Hilltop Partners
Simplifying Financial Solutions for Small Businesses
A CPA and Tax Attorney joined forces to create a bookkeeping and tax advisory company focused on creating a financial landscape where small businesses can operate with clarity, confidence, and ease. They came to us looking to establish their brand—naming, positioning, messaging, logo, and visuals, as well as develop a website and marketing strategy. We created a clean and modern brand identity, and helped position them as the local experts and trustworthy partners they are.
What’s in a Name? A Lot Actually.
Coming out of the brand workshop, we determined the current name, Forsyth Professional Services, was not only a mouthful, but had potential to be confusing to prospective local clients. The name was derived from a street in St. Louis that’s close to the co-founders’ alma mater, Washington University—but their office isn’t located nearby. After a series of brainstorming sessions, and competitor, market, and legal research, we landed on the new name, Hilltop Partners. The name ‘Hilltop’ is derived from the Hilltop campus at Washington University.
Creating the Brand
Once the name was set, we got to work on the logo creation, messaging, and visual branding. We wanted to position them as local experts in the industry, but not in a way that made them feel too high-end or unapproachable.
Because tying to their alma mater was important to them, we created an ‘H’ logo mark that resembles Brookings Hall—a defining landmark on the Wash U campus. The bottom of the mark is rounded to indicate that it’s positioned at the top of a hill.
We paired the mark with a clean san serif typeface to match its clean lines, and create a modern and professional feel.
We chose a color palette with greens to represent the financial industry and gold to add warmth and sophistication.
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Pulling It All Together
Once the branding was established, we pulled everything together into a comprehensive brand guide—which serves as a valuable resource to ensure all aspects of the brand are always carried out consistently.
Clarity.
Confidence.
Ease.
We set out to communicate the financial clarity, confidence, and ease Hilltop Partners provides their clients through the website. This is reflected not only in the copy, but also through clean design, intuitive functionality, thoughtful structure, and strategic content flow—supported by well-placed calls to action to drive quality leads.
It’s All in the Details
We used custom iconography to demonstrate the benefits Hilltop Partners delivers to their clients. The imagery focuses on decision-makers actively leading their business—intentionally removing the background and technical details keeps attention on the individual and underscores the meaningful, real-world impact of Hilltop’s services.
Building Brand Awareness
With the brand identity in place and a newly launched website, we began developing a full marketing strategy. We mapped out a 6 month flight plan that began with the reveal of their new branding and website. We then built upon it with regular content marketing, organic and paid social media, organic and paid search, and email marketing.
Establishing awareness with a new brand does not happen overnight. On average, it can take at least 7 exposures to gain recognition, and consistency in terms of messaging, visuals, and frequency across various touchpoints is key. After just a few months, the campaign saw positive results with 7 keywords ranking in the top 10, and a 19.4% engagement rate on Facebook organic posts (1.2% is the industry average).
#1
In Google Local Pack by Searching ‘Bookkeeping Services’
after only 3 months
What our client is saying…
”When we set out to rebrand Hilltop Partners, we knew it was important to find a marketing partner who could understand both our business as it is now and our vision for it in the future. From the very beginning, Matt and Laura have delivered exactly what we needed.
They guided us through a smooth rebranding process, including a new name and logo, and created brand guidelines that give us consistency and clarity across everything we share. The website they built has been a tremendous success, combining a clean, modern design with intuitive navigation. It feels like an authentic reflection of our firm, and we’ve received consistent positive feedback.
Equally important has been their ongoing support. They have continued to work closely with us, leading our marketing strategy and managing our social media channels so our brand presence is both professional and consistent. Having them in our corner allows us to focus more fully on serving clients, knowing that our marketing is in expert hands.
We are thrilled with the partnership and grateful for the expertise, creativity, and responsiveness they bring to every interaction. They have elevated Hilltop Partners and given us confidence that our brand will grow alongside our business.”JudsonCFA & Managing Partner, Hilltop Partners
