Designing Women: Now That's What I Call Vacation Branding
Summer (and winter) dreams are made of vacations. Where we go, what we do, how we get there and where we stay are all decisions influenced by the packaging of any one of those experiences. So, as the world starts to open back up, we asked our Designing Women to wax poetic about the vacation-adjacent brands that make them swoon.
Kristie
Airbnb disrupted the world of travel with a fresh, new accommodation model and right off the bat experienced exceptional growth. However, the brand wasn’t differentiated enough from close competitors like HomeAway or Vrbo.
In order to stand out, find their own voice and uncover their authentic truth, a rebrand was in the making. The research—traveling across the world to visit cities, Airbnb offices, hosts and truly become part of the Airbnb community. Genius. I’m jealous.
Airbnb promised to transform the way people travel, allowing them to explore the world, not as a tourist, but to truly ‘Belong Anywhere.’ (The name of the newly branded campaign)
“As a global brand operating in every country in the world, we needed to transcend language and create something that would be recognized everywhere. We developed the ‘Belo’, a simple icon that could be drawn by anyone, worked across every touchpoint, and became a symbol of belonging.”
– Brian Chesky, CEO, Airbnb
The way they brought the new logo symbol to life speaks to a design-thoughtfulness we strive for daily at CSG. Each and every curve, shape, line width decision is representing the visual language that elevated Airbnb beyond other hospitality companies. Airbnb gives people access to locations all over the world, managing different languages and cultures and that’s A LOT and can be intimidating, however, every piece of content they created out of the rebrand and campaign feels inviting and warm and personal. Job well done, Airbnb. Never stop exploring.
Moira
My pick for favorite vacation branding is National Geographic Travel. My love and appreciation for National Geographic is part my own nostalgia (I remember flipping through my dad’s and grandad’s issues of the magazine as a kid) and part their social media marketing. In such a competitive social environment, National Geographic, a 130-year old brand, is flourishing. Their travel brand, National Geographic Travel has over 50 million followers across all social platforms but uses Instagram and Twitter the most to promote their brand and engage followers.
“It’s been estimated that we scroll through in a given day, between apps, social media, texts, articles, the equivalent of the height of the Statue of Liberty in content. That’s 305 feet every day.” National Geographic’s Vice President of Digital, Adam Quinn. How do they stand out? Visual storytelling. National Geographic Travel excels at storytelling and inspiring their followers to see and connect the world. This storytelling process combines stunning visuals with the stories behind them. By capturing our attention with photography and leading us to their blog to learn more, National Geographic Travel encourages us to travel, explore, connect and take action. In continuing to strive to be authentic to their brand and audience, National Geo will continue to inspire their audience to see the world.
Daniela
You know you’ve completed your transformation into a Coloradan when you squeal like a little girl when your Ikon Pass comes in the mail. Cannot overstate how much I love their brand and their strategy behind it.
Ikon has made sure their branding plays into what gets people to fall in love with skiing/snowboarding: THE STOKE. It evokes fun, adventure, discovery, challenges, self-improvement, community and endless shenanigans across print, digital/interactive, merchandise and environmental graphics.
The brand follows a cohesive and increasingly exciting journey.
The moment you sign up for the pass on their super intuitive and sleek website, you’re flooded with evocative imagery of their multiple destinations. Then, the Welcome Packet arrives, containing a slew of thoughtful merch that is actually useful and you’d want to show off! This year's temporary tattoos with phrases like “Bluebird Days Always” were an absolute treat!
The experience continues, of course, on the slopes, with their beautifully designed app that emphasizes the community/friendly competition aspect of the sport. You can track how many days/distance/elevation you’ve skied, use it to find your friends at the resorts and to get information about weather at each destination. The power of useful personal data really brings the brand to life here.
Check out one of their recent campaigns here.
Zoe
Planning a vacation is becoming easier and easier with new additions to the marketplace that help you find cheap flights and affordable housing. One addition that is becoming revolutionary in travel is the car-sharing service, Turo.
Turo started out as RelayRides. They wanted to be the long-term alternative to ZipCar and known as “the Airbnb of cars.” The name RelayRides proved to be confusing and they found themselves needing a more approachable brand. Thus, Turo was born. The linguistic thought behind the new and improved brand is impressive: “Turo leverages classic automotive associations and is built to travel the world literally and linguistically” (Lexicon Branding).
Their brand touchpoints were formed through their mission to be a supportive, inclusive, vibrant community. They strive to be a brand that represents all the ways anyone can use Turo to enhance their travel experience no matter their budget or needs.
Their app and website are very intuitive and user-friendly. They utilize a bright purple and green as an accent/CTA among neutrals to add a lovely pop of color that reinforces their celebration of individuality and dependability. Their beautiful iconography follows this same color palette and pushes the same messaging. The user flow is quick and customizable to service an array of needs (ex: wheelchair accessibility, 4-wheel drive, car make/model, budget, etc.).
What drew me in the most when looking into this smart, community-centered brand was their photo library. Each photo represents what Turo can be for a diverse crowd. In Turo’s own words, this spans from “something smooth and buttery for a luxurious weekend away” to a “vintage van for a picture-perfect road trip.”
The challenge Turo faced when rebranding was connecting to a broad community with different financial and personal needs. They overcame this challenge with empathy and innovation. Anyone can log on to Turo and feel they are not just taken into consideration, but fully embraced. Feel empowered to take that next adventure, courtesy of Turo.
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