Ladew Topiary Gardens | Rebranding | Website Copy

Ladew Gardens, a 22-acre estate north of Baltimore, MD, is renowned for its award-winning topiary gardens. Every year, visitors come to connect with nature or enjoy special events hosted in the gardens.

And thanks to Lacy, the lead copywriter, I had the pleasure of helping the client achieve their goal.

When I joined the project, it was already on the way.

Though ecstatic to dive in and deliver great work, not being part of the initial planning posed an extra challenge (but I reminded myself to make the best of the cards I've been dealt).

The client’s main challenge was rebranding their website to make it easier for customers to navigate while preserving the original charm that resonates with their audience.

My challenge was getting up to speed (and quickly). But in my attempt to catch up and gain clarity on the project scope, I came up short.

See, at the beginning of any copywriting project, I've found few things can impact the project's success.

So, without key resources like a creative brief, brand voice, or tone guide, I had to build from scratch.

Thankfully, with Lacy’s help, I gathered what was available—press releases and an information architecture.

It wasn't much, but it was enough to get started.

Before writing a single word, I focused on building the foundation. Using the press releases, I developed a brand persona, voice, and tone guide.

Imagine the story of the Three Bears: Papa Bear’s tone changes depending on whether he’s speaking to Mama Bear, Baby Bear, or Goldilocks.

Similarly, Ladew’s persona reflects its overall image, its voice defines how it communicates, and its tone adapts to different audiences and topics.

If nothing else, these three resources (brand voice, brand persona, tone guide) and a creative brief have proven to be the most essential tools to begin any copywriting project.

The last thing I needed was to confirm that the brand persona matched the customer experience using the customers' reviews and testimonials.

Luckily, I didn't have to scour the Internet. I also analyzed Ladew's 1,060 Google reviews (with an impressive 4.7-star average).

Using this feedback, I created an empathy map to understand the customers’ journey better.

With everything in place, Lacy and I crafted copy for the website with one goal: keeping the customer’s experience front and center.

The tone guide helped tailor the messaging for Ladew’s diverse audience while maintaining a consistent brand voice across all touchpoints.

One of my biggest takeaways was the importance of novelty. Ladew offers many products and experiences, so it was crucial to keep each description fresh and engaging while staying aligned with the brand.

The final website is clean, inviting, and easy to navigate.

The product descriptions not only capture the reader’s attention but also help them imagine themselves enjoying each experience.

It's projects like these that remind me that, "Sales is a matter of creating a picture or story to help the customer understand why the purchase is right for them."

(Pictures will be updated soon)