Hotel Alma

Branding a new hotel in a saturated market

When the University of Calgary started construction on Canada’s first on-campus hotel, the property didn’t have a name, let alone a brand. Many stakeholders and community members were skeptical about its ability to succeed in a competitive hospitality market.

I worked with the University of Calgary team and creative directed print and digital designers, marketers, writers, photographers and illustrators to create a fresh, distinctive brand that would reflect the hotel’s location in the vibrant heart of campus.

Hotel Alma—who’s name derived from the collegiate term alma mater—was launched. The name anchored a brand and creative platform that positioned the hotel as a character endowed with the qualities of a trusted colleague, a favoured friend, and the host everyone wants to come home to. An internal and external marketing and communications plan was developed, and over 65 branded marketing tactics and tools were created to target both local and national audiences. 

In all marketing applications Hotel Alma’s voice is down-to-earth, friendly, and slightly cheeky. Though Alma never had a literal voice, the brand voice consistently evoked a real character—entrenching the hotel into university life and the surrounding business community.

project role: Client Manager, Brand Strategy, Creative Director, Designer, Art Director of photography and illustration, Content Development & Writing