Case Study
Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy: From Preservation to Purpose
Client: Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy
Project Type: Impact Framework, Messaging, Audience Strategy, and Marketing Plan
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Photo of Price Tower in Bartlesville, OK, ©️Andrew Pielage Photography
Barbara Gordon, Executive Director, Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy
“Jeff has been an incredible partner to the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy over the past two years, helping us sharpen our communications, marketing, and brand. He listens deeply to stakeholders, captures what makes us unique, and turns insight into action. His guidance on our rebranding and website has made our mission and impact come alive. Jeff is passionate about helping organizations tell powerful stories about why architecture and preservation matter—and that passion shows in every project.”
More Than a Legacy
The Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy is one of the most important organizations I’ve had the privilege to work with. Its mission is to protect, preserve, and celebrate all of Wright’s buildings around the world. Working closely with the Conservancy’s staff and marketing committee, I helped clarify its story, strengthen its voice, and build strategies to grow engagement among both devoted Wright followers and new audiences discovering his legacy for the first time.
The Challenge: Growing Beyond the Devoted
Unlike most Wright organizations, the Conservancy doesn’t have a site of its own. That is by design, since it exists to serve all Wright sites equally. But it also creates a challenge: without a physical place where people can experience Wright’s work firsthand, how do you help them feel the impact of preservation?
The second challenge was audience. The Conservancy’s base was made up of long-time Wright devotees, deeply knowledgeable and deeply loyal, but that audience was shrinking. To thrive, the organization needed to connect with new audiences who may not already know Wright’s work but share his values of design, sustainability, and community.
A third challenge was capacity. The Conservancy has a small but mighty staff, each wearing many hats. Any new strategy had to be powerful, yet realistic to implement within the team’s limited time and resources.
The Transformation: From What to Why
Together, we set out to shift the organization’s story from what it preserves to why it matters. Through stakeholder interviews, a communications audit, and audience analysis, I worked with the team to define an Impact Statement, a Unique Value Proposition, and a set of Priority Audience Profiles that clarified both purpose and opportunity.
Impact Statement (excerpt)
“Wright’s revolutionary designs don’t just create beautiful buildings; they offer insights into how to live a happier, healthier, and more connected life. These are not just buildings, but spaces that teach us how to live a life of deeper connection to nature, to family, to community, and to beauty.”
This framework positioned the Conservancy as more than a preservation organization. It became a voice for how Wright’s legacy continues to influence how we live and how design can make life better for everyone.
Audience Profiles
The slides below represent just a fraction of the full audience strategy I developed for the Conservancy. The complete set includes five detailed audience profiles: two underengaged core audiences and three new priority audiences. Each profile was supported by demographic and psychographic insights, preferred media outlets, and visual mood boards illustrating each group’s interests, values, and aesthetic sensibilities.
This sample captures the essence of how we clarified who the Conservancy already reaches and uncovered new audiences ready to engage with Wright’s work.
The Plan in Action
Building on this foundation, I developed a robust and actionable marketing strategy that turned insight into measurable progress. The plan strengthened storytelling, expanded audience reach, and improved engagement across digital channels, all while respecting the marketing manager’s limited time and competing priorities.
Results:
Since implementing the new strategy, the Conservancy has seen measurable growth across every digital channel.
Website traffic has more than doubled since implementing work, reflecting significant growth in overall reach.
Visitors now spend over 150% more time exploring content than before.
Bounce rate has improved by 35%, meaning visitors are staying longer and engaging more deeply.
Social media engagement has grown by over 250%.
Email subscribers have increased by 15%.
We also looked closely at Wright on the Market, the Conservancy’s most popular content. Instead of treating it as a one-way destination, I created a strategy to move visitors from those listings into deeper areas of the site, introducing them to preservation stories, events, and membership opportunities. The goal was simple: help people enter and stay.
The goal was simple: help people enter and stay. Today, they are doing exactly that—staying longer, exploring more deeply, and connecting with preservation in new ways.
Why It’s the Right Approach
Purpose-Led Storytelling: Every communication connects to Wright’s enduring relevance and human impact.
Audience Expansion: Strategies meet new audiences where they are, speaking to design values and lived experience.
Sustainable Growth: A clear roadmap links purpose to measurable outcomes across platforms.
Scalable Design: Recommendations balance ambition with capacity, ensuring impact within a small, dedicated team.
Ongoing Collaboration: Continued partnership with staff and the marketing committee ensures message alignment with the Conservancy’s upcoming new brand identity.
Looking Ahead: A Legacy That Lives On
The Conservancy’s message now looks forward, not back. It shows how Wright’s ideas continue to shape more beautiful, connected, and meaningful lives. By grounding its story in purpose and inviting new people in, the organization is building a broader movement to protect what remains and to help future generations understand why it matters.
My Values in Action
Good work always leans into an organization’s mission, and my approach is no exception. I believe that mission, vision, and values should guide every decision, creating lasting impact.
Here’s how I applied my own guiding principles to ensure the Conservancy’s brand and messaging reflect its deeper purpose:
Mission-Driven: Every element of the strategy is grounded in the Conservancy’s purpose to protect, preserve, and share Wright’s built legacy in ways that inspire relevance and connection.
Audience-Focused: The work expands the lens beyond long-time enthusiasts to reach new audiences who share Wright’s values, even if they don’t yet know his work.
Impact-Oriented: The plan emphasizes measurable outcomes, from deeper engagement and broader reach to greater understanding of why preservation matters.
Practical by Design: The marketing plan is robust but realistic, recognizing the Conservancy’s small but mighty staff and limited capacity while still driving meaningful results.
Collaborative in Spirit: The process brought together staff, board members, and partners to shape a unified vision for how the Conservancy tells its story and engages its community.
With a clear strategy, focused messaging, and strong collaboration, the Conservancy is already activating this work successfully. It is expanding its reach, deepening engagement, and strengthening the future of Wright preservation.
Jeff and Barbara Gordon, Executive Director of the Conservancy, on-site at Fallingwater in Mill Run, Pennsylvania, during major preservation efforts.