Austin-based Padre Island Development, LLC, had the blessing of size – over 800 acres of extraordinary land interwoven with natural waterways, a lagoon, and amazing access to the Gulf of Mexico, all just a 20 minute drive from Corpus Christi. For this project – envisioned as a potential 15 to 20 year build-out, in order to craft the concepts, guest and resident experience, and brand that would bring it to life, all based on a meticulously developed and informed market metrics – they turned to IDEAS.
Using IDEAS’ proprietary Culture Mapping technique, input was gathered first from the Corpus Christi community thought leaders whose voices would influence the success of any development on North Padre Island. The resulting work provided a clear picture of the “actuals” – how the community felt, thought, and believed.
Next, using StoryJam™, IDEAS’ proprietary creative development process, IDEAS defined the characters, setting, emotion, and action dimensions of a new kind of gulf coast resort and residential destination. The results were a complete “story bible”, new lexicon, design standards, and a clear description of the “optimals” that would make the new development an aspirational choice.
Driven by the story and both qualitative and quantitative research provided by our partners on the project, Ypartnership, a new brand was designed. “The Island Resort” evolved into The Destination Villages of Upper Padre, an extraordinary, unique offer of Texas Gulf Coast casual elegance focused on the natural beauty of the Gulf of Mexico. With the brand architecture clear, a year-long process of building the Upper Padre guest experience began. The results were a finished program that drove master planning, architectural design, operational planning, and marketing across every critical point of touch.
As part of the guest experience design, IDEAS created a three volume experience design document, a portfolio of pre-launch marketing media, and a complete brand lexicon and naming construct. In the next phase of the work, IDEAS will tackle the design development and turnkey of the Upper Padre Discovery Center – an immersive preview of Upper Padre for guests and residents.
The Destination Villages of Upper Padre will redefine how Texans and people the world over think about vacations, leisure, and quality of life.
