What is brand connection? Brand connection is a method that encourages people on a personal level and leads to greater brand loyalty. Visual storytelling is the essential layer that weaves emotions and presence into that connection and forges a link to feeling attached. A great brand connection starts with being intuitive, innovative and involving.
Monument Visions, a high-end creative and media agency out of Los Angeles and Lusardi Construction Company, a homegrown San Diego general contractor, teamed up to deliver a multi-phase digital marketing overhaul – a new website, video and photography – resulting in more than just a story and expanded brand presence for an award-winning team.
“When I first spoke with Brandon Scharping back in 2019, honestly we just clicked. It was like the marketing gurus matched us to work together. I knew from the start something extraordinary was going to happen. The COVID pandemic then stalled our website project for almost 9 months. The uncertainty of everything happening in the industry and around the world, it didn’t feel right for my team to push the project forward financially. I was patient during the process knowing that the time would come in the future for Brandon and I to meet again and start the framework for the redesign on the website,” Marcella Garofalo, Marketing Manager, Lusardi Construction Company.
“Right from the get-go, Monument Visions saw a big opportunity to transform Lusardi’s digital presence. At the core, we’re storytellers, and we’re dedicated to crafting an impactful strategy, which included the website, video and photography, that tells their story. Marcella and I got along really well – we shared a vision for how we could up level the company’s brand, and what ultimately made our approach stand out was passion,” Brandon Scharping, Founder and CEO, Monument Visions.
“Tackling a large project like a complete website redesign requires finding the best team both internally and externally. When Marcella started working at Lusardi we knew we now had the right person internally to take on this daunting task, we now just needed to find the right firm to engage. Marcella set up numerous meetings with several reputable firms, but after meeting with them the spark just wasn’t there. We do things a little different here and finding a fit for our culture and to tell our story was going to be difficult. However, when we first met with Brandon and his team we knew immediately that we’d found the firm to help redefine our digital story. After numerous meetings and presentations, we had a game plan and away to the races Marcella and Brandon went.” Bill Leslie, Vice President – Preconstruction, Lusardi Construction Company.
An outdated website redesign was the first big priority for the company and the marketing department. Lusardi’s focus was less on lead generation but more on visual storytelling. The goal was to focus on design and flow, followed by video production to showcase depth and experience as a builder and service to each team.
“Lusardi’s goal was to overhaul their online content so that it mirrored their reputation as one of the best AEC firms in the business. In today’s digital world, a fancy website is par for the course, so our strategy was figuring out how to weave high-quality branding videos throughout in order to better tell their narrative from a fresh perspective. The team loved traveling to several noteworthy projects and capturing these scenes first-hand,” stated Brandon Scharping.
Over the next few months the project catapulted into weekly design meetings and sitemap planning. The rebuilding of all the marketing assets was an enormous undertaking for the Lusardi team. A realization during the early months was that Lusardi needed more digital assets beyond completed project photos.
“Throughout the process there were numerous check-in meetings and draft presentations all which excited our team to see how our project was beginning to come to light,” mentions Bill.
“I knew our collection of completed project photos was strong, but we were missing videos, culture photos of current employees, and we had a mishmash of very old headshots for the executive team. Add in the COVID pandemic and remote working conditions and we were stuck with photos from years ago. That was an added layer to the project, but determined it was necessary to update this part of our marketing efforts,” said Marcella.
The first part of the overhaul was for our Northern California office. A multi-day production captured completed core projects in the Bay Area along with new headshots for the Northern California team. Monument Visions provided strategic direction on video production for each project site, filming over many hours to get the golden shots.
The website map and design were in full swing and the core base of the website was taking shape. Branding, graphic design and color palettes mirrored the existing Lusardi logo. The goal was never to alter the logo, but to embrace the history of the Lusardi brand and its legacy in the construction industry.
“Monument Visions understood and appreciated Lusardi’s rich history and wanted to preserve and incorporate that perception. We developed a completely custom web design while integrating Lusardi’s original red, black and gray color palette, staying true to the Lusardi way,” noted Brandon.
The second phase of the website project was to produce videos of projects under construction in Los Angeles and San Diego.
“Everyone loves a project once complete because the true form of design and construction come together as one. But there is a raw form of beauty when projects are under construction. Subcontractors working in tandem for each scope of work. Large equipment moving dirt, steel, concrete. I wanted to showcase that part of our business. Not just the pretty finished work,” notes Marcella.
Brandon continues, “Getting our hands dirty on site of Lusardi’s construction projects was our favorite type of shoots. From the massive deck pour at Jefferson to the final touches of the VA Clinic reconstruction, Lusardi’s teamwork was an essential part of the process we wanted to highlight in website content.”
The summer season was winding down and with a plethora of new digital assets including multiple project completion videos and photos, new headshots for the company, and new staged culture shots the website was starting to look and feel brand new. Lusardi and Monument Visions were on track to complete the website overhaul by the end of the year, but one major project was looming on the horizon. The Veterans Affairs Outpatient Center Kearny Mesa project.
“The VA Outpatient Center was Lusardi’s largest project in 2021 and it was important to produce a powerful profile video highlighting the core development and design team emphasizing the importance of this new facility for the Veterans community,” notes Marcella.
“Our main focus with the VA Clinic video was to capture team interviews, dynamic footage of the property, grand opening and a Veteran’s first impression of the clinic. The story was strong – three major firms teaming up with numerous subcontractors to construct a facility that would change veterans’ lives. It’s a project that deserved this documentation and will last for generations to come,” said Brandon.
“Leading up to the website launch I was a bit apprehensive on how the company would receive the finished product. An entire year of dedication and commitment to this project really tested my management and leadership skills. In the end, Lusardi was beyond happy with the finished product. The website was a smashing success and far exceeded the original vision,” smiles Marcella.
“There was no way possible that we could have ever imagined how amazing the final product would be. Both Marcella and Brandon hit homerun with our redesign and the feedback from both the company and community has been amazing,” says Bill.
“Monument Visions’ partnership with Lusardi has been such a rewarding experience. Together, we have built a foundational digital presence that we will be able to build upon in the future. Their company’s story will continue to evolve and we look forward to telling that narrative for years to come,” said Scharping.
