Rebrand and comms for construction sector business

Services

Branding and corporate identity
Communications and branding strategy
Events and sponsorship
Graphic design and creative direction
PR and awards entry
Print and digital comms collateral
Social media management
Video and animation
Website UX, design, build and SEO

Client

Bennetts Cranes

The brief

Bennetts Cranes’ offering is niche, specialising in an area with stringent health and safety considerations. Inhabiting a very competitive industry sector where margins are tight, particularly for the supply chain, the company needs to demonstrate impeccable standards, regulatory compliance and competency along with its expertise in specifying and plotting a crane plan and managing delivery, installation and maintenance of its fleet. Bennetts approached us for a re-launch of its brand and full-service, ongoing marcomms.

The strategy

As a specialist supplier we really wanted to enable the company to stand out among its competitors including the larger, more diverse plant suppliers so the branding had to work hard on many levels. We designed a new logo, full corporate identity and planned, designed and built a new website with bespoke copywriting and specially commissioned photography. This provided the framework for building a social media presence using LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram, a steady stream of news and press articles, media campaigns and general collateral. We devised a comms plan to get them front of mind for construction procurement. There was also a lot of scope for its local profile, as a southwest business and Gloucestershire employer.

Before and after logo design
Brand guidelines
Kava art direction Art directed head shots
Project video

The results

Bennetts now has a polished look and feel throughout all its collateral, online presence and stationery – and it’s generated a lot of pride among colleagues which is truly valuable. Enquiries have increased significantly via calls and the website enquiry forms. Bennetts has won several accolades and awards including the FT 1000 Europe’s Fastest Growing Companies, LSE 1000 Companies to Inspire Britain and Gloucestershire Business Awards Growth Business of the Year. As we write (during lockdown) they are also finalists in two Construction News sets of awards for 2020 including specialist equipment supplier.
In developing the corporate identity the creative team was swift to spot the opportune gift in the typography for the logo with the “Bennetts” name – we simply had to make use of the two ‘T’s to represent tower cranes. We did this in an understated way which gives the brand a cachet to engender a smile or nod of appreciation which is an excellent lever.

We then developed a colour palette which represented professionalism with high visibility accent colours traditionally associated with the construction industry.

We created branded templates for Microsoft Word and PowerPoint, an email signature and a comprehensive set of brand guidelines with defined language for talking about Bennetts’ fleet.

The fleet is the cornerstone of the business so we created for the website a filtering mechanism for searching cranes based on type and brand with key technical specifications. The crane-type pages perform well in the site’s traffic metrics which demonstrates how appreciated they are.

The website also shows off Bennetts’ additional services and exclusive UK Raimondi dealership and manifests its commitment to health and safety and employee training and welfare.

We regularly post to social media accounts which perform really well with good reach and followings.

We have placed numerous features in the construction industry press and news stories are picked up on a regular basis. It’s unfortunate that tower crane incidents, while rare, are dramatic and therefore prone to sensationalist reporting so it was important to prompt a wave of positive stories. By the same token it was also important to establish a crisis PR plan.

We also worked on a media plan to tactically place adverts in the industry press, along with advertorials and directory listings. We’ve also arranged sponsorship and networking packages as part of the profile-raising initiative.

We are now building specific crane campaigns and developing a suite of videos to further demonstrate Bennetts Cranes’ expertise across all channels.

Statement

A fully-integrated brand revamp and ongoing marcomms programme which has revitalised and help grow a business in a competitive sector.

Highlights

LSE 1000 Companies to Inspire Britain
Construction News Specialist Awards Finalist 2020
Construction News Awards Finalist 2020

6500-9000 typical Tweet impressions per month
50–70 new LinkedIn followers per month
"We were delighted with the branding work which Kava did – it gives us a real edge in the industry and infuses our business with finesse and a gravitas which impresses in the construction world. The Kava team listens and absorbs our “downloads” and runs with great ideas and energy to keep Bennetts in front of our prospects, enhancing our reputation and building the brand. Their creativity, responsiveness and results are exceptional and we see them as very much part of the business."
Managing Director
Bennetts Cranes customer brochure
Bennetts Cranes customer brochure
Bennetts Cranes responsive website
Bennetts Cranes responsive fleet search and filter
Bennetts Cranes press adverts
Awards entriesBennetts Cranes awards entries