Brand & Digital Strategy | Competitive AnalysisFriends of Fairsted (FoF) promote the legacy of landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmsted, and oversee the site of his original office in Brookline, MA. They approached me for help setting the direction for an updated identity system and website. When we met, they had little formal branding, and a basic website that had fallen out-of-date and was not engaging or expanding their audiences.
Deliverable:
Final deliverable consisted of an analysis of the competitive landscape with recommendations for approaches to a new visual identity and digital presence.
Research, analyze, summarize, recommend. I started by reviewing Friends of Fairsted's competitive set, analyzed where FoF stood in comparison for branding and digital presence, summarized my findings and analysis, and provided a set of key recommendations, both for overall approach, and in specific tactics they could use on their website and social media presences to boost their presence.
I provided Friends of Fairsted with a comprehensive report out on my findings, starting with an overview, outlining the purpose of the survey, process followed, a list of the agreed-to organizations reviewed, and a snapshot of the outcomes and findings.
The goals of the document were to examine the landscape of identities, and digital and social media presences in FoF's market, and provide recommendations for both identity and digital tactics to pursue in establishing the organization more firmly online.
The first step was to look across FoF's competitive landscape, to see what others were doing well — and not so well — both to examine trends they might take advantage of, and how to distinguish themselves.
I provided a snapshot of each of nine core organizations they'd identified within their space, indicating key brand elements, digital media presence, and the quality of the digital experience across devices.
In my documentation, I referenced specific examples for FoF to consider as they approach their new website, showing the benefits of simplifying their communications, increasing their use of visuals, and how to layer their in-depth content to make it both accessible for browsing audiences, and yet sufficiently rich for their existing, committed audiences who want to dive deep.
My recommendations included examples of specific user interface tactics and calls to action for FoF to consider in developing their new site to enhance engagement with their audiences. I detailed how best to embrace fully-responsive design, and highlighted specific presentations across devices to significantly modernize their digital presence.
In addition to recommending specific tactics to improve their website and overall digital presence, I provided several directions for FoF to establish an identity that would increase their level of sophistication and set themselves apart within their market, suggesting possible tones and color directions that reference colors from the physical site of the Fairsted, customizing to achieve specific brand voices.