Medgar Lighting & Controls
Rebranding, Marketing & Website Design
Created in collaboration with:
Matt Dreszel: Partner at Medgar – Client & Key Collaborator
Carley Haughey: Customer Service & Marketing Lead at Medgar – Client & Key Collaborator
Suad Sarjlic, 101 Keys – Web Development
When Medgar came to us, they knew they wanted to do something with their brand, but all they really knew for sure was that they wanted to retain the colour green. Together, we uncovered the core values that drive what Medgar does, and helped them realize the potential of embracing a more confident, eye-catching brand that helps people remember who they are, not just what they sell.
Shining a Light on Medgar
Medgar Lighting & Controls is a business in an unusual position when it comes to marketing and branding. Like any business, the most important thing you can do is get yourself out there and build your reputation. That’s what brand-building is all about. But what do you do when the products, manufacturers and brands you represent are core to what you do?
As sales agents, Medgar has done a solid job of elevating and celebrating the reputations of the companies they represent, but over time this led to the question about who Medgar even is. Are they just the companies they represent?
The obvious answer was “no.” Medgar is an excellent sales agent, but they do so much more. At the end of the day, we realized the biggest thing missing from Medgar’s marketing was Medgar. They needed to build their brand around their people, values and partnerships they offer to customers, so the name that becomes associated with the work they do isn’t just the brands they represent, but Medgar themselves.
Your Light Source
Core Brand Values
A brand should be built on the values that drive it. We worked closely with Medgar to help draw those values out of their leadership and broader team. What matters to them? Why do they do what they do? What is that essential thing that makes Medgar Medgar?
Together, we discovered that the brand’s values centre around balancing two priorities for the company: on one hand, being helpful, collaborative and connecting with clients on a human level; on the other hand, demonstrating cutting-edge knowledge, unmatched expertise and advanced technological capabilities.
These values manifest in a brand that can show up in two tonal voices. One is comfortable and welcoming, inviting people in and avoiding alienating them. The other is technology-forward, advanced, energized and exciting. Together, these two ideas converge to create the unique personality of Medgar where they overlap.
Balancing Form & Function
The Medgar brand (much like their work in lighting) is about balance: light and dark; warm and cool; and, for the design language, expressive and functional. The Medgar brand needed to be interesting in its use of design, since so much of what they do is about emphasizing the design of spaces and architecture. But their work is technical, too, and the brand can’t just be all flash. Instead, we arrived at a visual tone that is sophisticated without sacrificing functionality. It aims to create visual appeal without obscuring important information.
Medgar helped us find that balance, and we’re continuing to work with them to carry it throughout the rest of their marketing and design.
What we learned together
Our collaboration with Medgar revealed a lot to us about working with clients who are looking for help defining their identity for themselves as much as for their audience.
Many of our clients arrive with a strong sense of self, and our work is in helping them visualize that. But Medgar understandably had a harder time finding the line between what their suppliers do and what they do. Figuring that out has ultimately led to a strong brand foundation, and we’re excited to see how the Medgar brand continues to grow with this confident new direction.
You can visit Medgar’s website to learn more about what they do and see the brand in action.
