Project Tag: Digital

Every building has the power to change the world.

Melink

Website Refresh

Creating new energy for a global leader.

CHALLENGE: Redesign the website and add an e-commerce element for Melink Corporation, an industry-leading provider of clean energy solutions for commercial buildings. Elevate and simplify the design, navigation and messaging, empowering customers to institute sustainable changes with ease.

IDEA: Every building has the power to change the world. Starting with the design and operation of their facilities, businesses can make the changes that can reshape the future of the planet. Work with Melink and tomorrow’s transformation begins today.

STORY: For over 30 years, Melink has challenged the conventions of traditional energy technologies. It’s how they’ve become a global leader. Even more compellingly, they’ve led by example. Their own green buildings and Net Zero campus have served as a model to the world, proving that companies can lower carbon emissions while increasing building values and raising profitability.

Melink’s ideas and passion appear boundless – if their teams could harness their own energy, they could power the world. The only thing missing? A website that lived up to their story. That’s where Creative Departme­nt came in.

Melink’s energy solutions include There serve multiple audiences, so a primary objective was to create an overarching concept big enough to be empowering but was still audience-agnostic. With energy efficiency as the underpin across all verticals, we landed on “Every building has the power to change the world.”

We tailored the content for each audience to speak to their specific pain points. Headlines on primary pages consisted of a single, powerful verb conveying the product or service’s main benefit to the customer, with brief supporting copy. Bold, dynamic images complemented the headlines, injecting energy throughout.

In addition to the big idea and more pointed content, smoother navigation was a priority. Previously siloed by business unit, there was no direct way to navigate to another unit or clear understanding of how they work together.

To optimize sales for their PositiV HVAC Monitor, we added eCommerce functionality. For the first time ever, Melink was also looking to sell key products online. Starting with a building health monitor, CD built out an eCommerce experience. We helped Mlink explore fulfillment, tax services, shipping details and more to grow their business with online sales.

The mission of this extraordinary company is to change the world one building at a time. Their new website combined with their team’s continued commitment to clean energy, is fueling an even stronger future for Melink as well as the planet.

Single-word headlines on primary pages clearly convey main product/service benefits. Copy targets the unique customer pain points for each vertical.

We designed an eye-catching icon system to add interest and engagement to bulleted details.

The leaf graphic, drawing inspiration from the logo, showcases relevant images.

We built a custom e-commerce experience to help the client sell one of their products online for the first time, expanding their reach and revenue potential.

Answering the call for Clermont County Veterans.

Clermont County Vets

Website

A website that serves those who served.

CHALLENGE: Elevate the design, messaging, and user experience to increase awareness for the services Clermont County Veterans Services Commission provides. The goal was to encourage more veterans, primarily younger veterans, to take advantage of their invaluable assistance.

IDEA: Tap into the visual power of military iconography and the impact of authentic veteran stories to celebrate vets and convey that CCVSC is here to proudly serve them.

STORY: CCVSC is an all-veteran team of professionals working toward the same goal: providing Clermont County’s veterans with the support they need to not just to survive but thrive. They offer free assistance to Clermont County veterans and their dependents in applying for the numerous programs and benefits offered by the VA.

Perhaps most importantly, they offer certified claims advocacy for disability claims with the Veterans Administration. Working side by side with the the claimant and their families to navigate the complicated VA system, it is CCVET’s job to find every benefit available to the applicant.

However, the previous CCVSC website itself was difficult to navigate and the commission was struggling to attract vets, especially those in their 20’s. Digitally savvy, these younger vets are comfortable initiating claims on the VA site, yet they are too often denied. Many are unaware of the assistance CCVSC offers.

CCVSC turned to Creative Department to create a new site that would elevate the brand, along with optimizing functionality and UX to truly serve veterans and become a valued, go-to informational resource.

The site we designed both informs visitors and immerse them in the brand’s mission from the start. The main message, “You answered the call. Now it’s our turn.” clearly conveys that CCVSC exists to support Clermont County’s veterans. Compelling interactions between images of veterans and their branch of service visually expresses the reverence for vets CCVSC possesses. Ease of navigation improves the chances they will contact CCVSC for assistance.

On the backend, Creative Department conducted a hosting audit, making recommendations and refinements needed to optimize site speed and support CMS and site traffic – (DID WE MIGRATE TO A NEW HOST?). We also set up admin roles

Response has been strong, with the client reporting an increasing number of contact forms, phone calls and office visits from vets inquiring about their services.

A core feature of the site is its powerful imagery, paying homage to the contributions of veterans and covering all the branches of US military service.

Authentic testimonials lend credence to the value of CCVSC benefits and add to the site’s balance of emotion and functionality.

Opening more doors.

Sibcy Cline

Brand Identity | Campaign | Video

A new direction for a classic brand.

CHALLENGE: After 62 years as Greater Cincinnati/Dayton’s leader in real estate marketing, Sibcy Cline needed a brand refresh and new agent recruiting materials. The challenge was, how do we update their long-standing logo and positioning yet still maintain a valuable emotional connection with the past?

IDEA: Reinterpret the logo without sacrificing recognition, while creating messaging that positions Sibcy Cline’s unmatched training, technology, support and experience as being at “At the heart of all great moves”.

STORY: As the largest independent broker in the region, Sibcy Cline is known for its commitment to its agents. Creative Department’s brand immersion process, which included interviews of current agents, revealed that their training program and agent support – including technology and tools – was unparalleled. The company stood perfectly positioned to leverage the story-rich mission, expertise, and reputation established over the last 62 years, and to gain momentum with new recruits and the communities Sibcy Cline serves. They just needed a brand refresh that would lead the way.

We started with logo exploration. The color red had been Sibcy Cline’s signature color for decades so there was a lot of equity in, and company love for, the color. The logo itself, however, was dated and not representative of the modern, technology-focused company they’d become. While our task wasn’t to completely reimagine the mark, there was opportunity to evolve it.

We decided to simplify it, using a clean font that works harder within the technology space. The lantern was their signature icon, conveying warmth and welcoming. We moved away from the lamp post to a more streamlined lamp, still preserving the suggestion of an inviting light that guides you to your new home.

Beyond the logo, the positioning and messaging were aimed at recruiting new agents, with the tag line “At the heart of all great moves.” as its foundation. We executed a robust collateral system that pushed out the brand, revealing it all in an inspiring video for the brand launch at the annual sales conference. The video received a standing ovation. The client continues to applaud the new brand, too, as recruitment efforts and home sales are stronger than ever.

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Splashier, cozier and way more bear hugs than your average campground.

Jellystone Park

Website Refresh

Updating a bear of a website for a beloved classic brand.

CHALLENGE: Jellystone Park Camp Resorts take family camping to a whole new level and have enjoyed wild success for over 50 years. But in 2020 – with 75 independently owned and operated parks – its cumbersome website needed taming. Our challenge was to modernize the online experience for families and simplify the backend for franchisee admin.

SOLUTION: Leverage the timeless Yogi & Friends theme in showcasing the endless activities that set the parks apart and bring families together. On the development side, create an ADA-compliant and SEO-optimized CMS website with a seamless user journey and franchisee-friendly backend.

STORY: Yogi Bear’s story began in 1958 as a mischievous, pic-a-nic basket-loving bear on the Hanna Barbera show Huckleberry Hound. He was the first breakout character in animated television, earning his own show in 1961. In 1969, Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park ™ Camp-Resorts was founded with a single park in a small Wisconsin town. Today it’s a thriving chain of more than 75 family-oriented campgrounds across the US and Canada. Each Jellystone Park location is franchised by Leisure Systems, Inc.

With the beloved Yogi and his friends at its center, the camp-resorts are unlike any other campground, offering robust amenities such as splashgrounds, jumppads, outdoor laser tag, mini-golf and daily character interactions. The overall experience makes it distinctly different from its largest competitor, KOA.

Yogi’s upbeat, happy-go-lucky nature is fundamental to his everlasting appeal and it was clear to us the concept and design of the website should embrace that fun-loving spirit. And given the necessity of creating a seamless user journey and backend experience, development had to play a key role in driving the design.

The previous Jellystone website had two different backend systems. While Leisure Systems controls the corporate side of the site, once a visitor clicks through to a particular park’s landing page, that content is controlled by franchisee owners.

The solution? Build one new comprehensive system to connect multiple pieces together. This also included giving corporate and franchise teams various levels of access to edit all or some of the front-end data. For example, we had to ensure that a franchisee owner could edit the park-specific details but not the corporate details of the site. We also made it easy for the corporate staff to add new franchisees to the site – they essentially fill out a form and that helps the corporate team populate items on the front end (a feature our client particularly has called out saying it just makes his job easier).

To drive the target audience to the new website, a multi-channel campaign was spun off from the concept and content.

The results have been impressive.

  • Despite the onset of Covid-19 in 2020 and a reduction of attraction offerings, Jellystone Park still finished the year 2020 up 10% vs 2019
  • 2021 was up 40% vs 2020
  • Franchise growth is up – 8 new locations will join in 2022

Crisp, bright, fun images and colors put the focus on endless, immersive fun.

A summer campaign rooted in targeted digital channels such as social media, online video and display ads drove traffic to the site, contributing to the company’s 40% growth vs. the previous year.

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Saving 50,000 Shelter Dogs

Chico’s Promise

Website Launch, New Logo

A salute to loyalty and trust.

CHALLENGE: Through a new website design and strong identity, significantly boost awareness and drive donations to Chico’s Promise – a nonprofit with an unusually bold objective: saving the lives of 50,000 no-kill shelter dogs.

IDEA: Celebrate every dog as a hero. Highlight the story of an exceptionally loyal Vietnam service dog named Chico, and his unwavering bond with a partner who never forgot him, to inspire people to join in the mission of Chico’s Promise.

STORY: At the end of the Vietnam War, an estimated 4,300 service dogs were euthanized or abandoned in Vietnam. One of them was a Silver German Shepherd mix named Chico.

Chico’s handler was 20-year-old Mike Monahan, who served in the 46th Scout Dog Platoon in Tay Ninh, Vietnam. By alerting Mike and his platoon to live tripwires, Chico saved many lives and would forever be a superhero in Mike’s eyes.

After his Vietnam tour, Mike had to leave his canine partner behind and return home, but the sorrow of abandoning Chico weighed heavily on him for five decades. To honor Chico’s bravery and the bond they shared, Mike recently wrote a book about their story called “Chico’s Promise”, and used the proceeds to start a non-profit of the same name. Mike realized there was no better way to say thank you than by helping to save the lives of 50,000 shelter dogs. He hopes to accomplish that by paying adoption fees at selected no-kill shelters throughout the U.S.

In 2022, Chico’s Promise turned to Creative Department to help further its mission. In our conversations with Mike, his immense passion for all dogs became apparent, as he spoke fondly of the canine companions he’s had over years. Inspired by his heartfelt devotion to dogs, we landed on the idea that all dogs are heroes in their own way. Supporting Chico’s Promise is an opportunity to not only honor Chico, but also to celebrate the love, laughter, and unconditional loyalty all dogs bring to our lives.

To enhance the digital presence of Chico’s Promise, we took a comprehensive approach. In addition to creating a new site with powerful imagery and messaging, we designed a new logo and an email newsletter campaign. Moreover, we streamlined e-commerce functionality by consolidating the donation and book purchasing processes, which were previously managed through separate sites.

Our partnership with Mike and his ongoing efforts to honor Chico in a profound way are showing consistent success – more and more shelter dogs are being saved each day, thanks to Chico’s legacy.

We created a user-friendly site with strong, ownable imagery that captures the unique and enduring bond between a dog and their owner.

The messaging and design celebrate not only Chico but also the role dogs play in all our lives – they are everyday heroes.

To build a loyal subscriber base for the email newsletter, readers were offered a sign-up incentive: a complimentary download of the first chapter of the Chico’s Promise book.

As part of our process, we developed a moodboard to communicate the overarching concept and site design.

Clink Barware

Branding | Digital Design | Social Marketing

[Clink] Here’s to bringing a brand to life.

CHALLENGE: Clink makes custom monogrammed high-end crystal and glass barware. It’s beautiful stuff. Yet the company was founded as a wholesaler, and they didn’t know how to translate their exceptional product into a consumer-focused retail brand. Fortunately, we knew precisely how to proceed.

IDEA: To engage their target audience – affluent man-cave dwellers – Clink needed an identity and attitude that could stand apart in a crowded industry.

STORY: The first thing we developed for the brand was a name. We wanted something fresh, fun and memorable, and “Clink” was an obvious winner. It played nicely to the sound of high-end crystal “clinking” together.

Additionally, we developed a mark for the brand, as well as an e-commerce-ready retail website. And all of it with a fresh, engaging look and feel. The brand was ready to compete and win.

Yet there were additional challenges. Because while the product is excellent, it’s no easy task to reach their more affluent target. We needed awareness for our products, as well as clever messaging to differentiate our product offerings from the everyday.

Next, we developed consumer engagement ideas for the brand that were both introductory and promotional. Our crowning campaign achievement was a national e-mail promotion we built with Groupon, which resulted in nearly 7000 purchases and created a database we can use in future promotional efforts.

Of course, we built the brand a consumer-facing e-commerce website, as well as a comprehensive advertising campaign featuring both digital and traditional executions.

We made Clink part of a bigger celebration, one that called for raising a glass to endless lesser-known – but arguably more epic – occasions. Those moments in life where an ordinary glass just won’t do. The new campaign, and the results, were definitely cause for celebration.

From branding to measurable promotion, a highly successful partnership. #We’llClinkToThat.

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Walk. Waddle. Gallop. Give.

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital

Campaign | Event Signage | Video

Another wildly successful Walk.

CHALLENGE: A short walk can go a long way. Cincinnati Walks for Kids began as a way for patients, families and others to financially support the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and the many children they help. But for 2016, the location of the walk was changed to the Cincinnati Zoo. Our job was to continue awareness and promotion of the event, but clearly communicate the new location.

IDEA: Our idea was to promote the event in a way that clearly said “zoo” in a memorable, energetic way. Use the equity in the Cincinnati Zoo brand to strengthen our appeal, creating a fantastic concept for the event – “Give Like Wild” – that started us on the path to a super successful campaign.

STORY: Cincinnati Children’s Hospital is consistently ranked among the nation’s best, with both world-class clinical care and groundbreaking research. Their annual Cincinnati Walks for Kids is their largest single fundraising event, and it also serves as a much-needed celebration for patients, families, and staff.

Cincinnati Children’s is held in high regard in the community, considered to be a true local gem. But being a prestigious hospital creates the unintended and false perception that the institution doesn’t require donations to maintain its standard of excellence. The task was to remind Cincinnatians how important the hospital’s work is, and why it is worthy of one’s hard-earned money.

To create energy around the new location, we encouraged everybody to “Give Like Wild.” Based on that concept, we created a comprehensive campaign, including event graphics, outdoor, social media, website redesign, shirt design, and a video, encouraging everyone to join the walk and give.

Our campaign featured real Cincinnati Children’s patients and photos of zoo animals. Messaging was engaging and fun. Headlines invited people to “Walk, waddle, hop, skip, gallop.” Communication was simple and impactful, creating a unified message across the city.

And the result? Beast mode. The people of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky stepped up and close to $900,000 was raised for a very important cause. That was a step in a very important direction.

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Bloom-shaka-laka

Benken Garden Center

Brand Refresh | Campaign | Digital Design

Bringing new energy to a long-established garden center.

CHALLENGE: Breathe new life into a family-owned Cincinnati nursery in order to compete with big-box garden centers with volume-based, value-priced inventory.

IDEA: Modernize the Benken brand with a fresh, imaginative visual style and messaging, engaging both current customers as well as a broader, younger audience of plant enthusiasts.

STORY: Benken Florist & Garden Center is a Cincinnati institution. For almost 80 years, Benken has prided itself on quality and service, combined with a friendly, expert staff armed with a knowledge of plants and flowers unmatched in the city.

But while the Benken name reflects the dedication to quality established by Harry and Johanna Benken in 1939, chain garden centers were drawing customers away with lower prices and numerous locations across the city.

To support this effort, we undertook a brand refresh and pushed it out through site design, social media, display ads, and outdoor, deploying attention-grabbing headlines tied to rich visuals of beautiful plants and flowers.

A major driver was social media engagement. We wrote attention-grabbing headlines, tied them to rich visuals of beautiful plants and flowers, and shared them across social platforms.

To support this effort, we undertook a brand refresh, site design, social media, display ads, and outdoor, deploying attention-grabbing headlines tied to rich visuals of beautiful plants and flowers, We even proposed a series of truck wraps. It was beautiful work for a client that understands how beauty can improve lives.

We helped Benken attract younger consumers through aggressive social media and a spirited attitude.

Seasonal changes provided clear opportunities for engaging messaging and product promotion.

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Ending the silence. Stopping the stigma.

Lindner Center of Hope

Integrated Campaign | Video

Raising awareness and $50 million.

CHALLENGE: Inspire donations to the Lindner Center of HOPE (LCOH), a national leader in mental health care and research, and help them reach their most ambitious goal ever – $50 million. And at the same time, lift the shroud of silence and stigma surrounding mental illness.

IDEA: Using powerful statistics, storytelling and imagery, captivate readers and viewers with a campaign developed around the concept of a “Silent Epidemic”.

STORY: The statistics are nothing short of staggering. Mental illness is the #1 health problem facing our nation, yet research and access to treatment are severely underfunded, the mental health system overburdened.

Magnifying the problem, mental illness remains shrouded in stigma. So millions avoid seeking treatment and suffer needlessly.

Having served as a lifeline for more than 40,000 patients since opening in 2008, few places are as qualified as LCOH to effect lasting change in the understanding, treatment and management of mental illness. But to have the necessary impact, the non-profit needs the support of thousands of caring and generous people in Cincinnati and beyond.

Their goal was aggressive and exciting – to raise $50 million in donations and grants. To be heard, we knew we needed to stand out and be disruptive.

Though nearly everyone has a story of how mental illness has touched their life, it’s spoken of only in hushed tones in our society. The shame, silence and stigma cause millions to avoid seeking treatment.

To end the silence, we set out to start the conversation.

A 48-page full-color brochure revealed the breadth of the problem and asked for supporting donations.

The brochure alone has resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations, including a single donation of $250,000.

ChallengeofHope.org was launched to provide foundational messaging.

All communication, including :30 TV, print, radio, social media and murals throughout the city, directed people to the site, educating them on mental illness and the mission of LCOH. It also invited them to “Make Waves”, i.e., “sound waves”, by recording and sharing their stories on the site.

For the Center’s annual fundraising gala, a video told the emotionally gripping story of an LOCH patient.

The gala raised $3,721,000 in donations – the largest amount ever generated for a non-profit in Cincinnati by a single event.

Initially intended to run only once, the spot was so well-received the client continued running it locally for several months.

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DCG Radio

Digital Design

Diversified Communication Group saw opportunity in a stronger digital presence. So we turned up the volume.

CHALLENGE:  For more than 30 years, Diversified Communications Group (DCG) quietly provided radio communication for companies across America. But under new ownership, DCG wanted to increase the power in their digital communication, and grow awareness. These efforts will result in business growth.

IDEA:  DCG wants to be known in their territory as the top provider of two-way radio communications solutions. For a small company, competing against major players, that’s a big ask. But our idea was to make DCG appear larger than they are through a website redesign and SEO.

STORY:  Diversified Communications Group (DCG) is a high-quality two-way radio communication solutions company with over 30 years of experience serving clients in a wide variety of industries including aviation, healthcare, public safety, transportation, hospitality, and manufacturing. But their website didn’t communicate the strength and depth of the company.

Their unique selling proposition is that they create long-term relationships with clients, and provide whatever is needed in the way of service. For example, the company’s owner has a cell phone with him 24-7 and he never turns it off. If there’s an emergency in the middle of the night, DCG goes to work in the middle of the night. But this was another element that was under-communicated.

Clearly, they needed an improved website, start to finish, elevating the design and distilling the user experience for the brand to build confidence, gain stronger awareness of the unique offerings and generate engagement/interest from the target audience. DCG wants to be known in their territory as the top provider of two-way radio communications solutions.

Their target audiences are quite broad. While 70% of their business is within the aviation industry, they also provide radio communication for healthcare, hospitality, security, transportation and commercial operations such as Amazon.

We started with content planning and big ideas, created both sitemap and wireframes, as well as an SEO plan. The overall design was modernized and simplified. We strengthened the brand expression through improved case studies, high-impact photography, and benefit-driven messaging. Additionally, we created the site to become utilitarian — an informational resource for those using radio communication. Through these measures, DCG has a better opportunity to grow their business.

The DCG website was lacking in solid communication of who they are. But through our improvements, their strengths – decades of experience, drop-everything service, and technological acumen – come through in shining fashion. DCG isn’t a large company presently, but we believe that will be changing very soon.

Search engine optimization helped DCG’s campaign come through loud and clear.

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