Illustration of a fish in profile, drawn in dark red lines on a red background. The text
Vintage-style illustrations depicting outdoor activities: a server with food, a snowmobiler, fishing, a cozy cabin, a fisherman with a tool, a man with fish, lumberjack work, a dog and frisbee, log rolling, boating, snowmobiling, and bumper cars.
Laptop displaying a travel website with a photo of a person walking in a snowy forest. Around the laptop are website thumbnails with text and graphics related to travel, like lodges and regional highlights. The background is red.

Whitefish Area Lodging Association

Industry: Tourism

For a classic Minnesota vacation filled with adventure, excitement, and great food, head to the Whitefish Chain of Lakes. Swim partnered with the Whitefish Area Lodging Association (WALA) to refresh its brand so it would stand out against the many resort options of central Minnesota. From the brand stemmed a multi-faceted advertising campaign and a new website with a playful vintage design and easy-to-use features. Now, users can explore resorts, discover events and activities, and plan a trip at Whitefish.org.

Insights

The work produced for WALA drove real results for the association. Our approach for WALA involved leaning heavily into what they had going for them. They’re not the sleek, corporate resorts – they’re rustic, family-owned, and classically Minnesotan. We leveraged a one-of-a-kind brand look featuring illustrations with a Vaudeville-meets-Northwoods aesthetic plus gorgeous photography. The results for WALA are indisputable. Excellent engagement and metrics that exceeded benchmarks time and time again.

Roles

Brand Strategy 
Marketing Strategy 
Creative Development
Website Development
Research

Credits

Photography: Paul Vincent