Primland: Redefining the term “lodge” around contemporary luxury

Need
Primland had a good reputation as a high-quality hunting and sportsman resort with a unique mountaintop golf course. For enthusiasts, the brand was about country sporting authenticity. But in 2009 the face of Primland would change dramatically: The European family that owns the property planned to open the sleek, contemporary Lodge at Primland. This evolution of the business would greatly alter the profile of the target audience(s) and, thus, the brand voice.

Challenges
Not only would Saturday need to address the shift in brand voice, but we needed to help Primland devise a look and feel that could be used for everything a lodge would need to operate successfully, from a check-in packet, to gift cards, to valet tags, to multiple levels of stationery. The immensity of this task was not just in design. Another huge challenge was to manage pricing, scheduling and quality control across multiple vendors and types of branded items. The logo that works on a letterhead doesn’t work well on soap, for instance. Our work also had to reflect the lodge in quality, and design, and respect the  environmentally conscious nature of the building that was designed to meet LEED Certification.

Thinking and Doing
Saturday took stock of what brand assets should stay and what simply could not fit with a new position befitting a high-end resort lodge. We performed design “first aid” to their existing parent logo that was causing prepress issues across various printing methods and substrates. We established signature photography, colors, type – even signature words and language – and used these assets as our toolkit to build everything the Lodge would need. We interviewed printer partners and quizzed them on green practices and papers in an effort to make our communications as green as the lodge’s construction. Examples are a waterproof, foldable golf course map utilizing paper made from stone, not wood pulp. Another example was logo stickers for gift packages that utilized a corn-based backing peel and non-toxic adhesive. Any paper used was either 25% cotton (renewable resource) or 30% post-consumer waste. Saturday also designed logos for the spa, pub and fine dining restaurant.

Outcome
Despite the Lodge’s grand opening date being unexpectedly moved forward by a month, we pulled it off!  The Lodge not only had all the operational elements it needed to be prepared to serve guests, but it had a comprehensive brand identity program that made it look successful from the start. More photos on Flickr.

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