Travelwise has a unique proposition. Founded in 1980, it has evolved from a much-loved travel agent from North London into an award-winning bespoke luxury and adventure travel company. They have managed to build a highly loyal customer base as a result of their exemplary service, innovative and unique hand-crafted trips, as well as a wealth of expertise. After a management buyout, and shutting the London HQ, they are embarking on a digital-only future, which comes with the opportunity to build customer relationships from further afield that fit their current base of luxurious, adventurous and immersive travellers.
The Directors were open to a collaborative process to see how their brand and website could be developed to be aligned with their ambitions.
Brand
We started with a strategic workshop to define their brand position and personality. Adaptability, Innovation were key pillars, as well as a desire to convey their knowledge and experience. However, the individuals and their personalities were at the heart of their customer relationships – adding a degree of down-to-earth humour to the luxurious service.
A new brand identity was created, giving a much more ‘luxurious editorial’ feel to the brand, highlighting their heritage and craftsmanship.
Website
It was crucial to get the role of the website right. With no physical HQ, Travelwise were heading into a digital-only future but the possibility of the website was to find like-minded customers from further afield.
We agreed to steer away from the traditional travel company model of destination listings, tour searches. Instead created an entirely inspiration-led user journey, based around samples of travel ideas, categorised thematically (for example, ‘Enchanting Cultures’, ‘Active Adventure’ or ‘Timeless Beaches’.
Meanwhile, based on the fact that the team’s personalities and experiences were a huge selling point for the company, instead of hiding ‘About Us’ in the footer, the new ‘Our Experience’ section was front and centre. This comprised biogs of the team and a collection of their own personal travel tales to inspire visitors and show that they walk the walk.
