Tasked with revitalizing the brand identity of Better Place Remodeling, I led a strategic rebranding effort, transforming the company into San Diego’s premier ADU specialist.
Better Place Remodeling was an established, family-owned home remodeling business serving the San Diego market. Recognizing the growing demand and opportunity in Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), the company aimed to strategically reposition itself exclusively as an ADU specialist. This shift required a comprehensive rebranding and strategic realignment of all marketing efforts.
As the Head of Marketing, I led this transformation, overseeing extensive market research, brand repositioning, complete website redevelopment, implementation of an SEO-focused strategy, and the execution of an integrated marketing plan. The primary objective of this initiative was to evolve Better Place Remodeling into Better Place Design & Build, significantly elevating the brand’s market perception, dramatically increasing both organic and branded traffic, and clearly establishing the company as the premier ADU Design & Build expert in San Diego.
At the outset of the project, Better Place Remodeling had an established local reputation rooted in its family-owned heritage and quality craftsmanship. However, the brand’s visual identity and messaging were outdated, and its broad market approach resulted in diluted positioning. Furthermore, the company's digital visibility and online presence were limited, restricting its potential to grow effectively within its chosen market segment.
The company strategically decided to pivot from general home remodeling to specialize exclusively in Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), responding to market opportunities and positioning itself as a focused industry leader. This significant shift required the creation of a completely new brand identity, a highly targeted marketing approach, and an extensive overhaul of website content, digital assets, and overall communication strategy.
Several major challenges were identified early on, including outdated branding elements and diluted market positioning that obscured the company’s expertise. Additionally, organic digital visibility was weak, presenting a significant barrier to growth. Transitioning to an ADU-centric brand also presented complexities in maintaining and leveraging existing market recognition, social proof, and customer goodwill, all of which needed careful navigation to avoid loss of brand equity during the rebranding process.
To successfully achieve the goals of the rebranding and strategic shift to ADUs, I led a structured and phased approach, emphasizing clarity, strategic alignment, and continuous optimization.
Initially, I conducted comprehensive market research, competitor analysis, and voice-of-customer studies to deeply understand the industry landscape and consumer needs. I also engaged stakeholders throughout the company to clearly define core brand values, differentiators, and unique selling propositions (USPs). From these activities, we identified critical insights, such as the inherent trust associated with our family-owned status, our specialized expertise in local ADU regulations, and our reputation for personalized service, all of which informed our strategic positioning.
With the insights from our research, I developed a detailed brand strategy and created a comprehensive brand book articulating our mission, vision, core values, brand personality, and target audience segments. I directed the selection of a fresh brand identity, logo, and visual design that highlighted modernity, trustworthiness, and ADU specialization. Additionally, I coordinated the strategic acquisition of a new domain name, including securing all relevant domain variations. I also carefully planned the website relaunch, developed a robust content strategy, outlined our SEO approach, and created a detailed roadmap for our broader marketing initiatives.
During this critical phase, I launched the redesigned website, which featured improved UX/UI and extensive targeted ADU-related content. I oversaw the complete rebranding to Better Place Design & Build, managing the creation and rollout of new logos, visual assets, and branded collateral such as shirts, hats, and customer merchandise. Additionally, I managed the technical execution of migrating to the new domain, ensuring a seamless transition with comprehensive URL redirection. Concurrently, I led the implementation of a targeted SEO strategy, including extensive keyword optimization and development of localized content, and directed professional photoshoots and video production to support refreshed digital and advertising assets.
Following implementation, I closely monitored ongoing performance through website analytics, organic and branded search metrics, and lead-generation data. Using this real-time information, I proactively adjusted our SEO strategy, refined content, and optimized our marketing spend for maximum effectiveness. By continually leveraging performance insights, I ensured sustained growth and enhanced marketing ROI, further strengthening our market position and reinforcing our competitive advantage.
Post-rebrand, total leads surged dramatically, peaking at 262 in July 2024 compared to a pre-rebrand high of 94. This growth aligned closely with increased organic ADU page traffic, which rose from a maximum of 35 visits pre-rebrand to 128 visits in February 2025.
The technical rebuild and comprehensive URL redirect strategy significantly increased high-intent ADU traffic, resulting in a nearly seven-fold growth in organic visits and dramatically improved keyword positions.
Broadened keyword coverage significantly increased brand visibility, expanding total branded keyword footprint by 69%.
Multi-channel growth accelerated dramatically post-launch, with substantial and sustained increases in direct, social, and organic search traffic.
Transitioning to specialized ADU content dramatically boosted targeted visibility, tripling service-page clicks and substantially improving keyword rankings.
SEO keyword coverage and organic-search value increased exponentially, indicating sustainable and highly profitable organic growth.
Despite rapid lead scaling, marketing efficiency remained extremely high, delivering robust profitability with exceptional ROI.
Through strategic rebranding, a comprehensive SEO overhaul, and a newly optimized website, organic traffic increased dramatically—nearly seven-fold. Specifically, organic clicks grew by 588%, and average search position improved notably by 14 spots (from 42.6 down to 28.6). These outcomes validated the strategic decisions made to enhance digital visibility, demonstrating that the brand's targeted, keyword-rich content effectively attracted significantly more relevant users.
Following the rebrand, total booked revenue rose substantially, increasing by $9.9 million compared to the previous period. This robust growth was driven directly by increased brand recognition, refined marketing messaging around the company's exclusive ADU focus, and an optimized customer journey that improved conversions from qualified leads into paying customers.
Strategically focusing the company's branding and marketing initiatives specifically around ADU-related services dramatically enhanced lead volume, driving a 348% increase in qualified leads. By clearly positioning the company as a specialized ADU authority, Better Place attracted more targeted, higher-quality leads, significantly scaling overall demand.
The project's strategic execution produced outstanding marketing efficiency, reaching a Marketing Efficiency Ratio (MER) of 21.3×. This level of efficiency demonstrates that marketing spend was highly effective, producing substantial returns and ensuring sustainable, profitable growth even while significantly scaling investment and market presence.
The rebranding strategy considerably strengthened brand recognition, reflected by a 69% increase in branded keyword visibility. This significantly elevated Better Place Design & Build's market position as a top-tier local expert, consistently ranking in the top five for ADU builders in San Diego across platforms like Google and Yelp. This enhanced visibility firmly established the brand as a trusted authority within the highly competitive local market.
Through strategic repositioning, Better Place Design & Build successfully transformed into a recognized local authority specializing exclusively in ADU design and construction. This targeted specialization allowed the company to significantly strengthen its competitive position, clearly differentiating it from general remodeling competitors and establishing credibility as the go-to expert for ADUs in the San Diego market.
The project resulted in substantial growth in brand visibility, reflected in notable improvements in local search rankings, a significant increase in the volume of branded search queries, and consistent growth in organic web traffic. These outcomes indicate that the rebranding not only resonated deeply with the intended audience but also effectively positioned the company to attract and convert higher-quality leads.
Ultimately, this elevated market positioning has created a durable competitive advantage, supported by authoritative, specialized content that directly addresses customer needs and regulatory complexities around ADU projects. The alignment of focused expertise, enhanced visibility, and strengthened brand perception has led directly to sustained increases in revenue and qualified lead generation, positioning Better Place Design & Build for continued long-term success.
One critical challenge faced during the project was transitioning to a new brand identity without losing the equity built over years of reliable service and positive customer experiences. To overcome this, I carefully executed a phased rollout of the new branding, implemented a strategic URL redirection plan to preserve online traffic, proactively communicated changes with internal and external stakeholders, and leveraged our extensive base of existing positive customer reviews to reinforce the continuity and quality of our services.
Another significant hurdle was the need to rapidly master the complexities of the relatively unfamiliar ADU market. To address this, I invested substantial time in early-phase market research, stakeholder interviews, competitor benchmarking, and detailed voice-of-customer analyses. This intensive preparation provided deep insights into customer needs, regulatory dynamics, and industry best practices, quickly establishing a strong foundation of expertise in the ADU specialization.
Additionally, achieving rapid SEO gains despite a substantial domain shift and new brand identity presented a technical challenge. To successfully navigate this, I developed and executed a comprehensive SEO strategy, including meticulous URL mapping, thorough technical website optimization, targeted content alignment, and rigorous ongoing monitoring. These coordinated efforts enabled us to swiftly recover previous search visibility and ultimately surpass prior performance, driving significant organic traffic growth.
This project clearly illustrated my capability to successfully lead a strategic transformation, utilizing detailed market insights, thorough planning, and agile execution. Navigating the complexities involved in a comprehensive rebranding and strategic repositioning underscored my adaptability, strategic thinking, and ability to foster collaborative leadership across multiple teams.
The positive outcomes of this initiative validated my strengths in maintaining a careful balance between innovation and respect for brand heritage. Through careful execution and constant optimization, I effectively delivered measurable and substantial business results, notably in revenue growth, increased brand visibility, and strengthened competitive positioning.
Ultimately, this experience reinforced my ability to orchestrate significant organizational change, demonstrating both strategic foresight and practical execution skills, essential for driving sustained growth and market leadership.
