Reposition the water park resort as an elevated family getaway experience, with over 50 ways to play and bond all under one roof — just a short drive away.
Great Wolf Resorts, Inc.
CLIENT
Hospitality | Erich & Kallman
TYPE
The Pitch
After COVID, in-office work began to rise and family time began to decline. During COVID, American families had more dinners together and fewer outings. Now that the outings are back, how can we keep the family bonding intact? [Source: United States Census Bureau]
As North America’s largest brand of indoor water park resorts, Great Wolf Lodge saw this as an exciting time to bring back 100% guest occupancy across all lodges.
“The pandemic led many families to put a renewed emphasis on staying connected. As families now look for getaways that allow them to strengthen bonds outside the home…our new ‘Strengthen the Pack’ campaign encapsulates our ability to help families maintain and grow these important relationships.”
– Senior VP of Brand Experiences at Great Wolf Lodge
Deliverables
Broadcast TV
Social Videos
Static + Animated Banners
Email Campaigns
Out of Home Advertising
Brand Messaging
The Challenge
Establish Great Wolf Lodge’s competitive edge in a saturated market by repositioning it as a comprehensive family getaway that offers unique family-friendly activities beyond its water parks.
The Solutions to the Challenge
Our Repositioning Vision
Through playful demonstrations of family bonding, we showcased the wide range of ways that Great Wolf Lodge helps families strengthen their pack, repositioning them as an entertainment and lifestyle brand.
Our main end goals were to…
Increase Unaided Brand Awareness
Increase Online Traffic for Information Gathering
My Role
Project Management, Competitor Research, Category Research, Consumer Research, Creative Briefing, Client Relations
The Creative Concept - Introducing…
Strengthen the Pack.
Using CGI wolves, the campaign depicted families uniting for memorable adventures at Great Wolf Lodge, emphasizing the lodge as the go-to haven for family bonding and fun amid peak post-pandemic demand for travel and human connection.
The Production
Position a Great Wolf Lodge Getaway as an In-Reach Routine
By showcasing families as a joint pack while they travel to the always accessible Great Wolf Lodge, bonding through a family getaway at the lodge becomes seen as an in-reach routine. Despite the fact that work and school priorities remain, families can hop on and go at any time.
Establish a Trip to Great Wolf Lodge as Not a Vacation, but a Lifestyle
By integrating the CGI wolves not only throughout the lodge but also in families’ homes, they are positioned as part of the family’s day-to-day routine – not a one-and-done vacation. The wolves become recognizable mascots, seen as other members of the family who transport them to the lodge, framing Great Wolf Lodge as a home away from home.
Make Great Wolf Lodge a Quick & Convenient Tradition for American Families
By “tearing through the town” on a pack of wolves and making it known that they are heading to the Great Wolf Lodge, we framed something otherwise rare, like taking a family getaway, as something normal and accepted throughout town. By establishing the parents as heroes who integrated the routine (loved by kids and other families) of going to the lodge, we inspired them to take action and treat their families to time in a place where bonding was celebrated.
Engagement Strategies
To transition the brand from a water park to a lifestyle brand, we knew we’d have to reposition things from the lodge to the screen and everything in between.
Following the campaign's initial success, the core message and footage were adapted into various formats, including social media, banner ads, signature staff howls, and more to further engage families and maximize the campaign's reach.
The Results
The Effie-winning brand campaign showed how valuable a quick, convenient getaway to the lodge could be, leading to…
Takeaways & Learning
Business is human, and hospitality is especially personal. We knew we could emphasize the inherently human element of Great Wolf Lodge by positioning the brand as the place in which families come together to strengthen their bonds. The team did this by creating personas that felt like part of the family.
The Team
Account:
Art Ross (AM)
Daney Ramirez (AS)
Kate Frazier (Director)
Sarah Hardin (AM)
Shayla Johnson (AM)
Creative:
Jack Moran (AD)
Jagger Moore (CW)
Patrick Newman (CD/CW)
Rob Stone (CD/AD)
Production:
Cristian Villalobos (PC)
Kati Haberstock (EDP)
Sofia Aguilar (AP)