Challenge
Attracting institutional partners and regional B2B decision-makers.
Results
Winning bigger deals, driving portfolio and pipeline growth.
The Barton Boost
Stewart Investment Partners is a full-service real estate investment firm in Bethesda, Maryland. Following repeated success in the Washington, D.C. area, Stewart had established itself as a savvy local operator with a unique ability to navigate complex opportunities that generate significant upside.
Like many entrepreneurs, they were used to getting by with less. Now, growth required more – bigger deals, with nationwide investors who are constantly pursued by competitors, requiring prospects to quickly discern signal from noise.
Just one problem. The first impression of Stewart's old marketing materials did not reflect its operational excellence, requiring company executives to spend significant time building rapport with prospects.
What if marketing did more of the heavy lifting? And signal to our audience that Stewart is more than just noise.
Could better branding unlock reputational value?
We started with an executive workshop to discuss current marketing headwinds and opportunities to improve the company's public image.
I then led a succinct workshop to create alignment on the company's values, goals, and brand aspirations. Given the client's entrepreneurial spirit, we decided to use system fonts for any brand guidelines.
Applying these insights, we crafted a new brand design that reflects Stewart's disciplined track record, including a distinct logo icon (up and to the right!) for a flexible marketing toolkit.
The benefits of the rebrand were powerful and immediate. The new identity drew praise from key partners and industry insiders, opening doors and providing the credibility boost Stewart needed to engage new audiences.
Leadership leveraged the positive momentum by completely refreshing all of their marketing outreach, generating deal activity with email marketing and a revitalized pitch deck leading to new opportunities in markets across the country.
Over the next 12 months, Stewart significantly grew the company's assets under management (AUM), resulting in a future exit opportunity that was recently valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
