Work: Case Study Made By Mountains
Launched by Mountain BizWorks with support from the Appalachian Regional Commission, this initiative was aimed to boost the economies and communities of WNC by leveraging outdoor recreation and natural assets. We were tasked with rallying stakeholders across 27 unique counties to reveal the very essence of the region–the qualities that stirred the hearts of locals, and had the power to draw in outdoor entrepreneurs and business leaders.
After engaging with a wide spectrum of regional stakeholders and sorting through other primary and secondary research, we zeroed in on two defining insights.
Our first order of business–connect with the locals. If it didn’t feel genuine to those living and working in WNC, it would fail to land and be nothing more than noise. Second, we had to honor the defining relationship between the land and people in WNC. The vibrant, nurturing spirit of Western North Carolina’s mountains that’s inseparable from that of the community.
With that we developed the core name and conceptual story behind the new brand. The Made by Mountains name and its defining premise has energized local and business audiences by highlighting a lifestyle and a culture that is, quite literally, made by mountains.
The story inspired the designs that followed and we landed on a simple, bold, logotype for Made x Mountains, with a color palette sampled from our mountain landscape.
We collaborated with Brevard-based filmmaker Tommy Penick to shoot, edit, and produce a short film that introduced the Made by Mountains story.
Developed for the initiative’s launch, the Made by Mountains website featured long form editorial stories of individuals who work in WNC’s outdoor recreation industry and represent the community’s character and culture. To set Made by Mountains up for success, we shaped and designed an email newsletter program, got social accounts and publishing up and running, created brand guidelines and a digital asset library for WNC-based outdoor recreation organizations to access branding materials, top quality photos, and video cuts.
Since its May 2021 launch, the Made by Mountains program has continued to grow across the region. This new brand united stakeholders across 27 counties and sparked a movement to grow outdoor economies in each and every county. It continues to build momentum through community programming, training, entrepreneurial support, events, content, and more.
