Hotel Versey

Branding a hotel in the middle of everything that Chicago loves about Chicago.

The Loop has the highest concentration of hotels in a single Chicago neighborhood. And sure, that’s where Chicago is working, but is that where we’re really living? With an unexpected location in the heart of Chicago’s north side, our new client was uniquely poised to own the versatility that comes with truly being in the center of it all.

The Hotel Versey is an independent boutique hotel located in the heart of Chicago’s diverse north side neighborhoods.
Naming, Brand development, Campaign Development, Art Direction, Design, Copywriting
Point B Communications is a boutique, full-service brand and advertising agency in Chicago’s West Loop

Inviting guests to do as the locals do.

Our key learning was that travelers seek out authentic experiences that are intrinsically of a city, not simply in it.

Dogs from Weiner’s Circle before the first pitch of the Cubs game. A slow afternoon of quick laughs over microbrews at DryHop.

Local experiences that bring visitors face-to-face with the real Chicago, and the real people that live here.

Pulling the identity through.

Energetic, colorful, straightforward yet full of possibility–and a little unexpected. These ideas are the driving momentum of the Chicago vibe, and were the primary inspiration driving the visual and voice development of Hotel Versey.

Introducing guests to the neighbors.

Central to five of Chicago’s most popular neighborhoods, Hotel Versey took the distinctive position of celebrating the diverse personalities that define each one.

A variety of neighborhood guides, on-property activations and partnerships ensured Hotel Versey (and our guests) stayed at the center of a unique Chicago story.

Developing a voice that goes further than da bears.

Hotel Versey’s voice, like the voice of Chicago itself, is familiar and energetic–your local guide who’s down for whatever vibe you want.

At its core, grounded in presence and the experiential. In execution, natural and carefully avoidant of local tropes.

(Yes, no ketchup on hot dogs and Urlacher has hair now. We get it.)

Bringing the concept home.

We used our overarching ‘Stay Like a Local’ brand position as a launchpad for an advertising campaign that connected our core strength–ease of proximity– to the joy of authentic experience.

Picturing life on Chicago’s north side.

With a budget that prioritized value, ensuring our imagery captured the same authenticity as our voice was a creative challenge that we met with an innovative approach.

This was applied through an intentionally curated mix of licensed and royalty-free imagery as well as streamlined, small-scoped micro shoots around the city.

A local campaign with reach.

Our key target was transient leisure travelers visiting for specific local events and often at the invitation of a local proxy host.

This local host, usually a friend or family member unable to physically host their guest, became a secondary target.

By targeting the local host with hyper-local CTA advertising, and both with event & experiential retargeting units, we ensured there was always an easy answer to “Im coming to see you–where should I stay?”