SOLVANG, CA
City of Solvang
SNAPSHOT
150+ unique shops
2.4 square miles
112 years of history
It’s not every day you get to rebrand a whole town. But that’s exactly what we did for the Denmark-derived town of Solvang in Southern California. From branding to merchant partnerships to a bespoke cross-town scavenger hunt, we made Solvang a must-visit destination for any time of year.
“Solvang is a special California destination with truly unique, Old World charms. We wanted to highlight what the city has to offer with a particular, more personalized point of view.”
— Jamie Shaw (Cogs & Marvel), Santa Barbara News-Press [25/05/2022]
Old school, new look
Founded by Danish settlers in the early 20th century, Solvang is a magical return to old-world, windmill-studded Europe. We created a full brand system for the City of Solvang, with updated typography, colour palette and graphic language guides that rolled out across the town and online.
IMPACT
Social media engagement grew by 500%, hotel stays increased 153%, and we outperformed other travel social media by 180%.
PRESS
‘What’s Your Solvang Story?’ [Santa Barbara News-Press, 25/05/2022]
Solvang nominated for USA Today "Best Small Town" awards [KSBY6, 09/05/2022]
Lego mania fills downtown Solvang for inaugural brick-building competition [Santa Ynez News, 04/04/2022]
Feeling the Hygge everywhere
To create an experience that would make weekend travellers “stay and play,” we created new live and digital content, built custom activations, and produced the annual Julefest celebration that spanned the Christmas season.
It was our pleasure to honour Solvang’s traditions and new offerings, drawing a new generation of visitors to this charming Danish oasis.
Related work:
Obsidian Adventures
Long Beach Pride
Food Waste Week Roadshow