Our Work

Positioning a Locally-Based Engineering Firm to Compete on a National Level

David Mason & Associates is an architectural and engineering firm that focuses on designing and improving the essential infrastructure that makes our everyday lives possible. The firm was founded in 1989 in St. Louis, MO, offering architecture, civil engineering, and surveying services. Since its founding, it has expanded its expertise in structural engineering along with serving aviation, transportation, parks & recreation, power & utility, and municipal markets. David Mason & Associates has four regional offices in St. Louis, MO, Chicago, IL, and Philadelphia, PA.

Looking Toward Expansion

David Mason & Associates had established a solid reputation in their local markets over the past nearly 30 years by completing thousands of prestigious projects. As the next generation of leadership in the company prepared to take the helm, they approached goBRANDgo! for guidance on how David Mason & Associates could best position itself for growth. In the initial research phase, it was clear that the firm had amazing potential to become a major national player in its industry, but an outdated brand and website was standing in the way. So, goBRANDgo! set out to create an updated logo, brand identity, and website that would reflect the company’s prestige and expertise, as well as help propel David Mason & Associates to national prominence.

Thoughtful Execution

At goBRANDgo!, we employ a defined process of discovery when we are engaged in rebranding and website efforts. In our research, we discovered that David Mason & Associates was commonly known as “DMA” in the engineering community and industries they serve. In developing the new company logo, we created a mark that blended the company initials and engineered structures, with the goal of creating something that could eventually stand alone and would be instantly recognizable within the field. We also wanted to respect the proud history of the company while creating something simple and clean that would convey modernity and structure. 

In the website, the grid imagery present in the original logo was used as a design element throughout in order to visually communicate expertise in engineering. The color palette was updated, and the new site leveraged white space to show purpose-driven and clean as design values. The sitemap was reorganized to appeal to each of their target markets and make it easy to access information. 

In copy, David Mason & Associates’ engineering expertise was clear—however, with heavy use of industry verbiage, the value proposition of the company was lost on the reader. By simplifying the language and clearly communicating to each industry served, the company’s goal of improving essential infrastructure was pulled through as a theme of the entire site.

Finally, the website was mapped out and built in a way that guided the user down a series of defined paths based on personas developed by goBRANDgo!. Thanks to this mindful restructuring, the new website functioned in a way that fueled the growth of the business, instead of being a placeholder online.

Revealing DMA’s Competitive Clout

To mark the unveiling of the new company branding and website, David Mason & Associates hosted a launch party for all employees across St. Louis, Chicago, and Philadelphia. The celebration created buzz and energy among David Mason & Associates’ internal team, bolstering its already high morale and motivating team members to advocate for the business to potential clients and new talent. In addition, new leads began to stream through the website via contact forms, and David Mason & Associates received several multi-million dollar requests for proposals through the new online form.

David Mason & Associates also received recognition at the STL SMPS Marketing Excellence Awards in June 2018, an annual event that recognizes outstanding achievement in marketing communications by professional service firms in the design and building industry. David Mason & Associates was recognized with an Award of Excellence for its refreshed corporate identity, an Award of Merit for the newly launched website, and was named overall Best in Show by the panel of judges.

Through the rebranding efforts for David Mason & Associates, goBRANDgo! helped remove barriers to growth. By updating the look and feel of the brand, the innovation and expertise that were obvious to the company’s past clients and its team members were revealed to the outside world. Now, David Mason & Associates is receiving the attention it deserves from a wider, national market, and is continuing to accelerate revenue growth each year.