Russia’s Premier Family Leisure Destination, a development of Westcourt Real Estate (Europe) Limited
Westcourt, founded in 2005, endeavour to create distinctive real estate solutions of exceptional quality. The team consists of development professionals working from global offices in London and Bangalore, amongst others. In these areas, they hold long-standing relationships with design and construction experts, investors, landowners and the authorities. This allows Westcourt to offer a complete service, remaining hands on at every stage of the process, whilst maximising financial returns also.
We were invited to become a part of this team, in order to assist in the construction of collateral that would support a pitch for the Zavidovo holiday village. Our work included the following:
MARKET RESEARCH WEBSITE
The initial request was to help build a PowerPoint presentation that would contain a set of questions for market research to take place in Russia. The target demographic was a group of high-net-worth individuals interested in a new, all year round holiday destination.
We took the idea one step further. We worked with Westcourt to provide a solution that would not only be best suited for the purpose, but could then be enhanced and grown as the project and its development took place. As a result, we created a hub of information and reference for the operators, investors and stakeholders.
The microsite created held both English and Russian translated content. Our in-house designer created an illustrative representation of a typical ‘day in the life’. By doing so, we could provide a solid overview of the village and facilities on offer.
The results were very encouraging. Of the 1,000 questioned, it was reported that:
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Zavidovo is a highly appealing concept for this upper middle class target. It performed very well in both qualitative and quantitative studies. 61% of consumers expressed a definite interest in visiting Zavidovo in the summer, with 46% in the winter. The idea is that interest would increase alongside income.
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The concept is both innovative and exciting. Consumers have expectations of a high-end resort with ‘Western-style’ (i.e. non-Russian) standards of service. The quantitative research shows that 76% of consumers deemed the proposition ‘impressive / interesting’. Typical of many comments from the qualitative data, Zavidovo appeared ‘a very upmarket and sophisticated resort’.
BRAND
It was strongly believed that the holiday resort needed its own identity, one that would sit alongside the already established brand for the Zavidovo location itself. We took Westcourt’s initial ‘tree’ idea and developed it into a more suitable, media-friendly representation of the forest holiday village.
COFFEE TABLE BOOK
We commissioned a ‘coffee table book’ that would provide full details of the resort. After consideration of the audience, we decided that the title should contain both English and Russian content. When designing the book cover, we envisioned it to be eye-catching and interesting. To achieve this, we specifically created a slipcase to be shorter than the book itself, to ensure ease of access. We allowed the artwork of the logo to run seamlessly across the book and slipcase, thus retaining a visually stimulating model. In order to emphasise the brand, we darkened the shade of the logo through a method of de-bossing. The results clearly highlight the brand in an attractive manner.
BINDERS
We were asked to provide a range of A4 and A3 binders. These binders would hold the vast amount of architectural, business and operational plans; as well as the company profile, market research, apartment and lodge specifications etc. In terms of design and colour specifically, the bespoke binders matched that of the main coffee table book. The binders were constructed in a similar fashion also, using fine linen and a de-bossed logo. Seventy-eight binders were designed, printed and delivered in total.
VIDEO
For presentation purposes, the architects built a model of the proposed resort. Using basic footage taken by the client, we produced a short, fly-through video that included high res representative images of the proposed centre building, lodges and ancillary buildings, as well as the initial plans. Pictures of activities were also interwoven, so that the video would offer an overall view of the project. We also supplied suitable background music. The footage was all edited and treated by us; the end result providing Westcourt with an attractive and informative promotional video.
CONCLUSION
For the initial pitch to the Russian client, all of the promotional materials handled by us, as well as that produced by Westcourt and the architects, was gathered in London and constructed into one presentation. Thereafter, it was all packaged and sent across to Russia for the second step of the pitching process.