Muskoka Grown

Hermès

With the upcoming legalization of Cannabis across Canada, Muskoka Medical Marijuana – their original name - approached us for support. They wanted to better understand their target market in order to launch a consumer-facing brand and carve out a niche for their product offering.

As with many brands, the greatest hurdle to standing out in their category was their ability to articulate their differences to their consumers. We kicked off this project by holding numerous workshops with key stakeholders in order to align the team on their drivers, their passions, and their goals, in order to create an ownable voice and vision. At the same time, we took an in-depth look at the cannabis world around us. California and Colorado had already seen significant success in legalization and there was a wealth of learnings around launching not only a brand but an entire category. Surprisingly, the greatest learning was not a cannabis insight but a brand insight. Where the competition was focused on being a great cannabis brand, success would be found in becoming a great lifestyle brand.

Opening a flagship store for one of the world's top luxury brands requires transforming an ordinary night into an extraordinary one.   

Hermès needed a digital experience that on a functional level allowed users to navigate the night's event and capture the email addresses of those attending. On an inspirational level, the experience needed to embody the event’s feeling and mood while driving guests to explore the night’s magical and enchanting rooms.

Landing on a name that captured our new positioning was the outcome of a remarkably enjoyable workshop. Muskoka Grown was a unanimous favourite amongst the team members as it captured the essence of our Muskoka roots while delivering a layer of next-generation appeal.

When considering the identity, it was necessary to avoid the common pitfalls and clichés of traditional Muskoka – Muskoka chairs, Canadiana, red, blue, and yellow colour palettes. The icon chosen depicts the rising and setting sun/moon reflecting on the lakes of Muskoka. The sun symbolizes life, power, strength, energy, self, and clarity, while the moon is universally representative of the rhythm of time, and embodies immortality and enlightenment. Bringing these elements together in a modern and stylized black and white palette offers a youthful approach that immediately creates an emotional connection with the viewer.

Building off the night's theme of "Unexpected Winter," we combined the delights of a winter wonderland with the curiosity and playfulness of the Hermès brand wildlife to create an experience that delighted and intrigued guests.

Working closely with the development team, we were able to create a particle-based snow animation that reflected a snowy wonderland and helped transition the experience from our overhead map to the individual event pages. Clicking on a pinpoint would take you to a specific location page, while a simple shake of the phone would transport you back to the event’s map. 

Upon site loading, guests were encouraged to shake their phone in order to explore some of the night’s key wildlife. A simple shake would animate the flakes in the shape of a horse, bear, fox and more, bringing an added level of imagination and engagement.

The revised tone of voice reflects the moods and emotions of Muskoka. From its warm August sunsets to its brisk morning waters to its peaceful summer showers, it speaks to more than cannabis - it represents the “better times” of Muskoka.

Photography needed to capture the unhurried, simple, less stressful life. It also needed to reflect the moments and moods of Muskoka, from its clean, crisp sunrises, to its warm, relaxing sunsets, through to its calm nights. While aspirational, the photography needed to feel relatable, evoking an emotional connection with the audience, and a desire within the viewer to be a part of the moment. Authentic people looking off-camera or away from the camera were used to allow the viewer to feel a part of these moments.