Case study
Elite Trade Painting
Helping a legacy look as premium as the work they deliver.
How we helped one of Canada's most established painting franchises step into a premium, expansion-ready brand without losing the recognition built across decades of work.
Decades-old brand → premium franchise positioning
Logo equity preserved, brand expression elevated
Full identity, marketing, and trade show booth rollout
Coast-to-coast expansion continuing post-launch
Decades-old brand → premium franchise positioning
Logo equity preserved, brand expression elevated
Full identity, marketing, and trade show booth rollout
Coast-to-coast expansion continuing post-launch
Elite Trade Painting
Elite Trade Painting is one of Canada's most established painting franchises, but their brand had aged and they were still showing up like a local contractor instead of the coast-to-coast operator they'd become. We helped evolve the identity, the materials, and the visual story to match the ambition behind their work.
How we helped:
• Brand activation + new assets
• Marketing + sales collateral
• Website design guidance
• Vehicle wrap design
Results: Elite stepped into a brand that finally matches the caliber of their work with a refreshed identity, a full marketing system, and a trade show presence built to support their next stage of growth. Coast-to-coast expansion has continued post-launch, with new locations opening as the franchise scales.
Launched: Spring 2025
Website: elitetradepainting.com (built by OSO)
Elite Trade Painting has built their reputation as a go-to choice for quality residential and commercial painting across Canada. With a willingness to take on projects of any size, and a simple but powerful promise to do good work for good people, Elite has cemented their reputation in the market.
However, markets shift.
When Elite came to us, their goals were ambitious: double their revenue and undertake a massive expansion to cover Canada coast-to-coast, and even grow into the US. To achieve this, they needed a brand presence that could compete at a higher level.
Elite’s brand had to communicate their excellence — reflect how established, premium, and memorable they are without losing the brand recognition they had earned over their decades in business.
“Elite had basic branding in place, but they had never invested in brand. They had grown as a company but didn’t want to spend money willy-nilly. They wanted to get clear on who they are first. Their main goal was to look like a serious brand.”
— Wendy Winder, Fractional CMO (Ray Strategic Marketing)
STEP 1
Brand Activation
We needed to differentiate Elite in a crowded market, without changing the logo. We accomplished this in a few key ways:
Richer, more confident visuals.
We focused on refreshing the brand’s imagery, expanding their colour palette to be more engaging and versatile, developed new graphics, and crafted brand new messaging. We wanted to establish the power of their legacy, as well as their quality service and outcomes.
A brand system built for flexibility.
We developed a more flexible logo system. This allows their logo to be versatile, especially when it is sitting inside a paint swatch. We wanted their logo to be clear, recognizable, and consistent no matter the application.
Sell the finish, not the process.
We stopped selling “the middle” of the painting experience (images of taped up spaces, people painting a wall, the disruption) and instead highlighted the emotional payoff: People enjoying beautiful spaces, the feeling of “it’s done,” and the pride of a finished environment. In an industry where most visuals look the same, this was an out-of-the-box move that helped Elite stand apart.
“We wanted to get richer and deeper with Elite’s brand. The visual aspect needed to be pushed out to bring the identity to life. Elite is very successful at what they do — they’re growing, and our job was to help them take that next leap in growth.”
— Wendy Winder, Fractional CMO
STEP 2
Updated Brand + Marketing Materials
Like many companies in the trades, Elite’s visual brand is always at work in the real world. We helped apply the refreshed branding to business cards and letterheads, developed a seasonal postcard series, a door hanger series, a trade show booth design they can take on the road, and offered support with developing social media assets and direction.
“What came out of the qualitative research was that not many companies in this industry can handle both large and small jobs and will say yes to them. There's an attitude at Elite that they'll take care of you — and in such a competitive space, we felt a responsibility to share that.”
— Wendy Winder, Fractional CMO
STEP 3
Website Design Guidance
We filled the role of consultant on the website redesign, including messaging support, information architecture, and ensuring the use of imagery (including sourcing aligned stock imagery), brand elements and the new logo were spot-on and applied correctly. Our brand guidelines included directions and examples on how to apply the elements in a myriad of ways, to support future applications across all marketing efforts.
elitetradepainting.com (created by OSO)
“Charmaine integrates seamlessly into leadership teams. She collaborates, brings in creatives that are necessary for success, and has a strong sense of balance between achieving aesthetic quality and being practical when it comes to brand and design.”
— Wendy Winder, Fractional CMO (Ray Strategic Marketing)
RESULTS
The Outcome
Elite is now positioned to step into their next stage of growth.
Sleek, professional, and established, Elite has backed up their talk with high-quality service and outcomes for decades. Now, they are sharing their quality with the world in a clear and elevated manner. With a modernized, differentiated brand system, Elite’s message and creative assets now support their marketing efforts and offer a strong foundation for their ambitious expansion.
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