Project Overview
The Great Ocean Road is a summer holiday hotspot, with Apollo Bay one of the major destinations in the region. When the weather’s warm, the area attracts tourists from all over the world – but come winter, visitors are few and far between.
In an attempt to reinvigorate Apollo Bay during winter, the locals created a cultural festival to share the other side of life on the edge of the Bass Strait. We were asked to give the festival a name and an identity that would capture Apollo Bay’s unique winter lifestyle, and be a showcase for a diverse range of quirky acts and experiences.
Project Commissioner
Project Creator
Team
Tim Riches – Group Strategy Director
Simon Wright – Executive Creative Director
Andrew Thompson – Senior Designer
Sam Baines – Designer
David Cunningham – Finished Artist
Lucy Calder – Account Manager
Andie Anquillano – Digital Delivery Lead
Vanessa Meaker – Production Manager
Project Brief
Apollo Bay is one of Victoria’s hottest summer holiday destinations – as Australian and international tourists alike flock to the Great Ocean Road for its iconic scenery, tranquil beaches and the picturesque Great Otway National Park.
Like the warm weather though, the crowds don’t last long. Come winter, businesses go into hibernation and the tourists scatter. Those who do drive through for an occasional day trip contribute little to the local economy.
In an attempt to drive tourist visitation by sharing some of the dramatic beauty winter brings to Apollo Bay, local residents have created a new cultural festival. Our task? Give the festival a name, and an identity that captures the local spirit, and the appeal of a wild windswept winter on the Bay.
The festival committee hoped that the event would spark new interest in the area, reinvigorating local business during winter months and transforming Apollo Bay into a year-round attraction.
Project Innovation/Need
Winter in the Otways is a spectacular time of year. With the elements at their harshest, the coast has its own unique energy. From these elemental images of crashing waves and powerful winds, the name WinterWild was born.
Alongside this landscape, the festival needed to showcase some of the local community’s hidden creativity. The farmer who penned poetry in his spare time. The architect with a passion for photography. WinterWild needed to capture what it’s like to live in such a remote and magical part of the world, while showcasing a program of edgy music, art, culture, food and drink.
With this in mind, we wanted to use local talents to create a brand everyone could truly be proud of. On a limited budget, we were able to create a unique mark, develop an individual and ownable photography style inspired by the elements, incorporate local poetry and pull a colour palette from the ambers of a bonfire.
It all culminated in a fresh, sensory and experiential identity, for the first festival of its kind in regional Victoria.
We then demonstrated how the new identity could apply to key communications – so the client could hit the ground running.
Design Challenge
With WinterWild festival still waiting to make its debut, we needed to capture (and sell) an experience that hadn’t happened yet – a legacy that had nothing to build upon.
The challenge here was to create an identity with a strong sense of mood, emotion and place – an identity that would attract visitors to the inaugural event.
At the start of the journey, we took the time to sit down with key stakeholders – this was an intimate project for them, and we knew it would require a deep understanding of the local area and the people who lived there.
After establishing what they wanted the event to achieve, we were able to develop a naming and identity system that delivered on their hopes in a very short timeframe. We provided in-depth design exploration to ensure the new identity could be applied correctly across each channel and type of communication.
On the ground, we also had a hand in conceptualising some key signature moments for the festival – like the ritual burning of a giant W structure. These are the visuals that help establish the festival in the public imagination – by working hard in social media marketing.
Effectiveness
The WinterWild identity is captivating and thought provoking. It gives the beachside festival an unexpected edge, embracing the harsher side of life by the shore.
The client was extremely impressed with where things ended up, and the local community has fully embraced the new identity, adding imagery and other content to the brand’s Instagram feed, an important marketing channel.
While it’s too early to measure official results, the WinterWild identity has helped our client raise additional funding for the event. It’s also started to gain some traction in the media.
This will help make the very first WinterWild festival one to remember.
Graphic Design - Identity and Branding - Lifestyle
This award celebrates creativity and innovation in the traditional or digital visual representation of ideas and messages. Consideration given to clarity of communication and the matching information style to audience.
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