Challenge
The Alexander Group is a leading executive search firm headquartered in Houston, Texas, with an office in San Francisco. Since 1983, The Alexander Group has placed high level executives and board members for some of the country’s leading companies. They are known for their conscientious and dependable approach to finding the best person for the position.

The use of their corporate identity was inconsistent, but, due to the longevity of the firm, The Alexander Group had name recognition and brand equity. Following an in depth analysis of their brand and marketing materials, Hollinden made recommendations to the client.

The corporate brochure and Web site had not been updated in several years. To strengthen the firm’s brand equity, the corporate identity needed consistency and continuity.

Objectives and Strategy
Hollinden began the process by meeting with The Alexander Group and analyzing their sales and marketing process. The results of this analysis led us to the following objectives:

• Design a brochure reflective of The Alexander Group’s national scope that could be used in any of their offices.
• Give The Alexander Group economies of scale in production without the risk of having an inventory of outdated brochures due to service or staff changes.
• Present a progressive yet subtle image incorporating their new logo
• Brand The Alexander Group with a cohesive image across all marketing efforts.

These objectives led to the determination of what information to include in the brochure, how to display the information, and how to deliver the brochure. We were able to not only design the corporate brochure, but also assist the client in establishing a sales process that worked.

The Alexander Group needed a revamped brochure to present its services and qualifications in a professional manner while allowing for flexibility in usage to include such items as article reprints and references.

The individual tactics involved in carrying out this strategy included:

• Achieve a consistent look and corporate identity
• Provide corporate identity usage guidelines
• Update the corporate brochure
• Update the Web site

Results
With the updated look, we implemented corporate identity usage guidelines to ensure consistency. The results of these efforts exceeded all objectives. The format, imagery, color scheme and graphical elements surpassed the client’s expectations for a leading edge, but subtle brochure.

Achieving a cohesive look and feel between their corporate identity, stationery package, Web site and marketing materials has enhanced the overall branding efforts of the firm. It is vital to maintain consistency across all elements.

The Alexander Group continues to receive positive comments about their identity and marketing materials from current and prospective clients. They attribute the gaining of several new clients to their new brochure and have seen significant improvement in name recognition when prospecting since all elements of their marketing efforts are now consistent.