Everything the brand needed to say got tested against their specific pain points and motivations instead of a generic profile of “affluent, design-conscious buyers.”
It’s a sharper, memorable display of demographic traits of the target.
Branding · Marketing
Relais Mira Peis
Spring 2026
01 / 09
Overview
Two Audiences, One Story
Relais Mira Peis is a 9-suite, 17th-century boutique hotel in Mirepoix, the historic medieval centre of France. The chateau was being positioned for acquisition by a US buyer.
Our task was to build the property’s first real presence in the American market: to establish a marketing strategy and brand story strong enough to attract the buyer, without alerting potential guests that it was about to change ownership. This constraint shaped the entire brand system, from the brand tone to the assets. We had to craft one message to be interpreted differently by two opposite audiences while maintaining the existing bookings-focused front.
Strategy
VRIO, SWOT, and SEO
A VRIO and SWOT analysis of the property led to the positioning line: Relais Mira Peis as an “aspirational escape.” This messaging reaches the buyer directly while the guest-facing front continued to book as usual.
From this positioning, we implemented this dual-facing rebrand across a comprehensive US digital presence, developed through SEO, earned media, and content strategy.
SWOT
VRIO
Strengths
- Mirepoix’s location & heritage
- Well-established hotel, strong booking reviews
- American ownership
Weaknesses
- Mirepoix is invisible next to better-known “South of France” regions
- Absent from major booking platforms (Expedia, Booking.com) and French real estate aggregators
Value
- Nine oversized suites
- 17th-century textiles
- Accessible-luxury positioning, zero exchange-rate risk for a US buyer
- A dual-courtyard layout unique to the region
Rarity
- The only 4-star boutique in Mirepoix’s medieval centre
- An Occitan name carrying centuries of layered history
- A US-owned LLC structure that lets a US buyer acquire the property without the usual bureaucratic friction
Opportunities
- A quiet, authentic location is a genuine niche
- A growing US segment actively looking to relocate
Threats
- Wealthy buyers often work through existing agent relationships or word-of-mouth, not search
Inimitability
- Founded in 1666, so the structure itself can’t be replicated
- Relais & Châteaux heritage
- A lineage of owners each with their own origin story
- Community relationships that can’t be removed over a sale
Organization
- Minimal US internet presence
- Booking.com as the sole distribution channel
- No earned media & weak SEO
- Inconsistent naming across platforms
- Seasonal-only operating calendar capping revenue
SEO & Channels
Target keywords were built around buyer intent, not just the property name—“chateau for sale south of France,” “southern French Relais properties,” “live in Mirepoix,” “visit Ariège”—along with location terms like “Mirepoix ville” and “Mirepoix centre.” Our channel plan mapped seven platforms [email, website, Instagram, YouTube, Reddit, TripAdvisor, Wikipedia], each assigned a priority level, a search intent, and a specific recommendation for what it needed to carry.
Audience
Alex & Jordan Mercer
We built the Mercers as our working proto-persona.
- A 44 & 42-year-old Silverlake couple weighing a second life chapter.
- Burned out, pulled toward Europe, wanting to host and build something with an identity of its own.
Exploration
3 → 1 options
Three narrative directions were on the table.
Heritage and provenance leaned on the property’s 1666 origin —but— it read inward, explaining why the property was rare without giving a buyer a reason to picture their own life inside it.
Quiet local secret played to the Mercers’ fatigue with performative destinations —but— it worked directly against the SEO goal. Obscurity and discoverability serve as opposites.
Aspirational escape won because it was the only direction serving both goals at once —guest and buyer— without trading one off against the other.
Brand System
Born of Heritage
First, we audited the existing site and Instagram: a missing brand story and inconsistent content across every channel. Each platform was then given its own directive: Instagram for aspirational imagery and owner storytelling, YouTube for long-form property tours and “owning a Relais” content.
01. Logo
The identity itself began with the logo icon: a fish, drawn from the rivers running through Mirepoix, rendered with a playful line to capture the town’s whimsy.
From there, we tested typography and lockups against it, landing on a primary logo, secondary logo, icon, and wordmark.
Logo Icon
Primary Logo
Secondary Logo
Primary Wordmark
Secondary Wordmark
Process: Logo
My sketch process → logo iterations
02. Color Palette
River – #495067
Maroon – #510001
Olive – #5B3A18
Herb – #C9A960
Sky – #B3C3D2
Orange – #C0430E
Cream – #F4EFDC
03. Typography System
04. Materials
Before & After the Rebrand
Before
After
Application
RMP in the Real World
Website
Social Media
Before
Notes: Dot-com era styling, 4+ fonts across different weights, no cohesive branding system.
Before
Notes: Content felt inconsistent, closer to a personal Facebook page than a boutique hotel brand, with no vibe curation.
After
Notes: 2 typeface families and a consistent visual system built around the “aspirational escape” positioning, with a bookings-focused front left intact.
After
Notes: A content calendar and consistent image language; each piece of content ties back to the same atmosphere
Outcome
RMP in the Real World
The strategic package was pitched and presented to the owners, benchmarked against a documented baseline:
- Reposition the brand — from a boutique stay to a lifestyle-driven heritage residence built around immersive living in Mirepoix
- Redesign the digital experience — from booking-first UX to narrative-first storytelling, guiding visitors through place, lifestyle, and ownership
- Establish a cohesive visual identity — replacing inconsistent hospitality imagery with editorial, atmospheric visuals of daily life and community
- Build a search and discovery strategy — owning the Mirepoix/Ariège niche, and expanding into the broader “quiet South of France” territory
- Launch targeted content channels — long-form lifestyle storytelling across Instagram, YouTube, and Reddit, built for American buyers considering a lifestyle transition
- Strengthen buyer credibility — through reviews, earned media, and third-party references that reduce the friction of a purchase decision made from another country
Relais Mira Peis sold on September 15, 2026. Our marketing strategy ended in an acquisition—the clearest validation a positioning strategy can get.
References available upon request