaged with the Community
Before Heinrich, I worked with a large academic healthcare system on the Front Range. When opening locations in new markets, the leadership team’s involvement in the community through local events as well as nonprofit boards was a huge arbiter of success. That kind of work helps build leaders’ personal reputations and the organization’s as well as one that is invested in giving back to the local community.
Why You Should Work with an Agency
Working with an agency partner can help you establish the strategy, align key stakeholders and not only develop the creative, but help you execute it. Agencies can leverage their experience in other industries to help influence external stakeholders and position the grassroots marketing effort as a win-win. For example, Heinrich works with both a Medicare Advantage carrier and a national grocery retailer, which means we can help position in-store tabling events to both brands.
A fully integrated agency is especially helpful when it comes to in-house print production. Your creative team may come up with the best event activation idea in the world, but when it comes time to think about fulfillment, it’s over budget or items are backordered for weeks. With an in-house print production team, creative and print can work together to come up with the most creative, realistic solution in line with current trends that also arrives on time and on budget. Heinrich’s print department, for example, is deeply involved in the creative process, bringing innovative solutions from print vendors to the creative team.
It’s Time for Healthcare to Embrace Grassroots Marketing
Healthcare is on the precipice of massive change, thanks to technological and scientific breakthroughs and a shift to true prevention at a population health level. Grassroots marketing can be the conduit for these changes to be shared with the community and to re-build the trust the pandemic broke. Now’s the time for healthcare to take the grassroots marketing spotlight from sugary, unhealthy drink brands that claim to support health and fitness but actually undermine it. Now is the time for healthcare to lead, not follow.