WHAT DOES CLEAN REALLY MEAN?
Not all cleaning services are created equal. Unfortunately, much of their marketing is.
4M Building Solutions came to us with possibly the only mess they weren’t fully prepared to tackle: breaking out of the sea of sameness while remaining true to their unique brand of precision-grade clean. That’s When our G/L team was put to the task. Amidst all this marketing mess, we’d need to help make the 4M brand shine above all the rest. From day one, we knew the work would need to be as meticulous as the spotless shine they bring to every inch of the 148 million square feet they clean. The first order of business? Creating a brand architecture and refresh to align with aggressive sales goals in key competitive markets over the coming 12-18 months.
DEPLOYING G/L’s PROPRIETARY DISTILLED THINKING™ BRANDING PROCESS
It’s our shop’s way of collaborating with clients by boiling down the core aspects of their business into a refined, actionable plan, all based on their unique value proposition, attributes, and essence of their brand. For 4M, it was truly an all-hands-on-whiteboard approach to discovering what sets them apart. So, what did we see once all the dry-erase grime was wiped away? Three distinct goals.
Given the heavy saturation of undifferentiated competition in this industry, our measuring stick for success would be materializing three monumental, needle-moving asks for them.
Delivering a campaign that speaks authentically,
while mopping the floor with competing brands? That’s one thing.
But in our case, we decided to do it twice. Pencils in hand, we ventured into two distinct creative territories,
each positioning 4M as the most trusted and innovative leader in commercial cleaning solutions for building managers overseeing
large spaces. To stand out in the crowded and traditional cleaning industry, our creative team wanted to reimagine 4M’s capabilities
and reexamine what the notion of “clean” meant to our audience.
WHAT CLEAN LOOKS LIKE
From this exploration, our first concept was born. “What Clean Looks Like” focused on the meticulous mindset 4M employs for every facility they manage — a cleaning plan uniquely tailored to each customer, yet seamlessly standardized for second-to-none service and a satisfying level of above-and-beyond clean. All achieved through 4M’s unique, all-in business approach to the cleaning industry.
While we had one concept beginning to feel polished, could we push the essence of “clean” even further? Could we sharpen a more pointed edge for the 4M brand and truly own their proprietary processes above all else? Once again, like most concepts worth their salt, our second offering was born from a question: “If we know what clean looks like, how does 4M bring new meaning to cleaning?”
NOW WE WERE REALLY GETTING SOMEWHERE.
With a strong emphasis on 4M’s precision-grade processes and reputation for strong relationship-building, we sought to truly redefine and own this exceptional level of dedicated, boots-on-the-ground service like no other company could.
WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?
“Bringing New Meaning to Cleaning.” Literally.
So we began kicking down doors with a direct mail campaign pairing a series of unexpected and abstract visuals with attention-grabbing lines, all aimed at seeding doubt in the minds of facility managers. We wanted them to ask themselves, “Am I really getting what I’m paying for with my current cleaning service?”
The freaky-fresh 4M brand of clean was ready to live and breathe on screen.
First up would be concepting, scripting, and pitching storyboards for a brand anthem video. Not some dusty old corporate drivel, mind you. But something that truly highlights how 4M brings a new meaning to cleaning. With client approval and the green light flashing, we kicked things over to G/L Content Studios, our in-house operation responsible for orchestrating great video work and the shoots behind them.
From storyboarding to pre-production to shoot day and onward, our team touched every aspect of the production, editing, and polishing in post — all while bringing simplicity to the process for our client. Like a wet mop gliding across the floor, we began spreading our concept across all things 4M, bringing a consistent visual and messaging strategy to sales and marketing collateral materials so the brand could finally sing with one voice throughout their growing service markets. We then provided additional thinking on how each piece could deliver its highest impact in the field.
THE RESULT?
A game-changing brand refresh for 4M in a highly competitive arena.
A redefinition of what it means to sell “clean.” And expectations raised for the cleaning industry as a whole.