CDM Smith 40th Anniversary Ad
Client: CDM Smith
Role: Creative Direction, Graphic Design
Introduction of Brand
In 1947, CDM Smith was founded with a commitment to maintain the constant pursuit of excellence, placing responsibility to their clients second only to responsibility to the public. CDM Smith is a global privately owned engineering and construction firm headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts with regional offices throughout the world. The firm offers services in water, environment, transportation, and energy and facilities projects for public and private clients including governmental agencies. Major services include design, consulting and program management with a focus on emerging areas such as polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), transportation advisory services, lead in drinking water, and digital solutions.
Final advertisement design.
The Challenge
In the past, the firm discounted the potential advantages of advertising in regional industry publications and would run business card style ads. Not surprisingly, they were ineffective. Most other firms would also run business card ads or rely on a rational marketing strategy—trying to prove why they are superior to other firms by displaying their technical excellence. We needed to stand out from all other firms. To have a strong enough impact on the audience, we would need to effectively connect the audience with the CDM Smith brand.
Alternative advertisement design utilizing the state flower of Texas.
Additional photos considered for advertisement design.
Visual Signifiers
Rather than the typical business card ad, the client service leader and myself decided to develop a full page ad focusing on our long history of improving water quality for the State of Texas. We knew the best way to connect with the audience was to employ the emotional marketing strategy—making the brand more humanistic than other engineering firms. We took a typical childhood memory of this audience’s age group, swimming in the local swimming hole, and made it the main visual while tying the message to it and our 40 years in the state. The ad ran for a year in a quarterly industry publication with inquiries more than tripling.
Past advertisement design.
Past advertisement design.
Skill Set
Skill sets employed throughout the CDM Smith advertisement includes graphic design and creative direction. Technical programs used to build the creative are all Adobe Creative Cloud products, InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop.