Studio Output brands Thomas Cook snow festival

Studio Output is creating the branding, marketing materials and website for Thomas Cook’s new skiing and music event, The Big Snow Festival.

The holiday company, which will launch the festival in September, appointed Studio Output in April without a pitch, on the recommendation of one of the consultancy’s other clients, Ministry of Sound, which works on music events with Thomas Cook.

Thomas Cook briefed Studio Output to create a brand that would ‘make winter sports more accessible than other festivals such as Snowbombing’, according to Studio Output studio manager Laura Newman-Cardwell.

‘Thomas Cook has seen a gap in the market for people who go to Ibiza and Magaluf in the summer, but who could also be going on a skiing, clubbing holiday,’ says Studio Output project manager Gemma Ballinger.

The consultancy is using an illustrative style for the branding, and is creating skiing, snowboarding and yeti characters that could be animated on the website.

‘The branding is bold and statement-making, while the artwork is playful and has a friendly, unfinished feel, targeted at Thomas Cook’s 18- to 30-year-old audience,’ says Newman-Cardwell.

Studio Output is working on fliers, posters, a website complete with newsfeed on the homepage, a 24-28-page laminated gatefold event guide and banners, T-shirts and bags.

The website will launch in early September, and the festival will take place in mid-March 2010.