MacConvillesA rebrand to celebrate the past 80 years,
and all those yet to come
From inception to completion, working with the team at UnitedUs has been a real pleasure. After 80 years of business, we took the opportunity to have a cultural reset and ensure we had a brand identity that matched our ambitions.
Ben Coombes, Director, MacConvilles
Founded in 1938, MacConvilles boasts over 80 years of experience in both building and quantity surveying. Complementing their pedigree, they also emit a level of client-centricity that contributed to repeat and referral business. Despite all this great history and swathes of valuable relationships, MacConvilles hadn't yet built their brand reputation across the region. On top of which, their clients weren't aware of MacConvilles wider service offering. All of which left them selling themselves short.
MacConvilles boasts over
of experience in both building and quantity surveying
Fuelled by ambitious new leaders, MacConvilles approached us so that we could elevate their brand from nice; nice people, with a nice background, doing nice work – into an identity that could not only harness their heritage, humanness and holistic approach but propel their business into the future by connecting their past with their potential. Ultimately, the brand needed to work harder to communicate the value of the past 80 years, while also inspiring customers to perceive MacConvilles as a surveyor fit for the projects of the future.
The result is a combination of visuals and language that helps establish the feeling of heritage while also providing a much more contemporary identity, which marries with all the amazing things we heard throughout our research.
To achieve this we designed a visual identity that oozed established modernity, showcasing that MacConvilles is situated at the intersection of the built environment, offering a beautiful mix of technical consultancy, and creative solution-based thinking. Not only does the strapline we created – "At the core of surveying since 1938" – put MacConvilles' heritage and holistic approach at the centre of the brand, but the use of circular graphic devices, and core textural elements further demonstrates this point. While the pairing of highly modern typesetting with colours that offer a twist on a classic 1930's colour palette, demonstrate that the history behind the brand is capable of propelling them forward into the future.
UnitedUs worked with our staff, and clients to better understand who we are, and what makes MacConvilles special. This was key, and what I believe sets UnitedUs apart from the crowd.
at the core
Through this process we have been challenged and at times have had to take a leap of faith and place our trust in those who know best, but we are so glad we did.
In the knowledge that MacConvilles' people were just as integral to their brand as the buildings that they help to construct, we wanted to ensure that the new identity was fully ownable by the team. With this in mind, we went about leading a series of workshops to help the team to become ambassadors of the new identity. While the wealth of merchandise we created – notebooks to boot bags, PPE to coffee cups, helped to further bring the brand to life.
Taking this even further, we worked together to champion and focus their community engagement initiatives, to further align their deep-roots in construction and their people-first approach, so even those outside of the industry could recognise their undeniably integrated approach. While internally, we've accepted the challenge of virtually launching a brand while everyone is working from home. Unlike our usual workshops and launch parties, we've come to love virtual workshops using software such as Miro to make them more interactive. Where launches are concerned, well, let's just say the folks over at Bolney Wine Estate have become an extension of our team – helping to bring everyone together to celebrate how far the brand has come.
The new brand is exciting, fresh and modern, but still reflects our amazing heritage. It is a brand that we have all helped create and one we can be really proud of.
MacConvilles
Tone of voice