NUMBERS TAKING SHAPE
Hyde Park Bank Real Estate Lending Center
Building signage / Exterior murals / Interior wall coverings
Transform dollars into architecture. That’s exactly what Hyde Park Bank’s real estate loan professionals help developers and owners do every day. So why not manifest that concept—transforming numbers into volume, structure, and geometry—visually in wall treatments and signage in the bank’s brand new commercial real estate loan office building?
The Grillo Group designed signage, an exterior mural, and three interior wallpaper patterns to complement this gem of a building, communicating the substance and promise of the financial business transacted inside.
As architect Paul Florian puts it, “The Grillo Group’s work increased the impact and the function of the building without compromising the architecture. Their work is effective, lively, and elegant; it is intelligently conceived: they are expert at collaborating and expanding on marketing and identity concepts as part of a team.”
Our collaboration on this project was awarded the prestigious American Institute of Architects AIA Chicago and AIA Illinois awards for interior design. It was also featured in the March 2010 issue of Interior Design Magazine.
A MODERN TRADITIONAL BANK
Hyde Park Bank
Identity redesign with standards / Interior and exterior signage programs for main bank and branch / Website with online banking demo / Advertising / Marketing and regulatory collateral / Special marketing initiatives
Marble. Fifty-foot ceilings. Grand arches. Carved medallions and massive chandeliers. Hyde Park Bank exemplifies classic bank architecture. Yet within this landmark setting thrives an ultramodern bank in both form and function, meeting the needs of a diverse commercial and private banking clientele.
Since 2003, the Grillo Group has successfully helped Hyde Park Bank communicate its unique positioning—an up-to-the-minute, tech-savvy, multi-service institution that has served as an enduring pillar of the Hyde Park community for more than 85 years. From revamping the bank’s brand identity to designing interior and exterior signage to online and print promotions, we’ve completed hundreds of projects encompassing the full spectrum of branding and marketing communications.
Client Success Product promotions have achieved consistently good results. For example, a certificate of deposit promotional campaign gained a 3.92% response rate and resulted in four times the targeted number of new accounts.
American Banking Association Marketing Network, Financial Marketing Awards. First Place, Customer Retention Marketing; Runner up, Financial Marketing Excellence Award.
The $3 million bank renovation by Florian Architects won the prestigious national American Institute of Architects award and substantial press coverage for the bank.
VIEWBOOKS WITH IMPACT
Kellogg School of Management
Positioning / Message hierarchy / Full-time Program viewbook / Part-time Program viewbook / 1Y Program viewbook
When you’re consistently recognized among the top tier of the world‘s leading business schools, the biggest challenge isn’t getting students to apply. It’s making sure you motivate the right students to apply.
At Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management that means recruiting students who see themselves as future leaders who can thrive in Kellogg’s highly collaborative culture. As collaborators ourselves with Kellogg’s admissions and marketing staff, Grillo Group’s creative inquiry was guided not only by the question, “Are you the right fit for Kellogg?”, but also, “Is Kellogg the right fit for you?”
The recruitment viewbooks we created for Kellogg’s Full-Time and Part-Time MBA Programs build on the evocative theme, “Impact: Business and Beyond.” The viewbooks use description, examples, and testimonials to show how Kellogg delivers on this promise through academic excellence, leadership development, experiential learning, and the professional and personal accomplishments of its students and alumni.
Client Success The viewbooks were widely praised by the full range of stakeholder groups, and the concepts and themes have been extended to many MBA marketing programs and materials.
TRUE COLLABORATION
Kellogg School of Management Campaign
Capital campaign communications plan / Positioning and message strategy / Identity program / Campaign and facility case statements
Cutting-edge research. Thought leadership. Collaboration. Continuous innovation. These qualities have kept the Kellogg School firmly in the top tier of business schools worldwide for decades. The same qualities inspired the communications strategy and plan that Grillo Group developed for Kellogg’s capital fund raising campaign.
Grounded in the school’s marketplace studies and our own independent interviews and competitive assessment, the comprehensive communications plan lays out, by specific target markets, a roadmap for communications. Encompassing strategy, messaging, tactics, and implementation, it covers the complete campaign from pre-launch to groundbreaking through construction and building dedication.
Building on a vision
How do you create a case statement that will convince donors to open their pocketbooks for a building that has yet to be designed? The Grillo Group engaged the prospects’ imagination by building on a vision. Literally.
Using words and ideas that epitomize the Kellogg experience, we “constructed” a visual representation of the building and then projected it onto the proposed construction site. By merging present-day reality with future vision, we created a compelling case statement targeted at potential alumni donors.
SMALL SCHOOL. BIG STORY.
North Shore Country Day School
Identity redesign with standards / Full range of recruitment materials / Website and portal / Parent and alumni communications / Acorn magazine and annual report / Promotional items
Imagine five-year-olds learning science from a teacher with a Master’s Degree. High school classes that could be mistaken for college seminars. Children raising funds to build a school in Africa. This barely scratches the surface of what goes on at North Shore Country Day School, a small K-12 college preparatory school in north suburban Chicago that attracts students from the entire area and recruiters from more than 100 colleges and universities nationwide.
While this extraordinary school has always communicated well with its internal audiences, external misperceptions were affecting recruitment, and the school faced stiff competition from local public and private schools. Informed by available research, positioning, and our own interviews with key internal and external stakeholder groups, Grillo Group redesigned North Shore’s brand identity. Using the school’s historic, university-like seal as a starting point, we balanced the rigor of the school’s academics with the lively and energetic atmosphere of students, faculty, and staff in action.
Client Success New student inquiries increased significantly following introduction of new materials. Enrollment is presently at an all-time high.
North Shore communications received a CASE (Council for the Advancement and Support of Education) Circle of Excellence Award.
Viewbooks were selected for inclusion in the American Institute of Graphic Design (AIGA) Archive.
ADVOCATE. EDUCATE. COMMUNICATE.
American Society of Media Photographers
Member website, blog, email campaigns / Welcome package / Monthly e-newsletter, Facebook and Twitter pages / iPhone app / Video titles / National and trade advertising / Trade show booth / Communications for special advocacy initiatives, educational programming, and products
ASMP is the premier membership organization for professional photographers. It has a well-earned reputation as the trusted source for member advocacy, career development, and business education. But the Society’s visual identity fell short of exemplifying the high level of sophistication and business savvy the Society demonstrates in meeting members’ needs.
The new visual program captures ASMP’s promise with messages that are direct and factual. Visual consistency across all communications channels supports the brand by showcasing member photography and using photographs as icons to identify special programs and initiatives.
Client Success Our client puts it this way: “The redesign of our web site was a complex undertaking and its success is a testament to the excellent work of this team. Not only did they give us a striking, bold new look, but the improved navigation makes the user experience routinely positive. Prior to the redesign, I handled many calls per day assisting members on simply ‘finding’ the information they needed from the site, no longer! One of the most impressive things to me is that the Grillo Group brings a cooperative spirit to each project. They are always open to additional input and ideas, but stay mindful of our clearly stated big picture message.”
FOCUSING ON GREATNESS
University of Chicago Booth School of Business
Complete capital campaign communications / Case statement and new building brochures / Advertising / Campaign website / Periodic updates and cross-promotions / Event materials for kickoff, groundbreaking, and dedication / Informational exhibits and installations on all campuses
Top-notch faculty, rigorous academics, high-caliber students, and more Nobel Prize winners than any other business school: when ChicagoGSB (now Chicago Booth) asked us to serve as communications partner for their multi-million dollar capital campaign, it seemed only natural to focus on why the school ranks among the world’s best: their people and their groundbreaking ideas.
The school agreed. We developed a continuous flow of cohesive, compelling messages that leveraged their legacy of excellence. Communications were used to stimulate financial contributions to help take the school’s programs and facilities to an even higher level. Through virtually every phase of the five-year campaign—from the kickoff party to the dedication of the new building—we helped keep donors, alumni, faculty, and students engaged and informed about fundraising milestones and construction progress.
Client Success The capital campaign was so successful that the campaign goal was raised from $150 million to $250 million.
