From caterpillar to butterfly
Ruf Lanz have designed an image campaign for the Swiss Youth Hostels, which is intended to make the expansion of the network with "top category" establishments known to the general public.
With the image campaign, the SJH want to convey a new image of the youth hostels that is adapted to reality. "We have invested enormously in recent years," explains Fredi Gmür, CEO of the SJH. "The public image of the youth hostels has not changed to the same extent, and we want to make up for that with this campaign."
The changes in the youth hostels are extensive: already many years ago, any age limits and evening lights out were abolished and guests no longer have to sleep in their sleeping bags, as comforters and bed linen are provided. The range of rooms has also been expanded to include family and double rooms in addition to the familiar shared rooms. Nevertheless, observations showed that the notion of mass beatings with compulsory sleeping bags and age restrictions is still widespread. The SJH wants to counteract this discrepancy with the image campaign.
The core element of the image campaign is ad placements in major Swiss Sunday newspapers. The ads consist of two different subjects, each showing a person in a sleeping bag. Due to a special draping and position, the images are reminiscent of caterpillars. The caption establishes the connection to the SJH, whose development is compared to the pupation of a caterpillar into a butterfly. In addition to the advertisements, the campaign will be launched on social media channels, integrated into customer communications and accompanied by various measures at the POS. The measures are initially scheduled to run for two years.
