Aspen Group

Building the new church architecture of our times

Aspen Group designs and builds spaces for churches across the United States, working alongside pastors and church leaders who understand that a building is never just a brick-and-mortar structure. It is a formational environment, a space that shapes how people experience faith, community, and belonging over time. When new leadership stepped into Aspen with a bold vision for what the organization could become, they reached out to long-term partner OX to help build the brand around it.

OX partnered with Aspen on brand strategy, positioning, visual identity, and an ongoing creative retainer that continues to expand the brand’s presence and impact across the market.

Making a formational shift

Aspen had spent years gaining deep expertise in church design and construction, earning the trust of ministry leaders across the country through genuine care and relational partnership. As new leadership brought a bolder vision to the organization, there was a real opportunity to bring that same depth of expertise more fully into the light.

Aspen was ready to speak to a different kind of church leader, one motivated by legacy and vision, who understood that the spaces a congregation inhabits are formational, shaping how people experience faith slowly and meaningfully over time.

Crafting spaces that build faith

OX’s work with Aspen surfaced a positioning principle that shaped everything that followed. Aspen's target audience valued a mission-aligned expert, but their existing brand presence was coming across more like a well-meaning friend.

Like many mission-driven organizations, Aspen's people offer deep pastoral understanding and genuine concern for the missions of the churches they serve. But OX's strategic discovery revealed that Aspen's target audience was looking to be inspired by vision and reassured by expertise, not just understood by someone who cares. The updated position had to demonstrate that Aspen doesn't just build churches; they deeply care about crafting spaces that build faith.

That single shift gave Aspen permission to show up as the premium, expert-led partner it had always been, speaking to church leaders who understood that getting the building right is inseparable from getting the mission right.

Expanding the brand architecture

The brand OX developed for Aspen was anchored in that positioning. “Crafting spaces, building faith", and the vision, “The new church architecture of our times" gave Aspen a new way to think about all they offer and provided a unique point of view from which to share across every touchpoint of their brand. Visual identity, messaging, website, brand film, marketing tools, sales materials, office environments, and a suite of campaign assets all carried that vision forward with consistency and intention.

OX remains embedded in Aspen’s creative and strategic thinking through an ongoing retainer, continuously building on what the brand work had established, bringing fresh perspective to how it shows up in the world, and working alongside the team to keep the vision sharp and clearly communicated as the organization grows. As Aspen's agency of record, OX develops and executes project-specific campaigns, staff retreat theming and programming, sales playbooks, and more.

The result has been a measurable shift in how Aspen is perceived in the market, reflected in a ten point increase in brand awareness, and a growing pipeline of church leaders who come to Aspen because they recognize it as the partner worthy of the vision they are trying to build.