Case Study:
Third Rock Geomatics
Professional Land Surveying — Calgary, Alberta
From Strong Reputation to Record-Setting Growth
The Client.
Third Rock Geomatics is a professional land surveying company in Calgary with over 20 years in Alberta's surveying industry. Their core service — producing Real Property Reports (RPRs) for municipal review — is essential to real estate transactions across the region.
Principal surveyor Mark Sutter built the firm on speed, accuracy, and integrity, including a 3–5 day RPR turnaround time that's notably fast for the Calgary market.
The Problem.
Third Rock had the experience, the reputation, and a genuine competitive advantage… but its marketing didn't reflect any of it.
Despite two decades of proven work, the firm wasn’t capturing a share of Calgary's RPR market commensurate with its calibre. The business had expertise that was being overlooked.
Mark and his team needed to accelerate growth, modernize their marketing strategy, and make their speed and precision visible to the real estate professionals, homeowners, and builders who needed it most.
The Engagement.
Our work began where every Dominion Messaging System engagement begins: with the positioning foundation.
Through discovery workshops, customer and expert interviews (including a realtor and custom home builder), and competitor research, we distilled Third Rock's commitment to speed, accuracy, and integrity into a clear market position. We structured its value proposition so that its most desirable and unique benefit — RPR turnaround speed — led the message rather than being buried beneath generic industry language.
From there, we partnered with Saltwater Digital to design and build an SEO-optimized website and lead-generation platform. Sarris Marketing wrote the copy; Saltwater Digital designed and built the site. Every page was informed by the positioning work.
The engagement didn't stop at launch. Third Rock continued with an ongoing Fractional CMO retainer covering Google Ads management, an SEO campaign built around subject-matter-expert-driven blog resources and service pages, and stewardship of Mark Sutter's newsletter.
The Results.
Third Rock’s growth has compounded year over year:
Within six months of the website launch, job volume nearly doubled year over year
Annual job volume increased roughly 25% from 2023 to 2024
Annual job volume increased by more than 50% from 2024 to 2025
In 2026, Third Rock is setting new records for monthly deal counts
In a 2025 internal analysis, Third Rock found that its investment in strategic marketing with Sarris Marketing accounted for 80% of the company's increase in gross revenue that year.
ChatGPT now describes Third Rock Geomatics as "Best for: speed + smooth closings" and notes its 3–5 day turnaround time for RPRs in Calgary. The impact of our positioning work has extended beyond the website and into how AI tools describe the firm to prospective buyers.
Our team was in need of a fractional CMO, and Justin was the first to comprehensively assess and articulate our needs.
He assembled an expert team to distill the essence of our company's purpose and strategic goals, systematically rebuilt our positioning and messaging word by word, and optimized our online presence and advertising campaigns.
We are exceeding all expectations!
Justin's expertise in strategic positioning and authentic copywriting is exceptional.
Evan McNeil
Director, Geomatics Design, Third Rock Geomatics
Demonstrated Outcomes.
Competitive Clarity — Competitor research surfaced where Third Rock stood versus alternatives, giving clear distance on speed and service model
Meaningful Differentiation — RPR turnaround speed moved from an internal operational detail to the lead message across every channel
Sharp Value Proposition — Homepage structured to state who they are, who they serve, and their most desirable unique benefit in the subheadline
Clear Strategic Direction — Everything downstream (website, ads, SEO, newsletter) was built from one Positioning Canvas, not ad hoc decisions
Consistent Brand Message — Copy, ads, content, and newsletter all reinforce the same brand messaging
Aligned Expectations — Google Reviews from customers naturally support the website messaging, demonstrating how the marketing promise echoes the service experience
AI Search Credibility — Positioning work now influences how AI tools describe the business to prospective buyers
Ideal Client Attraction — Real estate professionals, homeowners, and builders arrive pre-educated on Third Rock's speed advantage
Marketing-Sourced Revenue — 80% of gross revenue increase attributed to strategic marketing investment
Third Rock had 20 years of expertise and a genuine competitive advantage.
They just needed the market to see it.
If that sounds familiar, start with a free 15-minute positioning audit. We'll review your site alongside a couple of competitors and show you where the gaps are.