OUR WORK
SOUTHERN LAOS
Branding an Enchanting Destination
With a wealth of natural, cultural and historical attractions, Southern Laos is an ideal destination for tourists searching for an enchanting getaway. But until very recently Southern Laos was relatively undiscovered, often overshadowed by neighbouring Thailand and Vietnam, and other regional attractions.
Looking to bring this magical destination to the wider world, Swisscontact, an independent foundation for international development cooperation, brought together a coalition of public, private and civil society in 2015 to help create income and job opportunities for the local population through a more competitive tourism sector.
As part of this effort, QUO was appointed to create a fresh destination brand that would reflect the region’s diversity and the life-changing new experiences to be found there.
SERVICES
Brand Strategy
Visual Identity
Promotional Collateral
Tone of Voice
Website Development
Video
BRAND STRATEGY
A Multi-agency Partnership
The project was kicked off by a two-day branding workshop in Pakse with key stakeholders from the region including tour operators, travel agents, hotel owners and local government authorities.
Drawing on valuable local insights and additional research, our brand strategy team began to form a compelling brand culture around the region’s intrinsic diversity, serenity, distinct charm and ‘Sabai Sabai’ (relaxed) approach to life. Following a tour of Southern Laos’ most inspirational and iconic sites the team returned to Bangkok to develop the brand essence that would define the destination – ‘Charming by Nature’.
VISUAL IDENTITY
Bringing the Essence to Life
QUO’s creative team drew inspiration from Southern Laos’ expressive personalities, proud traditions and stunning geography to translate the brand essence – which was also adopted as the Southern Laos tagline – into a logo evoking the Lao alphabet’s circular forms with the image of a fisherman in a long-tail boat as well as a compelling visual identity. Clear instruction on how to bring the new identity to life were outlined for the client in detailed visual identity and photography guidelines.
PROMOTIONAL COLLATERAL
‘Beyond the Ordinary’
To help promote the destination and the new brand, a special Southern Laos destination guide was produced with an introduction to the region, a detailed location guide, and tips and tricks to help travellers to get the most from their experience. The guide, entitled ‘Beyond the Ordinary’, brought the brand’s new visual identity to life, working seamlessly with beautiful imagery from the region’s most iconic attractions.
TONE OF VOICE
‘The Local Expert’
With the visual identity in place, it fell to QUO’s content team to develop a tone of voice that would define how Southern Laos communicates with the world. It developed the voice of a ‘local expert’ who knows the region forwards and backwards and speaks in a direct, confident and knowledgeable manner.
WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT
Connecting Southern Laos with the World
As the project began to take shape, it fell to QUO’s digital team to build an interactive, informative website that would do justice to this magical destination. Taking advantage of the stunning beauty of Southern Laos, we opted for a design that focused heavily on large, high-definition images. The site also includes full destination and culture guides, a trip planner, news updates and more.
You can check the website out for yourself right here.
VIDEO
Capturing the Spirit of the Region
The Southern Laos brand was further amplified by an engaging promotional video produced to help potential visitors explore the attractions on offer in the region. The Southern Laos video is an embodiment of the spirit of the region, showing beautiful scenery, the generosity of the local people, and a place ideal for slowing down, living in the moment and enjoying life.
It showcases the jewels of Southern Laos, such as the exotic Four Thousand Islands on the Mekong River, the stunning waterfalls of the Bolaven Plateau, Vat Phou Temple, the shadow puppet theatre and the warm smiles of the locals.
OTHER CASE STUDIES
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