This success, combined with the need to continue attracting and growing a local workforce, prompted a review of the organisation’s corporate image and communications to ensure its positioning reflected this new phase. 
Hillgrove engaged Hughes to lead the development of a communications strategy to guide a corporate rebrand and the creation of a new website, supported by a comprehensive refresh of corporate communication materials. 
This project involved our PR, digital, design and videography specialists. 

Objectives

The primary objectives were to:

• Position Hillgrove Resources as an Australian copper producer, capable of producing consistent and reliable results for investors. 
• Showcase Hillgrove as an employer of choice in the region, and an appealing option for FIFO employees seeking an improved work-life balance, offering diverse of career opportunities for both men and women across all levels of the organisation. 
• Emphasise Hillgrove’s strong ties to the local community through its location, local employment, environmental commitments and policies, and positive stakeholder engagement with their K4C Kanmantoo Callington Community Consultative Committee. 

Our Approach

Hughes conducted a detailed scoping and key messages development session, interviewing  Nick Bartsch, General Manager, Underground Kanmantoo Copper Mine and Bob Fulker, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, to understand their vision for the organisation, and gain a deep understanding of its challenges, opportunities and priorities. 
Insights from this process were distilled into a set of strategic key messages, which informed the creative brief for the corporate rebrand, as well as the website content plan and sitemap development. 

Branding 

The direction for refreshing the Hillgrove visual identity was to create something distinctive that reflected their origins in the Adelaide Hills, while avoiding a traditional “big corporate” look. 

The new logo draws inspiration from their identity as a copper producer and mining company - represented through the stylised hill form and earthy tones that reference both landscape and mineral. 
The result is a modern and approachable design that feels true to Hillgrove’s roots, while positioning the brand confidently for the future.

Brand assets developed included:

1. Website design
2. Corporate document templates
3. Letterhead
4. Social media identity and tile templates 
5. Email signature
6. PowerPoint templates
7. Seek banners and logos

Website

To bring Hillgrove’s communication objectives to life, a new sitemap was designed to build a stronger brand narrative, expanding content around the organisations story, mission and values. The introduction of a dedicated careers section highlights the employment offering and value proposition, serving as both an engaging destination for prospective employees and a practical landing page for future recruitment campaigns. 

We developed a comprehensive content and functionality plan, collaborating closely with management and HR throughout the process to refine messaging, craft copy, and define the broader site structure and user experience. Once complete, we developed all website copy in line with the previously developed key messages. 
Throughout the build phase, we worked in close partnership with Hillgrove, migrating relevant historical content into the new environment and conducting full responsive and cross-browser testing to ensure a seamless user experience across all devices.

Before launch, we delivered a training session with supporting video tutorials for the Hillgrove team, empowering them to confidently manage and update their new WordPress site in the future. 

Photography and Video

As part of updating the corporate communications, we redeveloped the Hillgrove corporate video and employee induction video, undertaking onsite both above and below ground filming, collecting interviews and valuable b-roll vision to support future video production. 
While on-site, we also captured new board and executive team photos to correspond with the new corporate look.