Exploring the Mythology of
the Wild West

The Old West and a Couple of Fjords...

The Cariboo Chilcotin Coast stretches from the Pacific Coast to the Cariboo Mountains. It is here that the legendary Wild West lives on—complete with cowboys, cattle drives, a million fishing holes, and even the historic Gold Rush Trail. Adventurers like to paddle the Bowron Lake Provincial Park Canoe Circuit and packhorse trek to the high alpine, where they can raft in thrilling whitewater. (Softer skinned individuals may opt to take in a cowboy museum or book a stay at a local guest ranch.)

The region’s spectacular landscape is a diverse mix of golden plains, craggy peaks, and old growth forests. This only marks the beginning. Visitors to the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast find ancient hoodoos, sand dunes, deep fjords, volcanic mountains, and isolated hot springs. Whether one’s coming to mountain bike, fish, kayak, or just explore, there’s plenty to be had here.

Added Options Make a Story Harder to Tell

The Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Tourism Association needed a website that would attract new visitors, entice repeat visits, and increase bookings with the region’s operators. Some might mistake this for a simple exercise, given the area’s rich history and epic settings. In actuality, their broad offering had led to disparity in their overall marketing.

This challenge was amplified by the wide number of audiences being targeted. In an effort to appeal to everyone, their overall messaging had become watered-down. This left many potential visitors to rely upon (sometimes amateurish) operator websites. As it stood, there was little effective storytelling going on, and their audience wasn’t being reached as it should have been.

The organization wanted to ensure that the region was presented as a world-class, all-season, destination with a unique and diverse offering. They felt it imperative to convey that in this area, visitors would find an experience like no other, bringing home stories they would tell over and over. We needed to find a way to build a dialogue with visitors and afford a visually-rich experience, through a structure that would accommodate existing content and future additions.

One Thing... Just One Thing

Paris is known for the Eiffel tower; Egypt for the pyramids; and, Disneyland for Mickey’s ears. Sure, there’s more to these places than their most notable icons, but these remain in our minds. As it stood, The Cariboo Chilcotin Coast wanted to be all things, with only a small fraction of Disney’s marketing budget. Therefore, we asked them to instead get really narrow and concentrate on their unique western qualities.

Doing so helped us achieve a few different things. First, it lent cohesiveness to the language used, stories told, and visuals employed. It also strengthened their value proposition, making them distinct from other regions, while allowing them to showcase themselves as an adventure destination for those wishing to connect with their inner “cowboy” (or cowgirl). The concept accommodates all aspects of the region’s offering while conveying the unique flair of the area.

To further this approach, we suggested employing first-person storytelling, wherever possible, to engage readers. Our belief was that by using stories to describe the region and its offerings, we’d educate and entertain visitors at the same time. Meanwhile, we explored creating some small motion pieces (employing Flash) to help depict the action and excitement to be found in the area.

A Virtual Campfire and an “Adventure Park”

Two key concepts (informed by the “wild west”) are present in the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast’s marketing. The first is of a virtual campfire. This is found in the high-impact, content-rich site, in which we concentrate on telling real stories about the people, area, and experiences to be had. Given the needs of the association’s stakeholders, all of this was supported on the back-end with easily editable member listings, helping operators better connect with potential customers.

The second is a whimsical take on theme-park thrill rides, ranging from kayakers in a Tilt-A-Whirl, to horseback riders on a Carousel. All of this is brought together through a decidedly rugged, western aesthetic comprised of embossed leather, vintage ornaments, weathered tones, and detailed (sometimes even quaint) treatments.

The finished assets communicate messages of adventure, storytelling, and the old west that entertain and inform the reader in an adventurous, fun, and authentic way. This is particularly important for an area working to build up their core business amongst city dwellers. Those with an adventurous spirit that desire a unique getaway—without line-ups, or pretension—will find it in this Wild West playground.