Our Creative Director Kevin Bassett has been selected as a 2026 LIA Creative LIAisons Virtual Coach.
Emerging creatives are in good hands.
View the 2026 coaching roster via the link in bio.
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#LIA #LIAawards #CreatedForCreatives #CreativeLIAisons #StrutCreative
Strut has a new Creative Director.
Kevin Bassett joins us to lead creative direction across strategy, brand, campaigns, and digital — bringing sharp thinking and senior creative leadership to the work we do for purpose-driven organizations.
Full announcement at the link in our bio.
Another campaign Strut created for Alair Homes. This one, for regional use in the many special places they build—Canadian and US markets where location is everything. Having a second home in an enriching place like the Galveston seaside or Ontario cottage country, is about having a place to get away from the complications of big city life. To have a place for family to be together, and spend meaningful time together. Having a home built just for them is a chance to live an alternate life in a magical place—a place where experiences happen. It's about the place, and it’s about what that place makes possible for your family.
How do you elevate a brand, communicate the unique structure of the company, and build a strong foundation for future digital marketing programs? For Alair Homes, that meant rebuilding their website. Strut consolidated more than 100 home builder sites under a single CMS, bringing local Alair Builders and thousands of pages of content under one roof. The result? A dramatic 332% growth in visitors, 215% improvement in organic search performance, and 266% higher user engagement rates.
More importantly, the website communicates the value they deliver, and quickly connects site visitors with local Alair Builders operating in the communities they care about. Another great example of the way we think holistically at Strut, about brand building, digital experiences, and campaigns.
Alair is North America’s largest custom home building network, seamlessly blending the financial stability, resources, and project management processes of a national brand, with the flexibility, personalized service, and deep local expertise of an independent builder.
A custom home by Alair shapes your life profoundly. It’s where your family’s story unfolds. It fundamentally changes the way you live, how you spend your time, and your family’s health, well-being, and prosperity. Alair’s vision is to realize your vision. That might be as simple as living in a different way, enjoying a true indulgence, or creating an experience.
It’s Strut’s job to highlight the unique ways a custom home by Alair delivers something special. We've done it with Two. Words.
This campaign uses clever, two-word mnemonics to bring attention to a range of unique features and qualities in a variety of breathtaking homes. Each ad contains a compound word, that when presented as two separate words, offers new meaning with a twist.
We love working with Alair Homes. They let us dream big, and we're helping them do the same. A new brand strategy, a new brand architecture, a new website, a multi-year marketing roadmap, global brand building, regional campaigns, and so much more yet to come. Stay tuned for a case study, and in the meantime have a look at what we've been doing for Alair – North America's largest custom home building network:
#1 We couldn’t have done it without you. The biggest lesson we’ve learned after 25 years? None of this happens alone. Every project, every breakthrough, every lesson along the way, has been shaped by the people who trusted us to help tell their stories. Clients, partners, collaborators, friends, you’ve all been part of what makes Strut, Strut. Thank you.
Lesson learned: Great work starts with trust. And we’re grateful for yours.
#2 Endings can be powerful beginnings. @albertacentre mission is bold: disrupt human trafficking across the province. That kind of work requires clarity, conviction, and a brand that stands as strong as the people behind it. We helped them build a voice, a visual identity, and a messaging platform rooted in dignity, action, and hope.
Lesson learned: The right words can shift a system. The right brand can help end an injustice.
#3 Less can lead to more. We worked with the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction @ccsa_ccdus to launch Drink Less, Live More, a national awareness campaign promoting Canada’s updated drinking guidelines. The message was simple—but the visuals told a bigger story: how drinking less can actually help you live more.
Lesson learned: A public health message doesn’t have to scare you. It can inspire you.
#4 Mentor the future. Brand it well. We partnered with Peter Tertzakian—economist, author, podcaster, artist, and energy visionary—to launch Studio.Energy: a new space for mentoring the next generation of leaders tackling the world’s biggest energy challenges.
We built a brand that sparks ideas, invites exploration, and leaves you with one thought: Now you’re thinking.
Lesson learned: When your mission is to fuel the future, your brand should spark curiosity from the start.
#5 A good brand feels like home. @closertohomeyyc had built decades of trust supporting children and families across Calgary—but their brand wasn’t reflecting that heart. We helped refresh their identity to feel more human, more hopeful, and more connected to the community they serve every day.
Lesson learned: The best brands don’t just look good—they feel right.
#7 Great party. Rough morning. We’ve thrown some pretty unforgettable parties over the years. What we didn’t forget? The mess we had to clean up the next day.
Lesson learned: The best ideas don’t always feel that great the morning after.
