Royal Gorge Rafting

Retaining leadership through a fresh brand

Royal Gorge Rafting is the leader in guided rafting trips in one of the world’s most famous whitewater rafting destinations. The team is top in the industry, but the brand lagged behind the epic experience. Our goal was to elevate the brand to the quality of the world-class experience, while also promoting the parent company’s other offerings.

Brand Positioning
Brand Identity
Digital Advertising
Website Design & Dev
Measurement
OOH Advertising
Print Advertising

Challenges

The brand was suffering from two main problems: 1) an aging design that didn’t convey the company’s progressiveness and leadership, 2) an unclear relationship between the rafting and ziplining companies—and other experiences.

Solutions

Blend determined the appropriate brand architecture for all of the related brands, gave the brand a fresh new look, and developed thoughtful cross-promotion of everything the company offered.

Brand Strategy & Positioning

We studied the market and the company itself, in search of the most compelling messages that would simultaneously be faithful to the company’s personality and resonate with adventure seekers. We found that allowing the rafting and ziplining companies to merge into a single brand over time was not optimal, and that the company’s quality and leadership position demanded a different approach—each company standing on its own, but related to each other under a parent brand to support strong cross-promotion.

Combining ‘epic’ with exceptional & convenient

‘Epic’ has always been at the center of this brand, and we relished the opportunity to amplify that message. But adventure seekers want quality, and they want to spend as much time as possible experiencing the adventure, followed by R&R. So the brand draws out the experience and safety record of the team, as well as the company’s perfect location—where rafting, glamping, fishing, luxury lodging, and the bar and grill are all within 3 miles of each other

A new website with a clearer focus

The original website gave rafting and ziplining tours nearly the same weight, which detracted from the message that this is THE leading rafting company in the Royal Gorge. The new site places the focus squarely on the rafting experience, while including thoughtful cross-promotion for ziplining, lodging, and the bar and grill.

Trip builder concepting & development

With numerous possible combinations of activities and lodging, showing all the options would have been overwhelming. Instead, we created a Trip Builder to allow prospective vacationers to get a quote specific to their activity and lodging choices, and their guest count. Now, anyone wanting to do more than rafting—whether it’s just adding lodging or also adding ziplining—can see their options and get a quote within seconds.