Eldor Contracting Corp., one of the leading electrical construction companies in the metro New York area, wanted to add more energy to its marketing efforts in order to compete more effectively in an increasingly competitive marketplace. At the same time, the company needed to brand a growing division that specializes in solar and other forms of renewable energy.

The 35-year old company, based in Holtsville, N.Y., called on another Long Island-based business, SMM Advertising in Smithtown, for guidance. Although dealing with state-of-the-art technologies, Eldor’s logo had a decidedly dated look.

Before developing new branding for Eldor, the SMM Advertising team took an in-depth look at how competing companies in the region identified themselves, looking at logos, descriptive taglines and marketing materials.

“We wanted a look and a simple phrase that would identify Eldor, while allowing the flexibility to be adaptable for all areas of the company’s business, including the fast-growing renewable energy sector,” said Dave Rogan, Creative Director at SMM Advertising.

The new logo continues to spell the Eldor name in all lower-case letters, but employs a proprietary typeface that has blocky serifs that make the logo more readable, and provide better graphic balance and a more contemporary look. The graphic icon in the logo uses the E from the Eldor name and develops it into a box that takes its design cue from modern commercial architecture exteriors and connotes strength, structure and scale.

“The size and stark blackness of the typeface helps the Eldor name retain visual dominance next to the icon, which is in bright red,” Rogan noted. “It enables the brand name to dominate in all the various ways the logo will be used… from business cards and letterhead to online presence and marketing materials, and even on the company’s trucks, which become distinctive and recognizable moving billboards.”

Development of the tagline responded to the challenge of being simple and direct, while relevant, according to Rogan. “Power to Perform is punchy, alliterative and creates an important relationship between Eldor and the two most important messages we need to convey,” he explained. “Power” relates both to electricity and to the company’s ‘can-do’ attitude, he said, while “Perform” is what customers expect when a project is completed.

The new logo from SMM has several variations including use of the icon in green instead of red with the phrase Renewable Energy to identify Eldor’s expertise in solar and other new energy technologies.

“The new identity that SMM developed for us is perfectly in synch with the direction of our business and the way we see it moving in the future,” said Keith Feldmann, Project Manager at Eldor Contracting Corp. “We were impressed with the detailed and disciplined process the agency used to develop our new branding, which they clearly explained and supported with examples every step along the way.”

SMM is continuing to work with Eldor on its new website and on an array of marketing materials. Ads created by SMM are now running in print and online. SMM has also developed a new campaign for Eldor’s Renewable Energy Division that’s designed to make LIPA business customers aware of the available rebates for commercial solar installations.

About Eldor
Eldor entered the electrical contracting business in the late 1970s, and in recent years has expanded into the commercial renewable energy market. Eldor has recently completed projects including a 17 megawatt, $120 million solar carport project for Suffolk County; new Electrical Service for the New York Police Department’s Central Park 22nd Precinct historical landmark renovation project; a New York State Department of Transportation Traffic Signals, pedestrian controls and fiber-optic structure project on NYS roadways on Long Island; a Ground-mounted solar photovoltaic installation at Town of Islip’s Blydenburgh landfill; and Manhasset School District’s 7 KW photovoltaic system. Eldor was also recently awarded a $16.8 million State University Construction Fund project for a new electrical duct bank and conduits at Stony Brook University Hospital. To find out more about Eldor please visit www.eldor.com. To find out how Eldor can help LIPA business customers take advantage of tremendous solar rebates, visit www.eldor.com/solar.