Place branding · Slavsko municipality
Slavsko — Mountains of Experiences
The first time in Ukraine a local municipality didn't just commission a logo but went for full-scale branding and a long-running ad campaign — the way big commercial brands do it.
The challenge
Slavsko was already a tourist hub back in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Under the Soviet Union it boomed even more: in 1968 Anatolii Arkhanhelskyi opened up Mount Trostian and started building lodges and ski lifts. Before that, skiing was an elite sport — about the only place to do it was the Caucasus. Slavsko made it accessible: hop on a local train and you're on the slope.
All was well until Bukovel — Ukraine's big modern ski resort — came along. That's where the success story ends. With no real infrastructure or service, Slavsko was soon seen as a resort from the past — a place with nothing to do.
The community saw the challenge and set out to fight for its place on the tourist map. A great example of local government that actually gets things done.
Step 1
Research first
It took time and money, but it was worth it. The first thing we saw: far fewer people knew about Slavsko than anyone thought. The resort had simply been forgotten — so job one was awareness.
Second — attitude. Today's Slavsko scores badly on everything, but the memories from childhood and youth are wonderful. And those memories sparked a very real wish to come back and feel that vibe again.
The takeaway for strategy: lean hard into a reimagined vibe of Soviet-era Ukraine, give the communication an Alpine-meets-Soviet style, and invite people back to that wonderful childhood when nothing bugged us and everything was a blast.
Step 2 · The idea
Slavsko — Mountains of Experiences!
The line carries a double meaning: there really are mountains here — and there really are mountains of things to experience. All the communication grew out of it, right down to the ad adaptations.
The mountains in the logo are built from the pixel pattern of a vyshyvanka, the Ukrainian embroidered shirt — a local code you read at first glance.
Step 3 · Identity
We started with illustrations, not the logo
We wanted to get a feel for the visual style first, and only then move on to the logo and brand book. We often work this way — on a lot of projects it makes sense. We liked the illustrations, and everything else grew out of them.
Step 4 · Roll-out
The brand hit the slopes
Logo, brand book and merch — because what's a resort without merch? Then the brand moved into the place itself: flags on the slopes and wayfinding signs with trail maps.
Step 5 · Communication
A brand without communication is like a car that just sits in the garage
We shot a winter commercial to remind people what Trostian feels like. Then an autumn one, to show a completely different vibe. Plus a few dozen short videos about Slavsko's hidden gems.
Need a brand that works?
Research, strategy, identity and communication — we go all the way rather than just drawing a logo.