Hike Maui
Dramatic direct revenue growth following a brand refresh & new website
Hike Maui has been guiding guests deep into the beautiful Maui rainforest for over 40 years. Our task was to help guests understand that among all the things they can do on Maui, this one needs to be second only to the beach.
Challenges
Hike Maui wanted to see more direct revenue growth, but the under-developed brand and templated website were failing to captivate new customers, even though the experience itself received rave reviews.
Solutions
We drew out the more potent elements of the value proposition—through careful distillation of the most compelling messages, and an identity that strikes just the right balance between fun and professional.
Results
In the months following the rebrand and new website, web revenue has outpaced 3rd party revenue so much, that it is now responsible for a 56% higher revenue share compared to the same period before the Maui fires.
Brand Strategy
Competitive Research
Logo Refinements
Visual Identity
Verbal Identity
Website Design & Dev
Photo & Video Direction
Digital Advertising
Print Design
Brand Strategy and Positioning
In a competitive market in which all top competitors have a 5-star rating, standing out as the best option is a real challenge. The key was to dig deep into what customers actually care about, identify how Hike Maui meets those needs better than anyone else, and distill and prioritize those messages. We conducted competitive research, collaborated with the client during a brand workshop, drafted brand elements such as purpose and core values, and landed on brand pillars that would serve as the foundation of the brand.
Visual & Verbal Expression
The brand’s visual system carefully communicates the intersection of three things: the gorgeous rainforest setting, the professionalism of this 40-year-old company, and the relaxing, let loose fun that everyone wants on their vacation to Hawaii. With a pop of color drawn from some of the most visually stunning aspects of the Maui rainforest, fun and natural patterns referencing the foliage, and carefully-selected photos and videos to show the breadth of the experience, the brand now more faithfully represents just how stunning and fun a hike on Maui can be with the right company.
The way a brand sounds is as important as how it looks. Phrases such as “discover the hidden side of Maui” appeal to the desire to have fun away from the crowds, and we back up that promise by talking about the company’s exclusive access to certain trails. Fun phrases such as “do go chasing waterfalls” are intended to invite the target audience away from the ordinary. We grounded the copywriting in the brand strategy so that we win more guests not only by being more expressive, but also by communicating differentiators that people care about.
Website
For the website, we retained some of the good work that had already been done, and added a bit of polish and—critically—a strong messaging hierarchy. Replacing drab headings such as “Featured Tours” with meaningful headings like “Big Adventures For Small Groups” helps us more quickly communicate what the brand is all about, even when people are just quickly scanning.
Photo selection and editing were important as well, and the site now feels a lot more rainforest-like, creating more excitement about spending time in this paradise.
Initial results are striking, with conversion rate growth of at least 10%, even when accounting for changes in the market and the marketing mix.
The launch of a website is the beginning of the project, not the end, so we’re continuing to test and iterate. For example, when the client wanted to attract more customers to the private tours, we developed ideas about how to better promote them, and we ran an a/b test to determine how effective the changes were.
before
after
Advertising
The success of advertising depends upon good management (targeting, bidding, frequency, etc.), but also the right visuals and messaging. So as we completed the brand project, one of our next steps was to develop new ads. We’ve seen a 52% improvement in Meta Ads year over year, despite more than tripling the ad spend.
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