Projects
Mackintosh at the Willow
Mackintosh at the Willow is an iconic piece of Glasgow’s history.
When you step inside, you’re in early 1900s; the heyday of Glasgow’s art nouveau movement.
What we delivered
Our Approach
Comprising of a museum with a guided tour, restaurant, café and commercial hire event space, the destination is housed in the original Willow Tea Rooms building, originally designed by internationally renowned architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh.
After a substantial restoration in 2018, an effective marketing strategy was required to allow the destination to compete in Glasgow’s thriving heritage and tourism landscape. This activity was largely to be targeted towards driving footfall and commercialising the venue through corporate hires, exhibitions, and guided tours.
Upon examination, we realised that the current brand was lacking impact and struggling to achieve cut through with their target audiences. We knew that to achieve the objectives – brand development was very much required! And so, with our best problem-solving heads on, we set to work.
Our Solution
The new brand had to address the issues identified and most importantly reach and resonate with new audiences to increase brand awareness.
As custodians of the city’s heritage, we had to work with the internal team to find balance. The space is a historical one, one which uses iconic aesthetics that are instantly identifiable as being Charles Rennie Mackintosh. That said, the brand had to signify that Mackintosh at the Willow is a modern, viable, self-sustaining business. We began our tried and tested approach to create the brand that the business deserved:
We created a new brand identity out of the venue’s compelling story. This was accompanied by a comprehensive set of brand and tone of voice guidelines and application examples to ensure the brand was protected through proper use.
The brand is now a key asset which has allowed Mackintosh at the Willow to compete on Glasgow’s heritage landscape; one that’s agile enough to work across all areas of the business and resonate with a modern, culturally engaged, domestic and international audience.
