A Rebrand at the Top of the World
CLIENT
Mountain Lodges of Nepal
SERVICES
Branding (Brand Strategy, Naming, Identity Design, Business Collateral, Brandbook and Guidelines), User Research (Landscape Analysis, Guest Personas, Value Proposition), Website (UX, UI, content), Content Creation, Social Strategy
The largest family-owned hospitality group in Nepal needed to fold together 17 lodges and hotels spread across the Himalayas, comprising two distinct collections and multiple standalone properties, at a range of price points.
ADV was tasked with delivering the complete branding, relevant content, a website operating equally at brand-, property- and tour- levels, and a comprehensive press and social media strategy. Oh, and there was a catch. Many of the lodges one could only reach by foot, over days; it was the height of Covid, and the window for trekking the high Himalayas was fast closing.
Our creative team began with extensive data gathering, culled from the hotels, airlines, governmental reports, and even Sherpas on the ground. We identified rising socio-cultural trends among likely visitors, from Europe, India, the US, and China, and built complex user personas. We asked ourselves what emotions we needed to pique.
It was clear this project was not just branding a hotel, but reintroducing Nepal itself—a safe, modern adventure.
With the leadership team, we landed on an over-arching brand statement, and from there developed all the visual language. We hired local writers steeped in insight, and sent a photographer on a two-week trek with a clear brief.
The website itself allows users multiple entry points into the wonders of the Himalayas, a immediate understanding of this client’s unique value and the ability to quickly and fluidly explore individual properties, but just as importantly, join the properties together into guided trekking vacations, incorporating the journey, the highlights, and the lodges.