Defining a legacy for future generations
C.W. Matthews is a world-class contractor with a rich history and strong regional presence. After 75 years in the business, they needed a fresh coat of paint to preserve their legacy and attract the future generation of C.W. Matthews road builders.
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“I was really impressed with not just the knowledge your team brought but the ability to quickly understand what we do and what we’re saying… There was really no learning curve. Knowing that a lot of y’all have a background in our industry, it put all of our people at ease. It’s invaluable. This industry is all about respect and knowing you respect the work helped us communicate on a different level.”
RAY RODRIGUEZ
Division Vice President,
Human Resources & Risk Management
THE BRIEF
Scope
Craft a clear, authentic brand story for an established regional contractor that both preserves the company’s legacy and appeals to new generations of employees.
Outcome
A comprehensive C.W. Matthews brand system consisting of: updated logo, visual guidelines, and verbal identity. Media and marketing deliverables that included a new overview video, professional photo library, business cards and stationery. Web deliverables included an 130+ page website featuring applicant-focused content and multiple user journeys including custom-ATS integration using Paycor API, a 10-question careers quiz, and over 50 individual career path descriptions.
Culture / Brand Design
Campaign Strategy
Messaging & Voice
Video Production
Photography
Web Design
Copywriting
Web Development
the Brand challenge
CHALLENGE #1
Effectively communicating employer culture
For more than 75 years, C.W. Matthews has built and maintained Georgia’s public infrastructure as the state’s leading heavy roadway contractor. As an employer, they’ve provided rewarding careers for thousands of individuals. While the company culture was implicitly understood throughout the C.W. Matthews teams, limited branding prevented their ability to effectively tell their story. They needed a way to introduce themselves to the world.
CHALLENGE #2
Updating the brand while preserving the legacy
After 75 years in heavy rotation, C.W. Matthews’ original logo garnered powerful loyalty among the company’s veteran employees. To potential applicants, however, especially those of a younger generation, the company's visual brand didn't stand out or generate much excitement. Any changes to the brand needed to remain recognizable to those familiar with the brand but appear fresh in the eyes of recent high school and college graduates entering the workforce. The rebranding challenge was to simultaneously preserve C.W. Matthews legacy and position the company to new audiences.
CHALLENGE #3
Educate, attract, and
engage new audiences
Despite being well-established in Georgia, C.W. Matthews faces the same recruitment challenges that exist throughout the industry. Any contractor hoping to attract top talent must be creative in order to stand out. C.W. Matthews has a lot of exceptional offerings, but they were being overlooked. They needed to present them in a way that would capture the attention of potential candidates.
ADDRESSING the challenge
brand workshop
DIGGING DEEP
We needed to gain a comprehensive understanding of C.W. Matthews’ legacy—its deeper purpose, beliefs, and story—to properly position them for the future.
We sent our creative strategy team to Georgia to visit C.W. Matthews job sites, talk with employees, and conduct a brand workshop with the senior leadership team. This boots on the ground approach helped us to gain insights into their culture, their beliefs, and the things that set them apart from other companies.
brand Identity
Defining C.W. Matthews rich culture
Our time with the C.W. Matthews team brought clarity in the form of two different ideas, the first being the importance of home. Their team spoke at length on the significance of time spent at home with family, and how it was here that people found a sense of safety and belonging. They viewed the infrastructure they buillt as the difference between being home or being stuck in traffic.
The second idea was about the value of investment in people. They weren’t interested in simply having a transactional relationship with their employees, rather they wanted to invest in them and help them to grow themselves as well as their careers.
From these two ideas we crafted a purpose statement, a tagline, and a set of values for C.W. Matthews. These would go on to be used as the foundation for everything we would work to create with them, as well as a way of clearly communicating to the world, who they were and why their work mattered.
Tagline & Purpose statement
Values
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We care for others
This is a company of people, not titles. Nobody is above needing help and nobody is above giving it.
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We go the extra mile
If something is worth doing, then it’s worth doing right. In our work and in our relationships with each other, we don’t settle for “good enough."
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We make the impossible, possible
The word “can’t” is not part of our vocabulary. We make it happen.
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We stay sharp
In our successes or failures, we are determined to learn and grow. Just as iron sharpens iron, we’re committed to bettering ourselves and each other.
BRAND DESIGN
Refreshing a beloved brand for scalability
The original C.W. Matthews logo served the company dependably for more than 75 years. During that time, it had solidified itself in the hearts and minds of many who are loyal to the brand. For younger generations being introduced to the C.W. Matthews however, the original visual branding was still speaking to them from 1946.
BuildWitt’s design team was challenged with preserving the essence of the original while also ushering it into the next century. We took a mindful, considered approach by making subtle adjustments to enhance the logo’s impact on modern audiences. In doing so, we also improved scalability for real-world applications ranging from equipment markings to employee business cards.
An additional linear logo lockup allows for versatile applications that can take the brand into the future.
Guidlines for branding equipment help create consistency across thier fleet.
Stationery package including letterhead, envelopes, business cards, and onboarding folder designs.
Web design that captures the updated brand identity, look, and vision of C.W. Matthews.
Branded apparel and gear.
A Brand Guide that clearly outlines how the brand should look, feel, and sound. It includes best practices, boundaries, and examples of the brand's verbal and visual identity across various applications.
An additional linear logo lockup allows for versatile applications that can take the brand into the future.
Guidlines for branding equipment help create consistency across thier fleet.
Stationery package including letterhead, envelopes, business cards, and onboarding folder designs.
Web design that captures the updated brand identity, look, and vision of C.W. Matthews.
Branded apparel and gear.
A Brand Guide that clearly outlines how the brand should look, feel, and sound. It includes best practices, boundaries, and examples of the brand's verbal and visual identity across various applications.
Capturing the Story
Full-scale photo & video production
With projects underway throughout Georgia and a highly diverse list of services—C.W. Matthews performs earth and gradework, asphalt paving and manufacturing, concrete paving, structural building, and more—there was a lot of content that needed capturing in order to fully showcase their operations.
BuildWitt’s media team collaborated with C.W. Matthews’ VP of Human Resources, Ray Rodriquez, and Marketing Coordinator Caroline Johnson to arrange a packed, 6-day shooting schedule in Georgia. Starting well before sunrise and extending hours into the night, our photographers and videographers visited dozens of CWM project and plant locations to film work, interview C.W. Matthews team members on camera, and build an expansive library of digital assets. In total, BuildWitt delivered the following:
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Photo library of over 800 professional, hi-resolution images (jobsite, portraits, drone)
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Company overview video detailing CWM history and culture
Building the Site
A custom web experience focused on hiring
With a freshly updated visual system, cultural guidelines, and an extensive library of photography and video to pull from, it was time to put the pieces together online. BuildWitt combined original Copywriting, UX Design, Web Development, and Digital Marketing services to create a robust 130+ page website with user journeys targets for prospective applicants.
Launched on August 1st, 2022, the new C.W. Matthews website includes multiple features designed to target C.W. Matthews’ primary objective of recruitment.
Careers quiz
10-question interactive quiz designed to educate and engage entry-level job applicants and produce career suggestion results based on the individual’s responses.
Career paths & position pages
More than 50 unique web pages outlining available career paths and job descriptions at C.W. Matthews. Career paths funnel applicants to available positions for a quick and easy application process.
Careers page
Comprehensive careers page with persuasive content about career paths, company culture, employee benefits, who’s a good fit, and more.
Applicant tracking system (ATS)
Custom integration of a third-party applicant tracking system (ATS) to seamlessly display open positions and allow for searching, filtering, and applying within the website. Applications are filled out on cwmatthews.com and internal hiring managers receive them immediately within their Paycor system.
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Targeted content
Website content and messaging directed at potential applicants throughout every page of the website, intended to educate and entice entry-level users to apply for open positions. Every web page includes employee testimonials and clickable links to direct users to apply, and all content is written for maximum SEO rankings to increase website traffic.
The final result
CONCLUSION
By updating and redefining their brand, we were able to help C.W. Matthews more clearly and effectively communicate their story, purpose, and culture to those they wanted to reach. More than that, the deliverables of this project set in place a foundation and a compass that will help to establish their brand for another 75 years of getting Georgia home.
“They went above and beyond to help us with social media and launching the website. They offered to help us in any way. They could have stuck to every single thing in our contract but y’all went above and beyond.”
Caroline Johnson
Marketing Coordinator