Unifying the scope of one’s offering

The context

In business for over 50 years, Atwill-Morin is a leader in the fields of masonry, concrete, and structures as well as in the rental and installation of scaffolding. The company’s mission is to preserve the architectural heritage of Quebec, Ontario, and the Maritime Provinces of Canada, and to provide effective support to its clients through new methods and innovative work approaches.

Boasting an excellent reputation and growth, notably through acquisitions, Atwill-Morin called upon BrandBourg to define and update certain crucial elements of its brand in order to better capture the full scope of its offering.

The three-step mandate was to first define the brand promise and give it a unique and differentiated positioning. Secondly, to clarify the group’s brand architecture; and lastly, to develop an evolving brand identity solution.

The challenge: optimize, clarify, mobilize

With a sterling reputation built over more than half a century comes considerable brand equity to preserve in a brand evolution process.

Indeed, with the growth achieved through acquisitions, a challenge arose with regard to the integration of the various brands of the acquired companies, each having kept their distinctive identity and their respective employees.

As it was, the global brand’s articulation was becoming difficult to understand for clients, as the scope of expertise of the acquired companies went beyond heritage masonry.

There was therefore an opportunity to strengthen its competitive position in the market with an integrated offering, speaking with one voice, thus facilitating understanding of the service offering, transition, and internal buy-in, as well as maximizing synergies across the organization.

Atwill-Morin already has a strong organizational culture that is appreciated by employees. Their high performance standards, coupled with a people-centred approach to decision-making, were key components of their many successes and needed to be acknowledged and promoted.

Our approach

With this in mind, Atwill-Morin entrusted BrandBourg with the development of an all-encompassing brand promise and the highlighting of an inspiring brand story; as much for current and future customers as for employees and candidates (employer brand).

This was followed by the redefinition of the brand architecture and nomenclature system for each division, including the visual identity redesign and a brand signature creation. This participatory process, unique to BrandBourg, was carried out through a series of in-depth interviews with the management team and workshops with employees from each division, resulting in a solution that was perfectly aligned with everyone’s expectations.

The result: Preserve the past and build the future

Atwill-Morin now has a unifying brand with a strong identity, whose visual recognition elements have been preserved. The articulation of the brand now conveys an inspiring story that puts people as the fundamental pillar of the organization’s success. It is now easier to understand and recognize the value of each of the company’s areas of expertise as well as the brand’s relevance and added value as a whole. This brand story is articulated as follows:

“Behind the façade, there are people. People of conviction. People of action. People with skills, expertise, talent. People who think big while paying attention to details. People who shape a building without sacrificing its soul. People who bridge the gap between imagination and realization, between plans and completion. Resourceful people who aim higher. Ingenious people with vision. People at the service or people. People who respect, inspire, and help each other to constantly excel, grow and thrive. Behind the façade are all these people, who preserve the past and build the future.”

The brand identity was updated to adequately and clearly reflect the new monolithic brand architecture adopted by the Group. A new graphic guide was also developed to provide those responsible for deploying the new identity across all brand touch points with the proper tools.

Atwill-Morin’s brand evolution process, consisting of the redefinition of its brand promise, the establishment of its brand architecture and the development of its identity, went smoothly.

By preserving the essence of those brand elements dear to both customers and employees, Atwill-Morin now confidently evokes the versatility of its many areas of expertise.