So, once upon a time there was a wonderful company called Patterson Pope. And they did, well, friggin’ everything. They did so much, so frantically that they couldn’t even explain it. Even customers who loved them dearly would buy a product or service from other suppliers.

So the project was first and foremost branding. Enter Space Made Simple. It was more than a tagline, it was a rallying cry.

Here’s the first paragraph from their capabilities brochure:

In the beginning, the world was without form and void. Then came stuff. After that, it got confusing. Files, supplies, inventory – whatever it may be, it takes up space and gets disorganized. That’s where we come in. We’re Patterson Pope. And we take space and materials and make them simple, elegant and efficient.

And this branding worked so well that members of the saleforce memorized this and started every presentation with a recitation. How’s that for owning a positioning?

After the brochure, tagline and website redesign came a series of web videos, sent to existing and potential customers. These were designed to make sure everyone knew everything that Patterson Pope did. They were also supposed inject a little levity into what was a very dull category. Website traffic jumped over 60% each time a new video went out.

Patterson Pope – Museum Case

Patterson Pope – Rotary

Patterson Pope – Hallway

Patterson Pope – Shredder

Patterson Pope – Aftermath

Patterson Pope – Weapons Racks

Patterson Pope – Shelving

Patterson Pope – Moveable Shelving

Patterson Pope – Casework

…then came stuff

Since the original web videos, the campaign has evolved under the heading the Laws of Stuff. The orange cube was developed as a symbol for whatever kind of stuff an organization has to deal with.

From there, we created the Laws of Stuff (as inexorable as gravity they are) and lawsofstuff.com

Patterson Pope – Laws of Stuff – Pens

Patterson Pope – Laws of Stuff – Socks

Patterson Pope – Laws of Stuff – Pocket