Walker Property
Walker Property invests and adds value to property by carefully considering design, quality, practicality, and feasibility. They work with integrity, a focus on quality design outcomes, an eye for detail, and an awareness for risk management. Delivering quality outcomes to all stakeholders – occupants, funding partners, consultants and the communities within which they operate.
The Client Challenge
Dan Walker, an experienced and highly successful commercial property broker, land, and property developer, had made the decision to go out completely on his own. He needed to work out how it would sound when he told everyone and where they would come to find him.The Outcome They Wanted
Dan had a clear vision and distinction for the brand he wanted to create – he wasn’t a flash in the pan, young, one hit wonder. Nor did he want something that in any way represented the stale old boys club that had dominated the industry in New Zealand for a number of years.
It needed to be trustworthy, but it needed to have something about it.
We identified that Dan had made a concerted effort with each of his projects to showcase not just what was delivered but what he had promised in the first place, and this pillar of integrity was something we wanted to build the brand around – in our opinion this was trustworthy and fundamentally cool.
How We Approached It
We workshopped it out and poured over every sentence, syntax and syllable to create a brand voice that would guide Walker Property’s marketing and communication. While the current team is small – we (Author) strongly believe that Walker Property could one day be a household name so this foundational work was important and needed consideration.
Dan noted several times that the framework and process we took him through gave him a new perspective on what he was creating and the importance of this initial phase, which perhaps could have been overlooked.
We also had the opportunity to collaborate with our friends at Sunday Best who delivered an exquisite brand design for Walker property.
What We Delivered
Brand Voice
- Brand purpose and mission statement – the why and the what.
- Brand tagline.
- Brand voice principles.
- Guidelines in use – a series of examples on how these guidelines should be used metaphorically and literally.
We designed and developed the Walker Property website from scratch. The goal was to deliver a clear and simple, mobile-first, brand experience that echoed the quality of Dan’s work and his approach to business.
Finally, we took the opportunity to use some dormant video footage, some fresh music, typography and slick edit to create a film touchpoint for his Mapara Estate project that could be leveraged on-site and via social media.
What They Said
We engaged Author to shape our brand and build our website. The results were mint. Henry made our objectives clear from the outset and achieved every one of them. What’s been delivered is sleek, minimalistic and unique – without trying to be too edgy. Where we brought our own ideas to the table, Author elevated them.
Brand voicing was something I didn’t (initially) think was a necessary expense for a business in its infancy – I was naïve. I come back to it every week. It provides clarity, especially when putting out content.
I want to enjoy the company of the people I work with, be listened to, and feel confident in the delivery – and that’s Author, in a nutshell.
– Dan Walker, Founder/Director