Finding the Perfect Recipe for Executive Dining Branding and Website

Finding the Perfect Recipe for Executive Dining Branding and Website

How do you keep a business, particularly a large one, on course? It’s all about energizing people. Keeping them healthy and happy. And if you ask the folks at Executive Dining, that starts with the right food.

Executive Dining builds, staffs and operates onsite foodservice operations for large corporations. That means lunch, of course, but it also means catering, coffee and vending services.

In an industry dominated by me-too benefits and brutal price competition, Executive Dining turned to Atomicdust to help them create a new kind of brand experience that would reflect the real value the company brings to its clients: a boost in employee health, productivity and satisfaction.

Executive Dining’s original homepage

We see parallels everywhere.

It happens a lot with our projects here at Atomicdust: as we talk to our clients and understand their businesses, we draw parallels to our own business. We saw them right away with Executive Dining.

They told us their ideal client is one that places tremendous value on its employees and is willing to make an investment to show it. They told us how they never cut corners, and never do things the “easy way.” And they told us how they’re always working with clients to find new ways to bring value to their businesses.

Our team took a tour (and a taste) of an Executive Dining café to get a sense of the client experience.

That’s how we approach the work we do, too: we’re always looking for ways to make marketing more valuable. To make it helpful, even inspirational, rather than just a sales pitch.

We worked closely with the team at Executive Dining to identify opportunities to redesign every aspect of their prospect and client experiences. Websites? RFP responses? Café signage and menu boards? We looked at it all – and are continuing to work with them to find new ways to engage clients both old and new.

Telling the brand story.

The first step was to clearly articulate what sets Executive Dining apart. Throughout the brand positioning process, we kept the words of their chief executive in mind.

He told us this isn’t about food, going even further to say that Executive Dining isn’t a foodservice company. “We always saw it as more,” Greg Chiles said. “This is about helping people be their best.”

A brand system makes it all possible.

With so many possible applications, we wanted to make it easy for anyone on their team to create new marketing materials – from proposals in the corporate office or event signage in their cafés.

We created a set of brand elements that can be used in RFPs, on menus or brochures, or anywhere they need to connect with clients. Setting the style early makes it easy to maintain consistency throughout the experience, while maintaining flexibility for the wide range of possible applications for the brand.

Initial logo exploration

From an updated logo system to streamlined font selections, and colors and styles for text and more, we gave them the building blocks of their new brand. Every element works hard to achieve our core goal: to elevate the brand beyond foodservice.

The colors and photography bring a new level of polish to the Executive Dining brand. Bright photos of people and food stand out in the industry, clearly communicating the value the company brings to the table.

In everything from proposals to signage and the website design, we added sophisticated touches to reinforce the brand, all supported by friendly, personal language. With every piece, we looked for unexpected ways to leave an impression – from the biggest collateral, like folders or proposal covers, to small callouts used across all pieces.

Let’s take it to the web.

So how do we bring this premium experience to the web? First and foremost, it’s about maintaining the same authentic brand you’ve already read about (thanks for making it this far!).

As is the case with many of our B2B clients, people aren’t usually going to the website to make final sales decisions. But they do use it for reassurance – and for comparison shopping. While typical corporate competitors focus on efficiency and price, the new Executive Dining website shows off their warmth and commitment to employee health.

Like the rest of their new marketing pieces, the website isn’t just about food – it’s about the impact good food can have on a company’s employees. That’s really the heart of the Executive Dining story, and what we’ve helped them express.

But the brand goes far beyond a lead generating website. For the recent launch of a new client café location, we helped Executive Dining create graphics and menu boards, introducing the brand to a whole new audience of café visitors.

Forgive the puns, but there’s so much more on the menu for Executive Dining – and we’re excited to work with them as the bring new developments to the table.