Ply Gem Brand Transformation: Building a Unified Brand Experience Around “The Total Designed Exterior”
Project Overview
Cornerstone Building Brands partnered with Bailey Brand Consulting to redefine and unify its brand presence for the Ply Gem portfolio of brands across one of the most competitive categories in the building products industry. The objective was ambitious: create a comprehensive brand platform and storytelling framework capable of aligning internal teams, distributors, contractors, and homeowners around one consistent, scalable experience.
The result? A strategic brand storytelling system designed to clarify the Ply Gem brand’s market position, strengthen its emotional connection with customers, and create a more cohesive presence across every touchpoint.
The Challenge
As the Ply Gem portfolio expanded across siding, stone veneer, windows, doors, metal, trim, fence, railing, and accessories, the company needed a unified brand story capable of connecting a broad portfolio of products under one cohesive identity.
Messaging varied by audience and product category, visual assets lacked consistency, and teams needed a centralized framework that could connect strategy, communication, and execution.
Ply Gem needed a brand platform that could tell a bigger story about who they are, what they stand for, and why their products matter to professionals and homeowners alike.
What We Did
Bailey partnered with the Cornerstone Building Brands team to develop the Ply Gem brand positioning, messaging frameworks, storytelling standards, and visual identity systems needed to unify the brand across audiences and product categories—culminating in a comprehensive brand playbook designed to guide execution across every touchpoint.
Working closely with stakeholders, we helped define the Ply Gem brand around four strategic pillars:
- Complete Designed Exteriors
- Next-Level Partnership
- Pioneered Performance
- The Smart Choice
These pillars became the foundation for the Ply Gem story — communicating the value of an expertly engineered, seamlessly connected exterior system designed to deliver enduring beauty, protection, and peace of mind.
Services Provided
- Brand strategy and positioning
- Brand storytelling and messaging development
- Audience-specific messaging frameworks
- Product category messaging architecture
- Visual identity system creation
- Brand playbook development
- Marketing template and brochure systems
- Photography direction and art standards
- Training and implementation support
Building the Brand Story Visually
Beyond messaging, Bailey created a fully integrated visual identity system designed to reinforce the Ply Gem story at every touchpoint. This included:
- A streamlined color palette anchored by Ply Gem Green
- Typography standards
- Signature graphic devices including branded icon systems
- Product brochure templates and layout systems
- Photography guidelines centered around authentic lifestyle storytelling and exterior inspiration
The result was a system where the brand story was reinforced through every visual detail, interaction, and design choice. And the playbook was intentionally designed to function as both a strategic storytelling guide and a practical execution tool — helping teams maintain consistency while empowering faster, more confident decision-making across departments.
Results
The Ply Gem portfolio now has a unified brand platform capable of supporting both enterprise-level consistency and meaningful customer connection. Internal teams and external partners are equipped with the tools, messaging, and visual systems needed to tell a clearer, more compelling brand story across every channel.
The new playbook strengthened alignment between strategy and execution, elevated the consistency of the customer experience, and reinforced the Ply Gem brand’s position as a leader in designed exterior solutions.
Most importantly, it created a scalable storytelling framework that allows the brand to continue evolving while staying grounded in a clear and recognizable brand experience centered around one promise:
Ply Gem. The Total Designed Exterior.
