Archives: Projects

Deep roots. New growth.

Cintas

Product Launch

Launching a commercial restroom collection with designer roots.

CHALLENGE: Define the brand identity and deliver a cohesive set of marketing and sales presentation materials to launch Branch & Vine, a new line of high-end, style-centric commercial restroom essentials from Cintas. The materials had to wow new prospects yet stand the test of time.

IDEA: Embrace the visual and messaging potential of the Branch & Vine name – and the line’s use of natural forms, finishes and fragrances – to create a lush, nature-inspired look and feel for the launch materials.

STORY: Cintas is an industry-leading commercial uniform and supply company whose restroom supplies have traditionally scored high on functionality and durability but weren’t always compatible with style-forward spaces. That made it a challenge to connect with many independent businesses, such as restaurants and smaller offices and retailers who embrace contemporary design.

The solution? Create a more modern, versatile, and upscale line, one that would allow clients to create elevated experiences while lifting the burden of sourcing and maintaining premium restroom products and dispensers.

First impressions are everything – we needed to arm the sales reps with launch materials that would set them up for success when presenting the new collection.

The Branch & Vine collection takes its cues from nature, including soothing bamboo, texture-rich lava rock, elegant marble, and warm amber glass.

This inspired an integrated campaign and sales materials featuring stunning images of natural elements and textures, along with engaging messaging, to underscore the line’s sophisticated, organic, and home-like feel. Highlights included a 56-page Look Book and Demo Box that gave the new line proper importance.

The response from the field has been extraordinary. Sales reps are said to be “obsessed” with the materials. And naturally, so are we.

A 56-page “Look Book” was created for Cintas sales reps in need of an impactful showpiece for presentations.

Layered pages added interest and allowed for prominent product hero photography. Smooth matte paper was chosen for its natural feel.

Product sell sheets and a more detailed brochure were included in Brand Launch Kit along with the Look Book.

Designed to accommodate product samples and launch kit materials, the Demo Box was wrapped in smooth craft paper for an authentic organic look. Unique touches like a leather pull, stamped logo, and sticker mimicked the minimalist design of the product showcased inside.

Original product photography and moodboard images beautifully demonstrated that the product could inspire a restroom’s design or be incorporated into an existing restroom.

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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.

Deep roots. New growth.

Three Oaks by Neyer Properties

Brand Identity

A strong brand from the ground up.

CHALLENGE: Create the brand identity and foundational messaging for a neo-urban, multi-generational residential community being developed in the Oakley neighborhood of Cincinnati. The community would be the first of its kind in the area.

IDEA: Tap into the rich history and geography of the development site to inspire the name, logo and messaging.

STORY: Three Oaks is a planned 30-acre residential community by Neyer Properties, scheduled to open in the fall of 2021. Designed to be vibrant, inclusive, and unlike anything else in the area, Three Oaks will feature beautiful architecture, ample and lush park-like common spaces, and hike and bike paths for easy connection to the surrounding community – an ideal example of “new urbanism.”

Highly progressive, yet with a nod to history, Three Oaks will accommodate families in all phases of life with three separate types of residences: multi-family homes (apartments and townhouses), single-family homes, and senior living which includes independent living, assisted living, and memory care.

To create the brand identity, we looked to the site’s past as well as its future. Our naming exploration included researching the origins of the city of Oakley itself – which owes its name to the many oak trees within its limits. The trees’ legendary strength, beautiful canopy and resilient root systems are all characteristics reflective of the quality of the community’s exciting neo-urban design.

The tall straight lines of the logo suggest the trunk of an oak while its branches reference the site’s history of connection – it was once a bustling railyard – as well as its new purpose of bringing together people who want to live a healthy, active life of community and connection. In addition, messaging – from the tagline to headlines – also communicate growth and connectivity.

For Neyer Properties, growth is a recurring theme, as enthusiasm and anticipation for this unique community is quickly expanding throughout the Cincinnati area.

From the tagline to headlines, messaging includes references to growth and connectivity.

The tall straight lines of the logo suggest the trunk of an oak while its branches are a  reference to the site’s history of connection – it was once a bustling railyard

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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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Wild Ambition

Cincinnati Zoo

Integrated Campaign

Saving species. And the world.

CHALLENGE: Create a campaign to inspire potential donors to give to the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden’s More Home to Roam $150 million capital campaign.

IDEA: Use storytelling and powerful imagery to captivate and educate audience on why giving would quite literally mean the world.

STORY: Launched in 2018 with a goal of $150 million, the Zoo’s More Home to Roam capital campaign will dramatically transform their animal habitats and expand.

While the Zoo’s initial messaging focused on how habitat expansion would improve both the animals’ and visitors’ experience, Creative Department worked closely with the Zoo to dig deeper into everything the campaign would mean. What we learned was that the Cincinnati Zoo plays a leading role in the conservation of endangered species around the world. In fact, if it weren’t for the Cincinnati Zoo, some species would be much nearer to extinction.

Shortly after our work on the project had begun, a United Nations Biodiversity Report sounded the alarm that nearly one million species face extinction, many within decades, unless action is taken.

The urgency of the UN Report delivered clarity and confirmation for our messaging: the Cincinnati Zoo’s conservation expertise has never been more important. The More Home to Roam improvements would not only increase the reproduction and well-being of endangered animals at the Zoo, campaign donations would multiply its global conservation efforts.

Storytelling was needed to shine a light on the campaign’s greater importance: giving would truly mean the world.

Storytelling was needed to shine a light on the campaign’s greater importance: giving would truly mean the world.

A 44-page, oversized full-color brochure gave likely donors a fresh, close-up look at the Zoo, its mission, and the More Home to Roam campaign.

A rich color pallet and distinctive UV spot varnish underscored the power and beauty of the wildlife the Zoo works so hard to save.

An accompanying website reached a wider audience, providing strong messaging support with a quick way to donate.

Outdoor stressed the urgency of giving.

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