Lee Wetherington Homes
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Agency:
Grapevine -
Client:
Lee Wetherington Homes
A new CEO took the helm of Lee Wetherington Homes 2021, and the award-winning custom home builder looked to relaunch its brand after lacking the strong presence of years past. Patrick was on Grapevine’s team tasked with rebuilding their name across the Florida’s Suncoast, guiding all messaging development copywriting efforts for roughly five years and successfully helping the company achieve their goal of 25 to 35 home builds annually.
The overhaul began with a reimagined website, after identifying that the previous site no longer reflected the sophistication of the brand or the level of craftsmanship the company is known for. The new website, which ultimately won a silver ADDY, focused on creating an emotional connection with homebuyers before ever stepping into a model, and marketed an original design and building “experience” tailored to singular lifestyles. Storytelling was imperative throughout, particularly in detailing the company’s regional legacy. Each page was thoughtfully worded to align with the sharp edges and stunning photography spread across the site — and the team’s design and word choices for this project spread to others, including many collateral pieces, like sales books and floor plan flyers, e-blasts, blog posts, ad development, advertorials, digital marketing efforts and more.
When it came to ad development in 2022, Patrick worked alongside Grapvine’s design and sales teams to hash out new messaging for Lee Wetherington Homes. The general branding piece included the headline, “Quality is a Standard. Consistency is an Art.” — a reference to what over four decades of home building expertise can create. Ads were adjusted for multiple print publications and designed into web banners, which are also featured below.
The initial ad, which won AAF Suncoast’s Palm Award, recognizing local creativity, incorporated design characteristics of Lee Wetherington Homes’ old branding mixed with modern touches before introducing a completely new look in later iterations, reflecting the feel of the rebuilt website.
Patrick, alongside Grapevine’s design team, created the concept for a thick, high-quality collateral piece that Lee Wetherington Homes intended to give to prospective homebuyers on the cusp of signing a contract to design and build a custom home. Copy was styled to vividly describe the emotions, sights and beautiful models that buyers already experienced on their journey toward finally deciding to bring their vision to life with the local builder. Among several creative surprises found throughout, the last three headlines, “Living,” “Warmth” and “Home,” were styled to be an acronym for “LWH.” The collateral piece, which included stunning photography from actual custom homes that coincided with the content, won a silver ADDY in 2024.
Aligning Grapevine’s focus on the Lee Wetherington Homes design and building experience, Patrick and the team collaborated to create two four-panel brochures — one detailing the company’s pre-construction process and another for phases of construction. The goal for the 2023 project was to give homebuyers a clear understanding of where their home currently stood in the creation process and what steps to expect in the coming weeks and months, all in an easily digestible format. And beyond these brochures, a number of collateral pieces were developed over the years, including flyers for floor plans and master-planned communities.
Various digital marketing campaigns were deployed by the Grapevine team, with Patrick crafting the messaging. Recent pushes included a campaign appealing to in-state homebuyers and those relocating to the region from northern states and the Midwest. Region-specific campaigns were also implemented in Lakewood Ranch and Wellen Park, creating interest among prospective homebuyers in the area for certain communities, like Wild Blue and Everly, where the company was a trusted builder.
Over several years, Patrick also worked with the design team to create monthly e-blasts and SEO-focused, resourceful blog posts. E-blasts were eventually restyled to match the look and feel of the company’s website and messaging was elevated slightly. Both the old and new e-blast layouts included information regarding featured communities and model homes, design tips and construction trends, and the blog post for the month. E-blasts were disseminated to potential homebuyers, homeowners who previously partnered with the company, real estate agents and other professionals.
BLOG POST: Part 1: How home designs have transformed over decades of Sarasota’s architectural eras
The Suncoast is not only a breathtaking paradise, but also a melting pot of rich history and deep-rooted heritage revered to this day. Over a century of designs, influenced by developers’ creativity during the Florida Land Boom and the region’s prolific arts scene are still featured in neighborhoods across the county. Lee Wetherington Homes published a two-part series in December 2023 and January 2024, giving a detailed history of unique architectural styles found around the area — and how it’s incorporated in today’s custom homes.
BLOG POST: Part 2: How home designs have evolved over decades of Sarasota’s architectural eras
The Suncoast is not only a breathtaking paradise, but also a melting pot of rich history and deep-rooted heritage revered to this day. Over a century of designs, influenced by developers’ creativity during the Florida Land Boom and the region’s prolific arts scene are still featured in neighborhoods across the county. Lee Wetherington Homes published a two-part series in December 2023 and January 2024, giving a detailed history of unique architectural styles found around the area — and how it’s incorporated in today’s custom homes.
Multigenerational living is rising, as swaths of adult children move back home to save money and older parents in need of extra care join their families under one roof. Life-altering disruptions and lockdowns amid the coronavirus pandemic this past year led to an upward trend that’s swept the U.S. housing market — most notably on the Suncoast! Lee Wetherington Homes published an August 2021 blog post on how to create a luxury custom build functional and amenity-packed for every generation.
BLOG POST: Tour the Suncoast with Lee Wetherington Homes, and see why you need to move here now
It’s no secret that the Suncoast – a stunning coastal region of Florida that includes Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch, Bradenton and beyond – has transformed into one of the most popular places in the country to truly live, work and play. Roughly 1,000 people move daily to Florida, with many settling down in this slice of paradise. Published in September 2022, the blog post served as a lifestyle guide about the area and was targeted at potential transplants currently living out of state.
BLOG POST: The Solstice shined during the 2023 Parade of Homes. See what our model won
The Solstice, which is one of Lee Wetherington Homes’ latest models that showcases modern ranch-style architecture, won four top awards during the region’s 2023 Parade of Homes. The blog post, published in April, was a descriptive recap of how the model shined during this year’s event – and was a call to action targeted at potential homebuyers to schedule a tour.