Challenge

When Nick Valenti of Restaurant Associates joined forces with LA-based celebrity chef Joachim Splichal, they created a hospitality group with over 60 restaurants and other food service operations. With bicoastal headquarters, numerous subdivisions and diverse offerings, Patina Restaurant Group was having an identity crisis. Our challenge was to help PRG define their corporate values, craft a unified message and communicate to multiple audiences, including a younger, more sophisticated demographic.

Action

Given the size and complexity resulting from the merger of two businesses, a strategic approach was essential. Mucca conducted interviews with the two partners, as well as senior management, gaining an understanding of their vision and consensus among the team. Through research and analysis, we distilled the client’s multiple personalities and created a brand positioning statement that defined the company’s core identity. This identity was expressed through a visual system inspired by the client’s involvement with fine arts organizations and their conviction that cooking is essentially a creative endeavor. The hand-painted letters of the PRG mark evoke this creativity, incorporating colors that have a fresh, organic quality straight from the farmers’ market. In contrast, the logotype is clean, modern and authoritative. Essential to the project’s success was the redesign of the website, a key communication channel and marketing tool for the company. Our design vastly improved the user experience and reflects a sense of lifestyle and culinary artistry, a hallmark of their new mission statement.

Results

We successfully repositioned PRG as a unified restaurant group that combines the passion and personal attention of an boutique business with the resources and professionalism of a national conglomerate.

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