Belmont Park
www.belmontpark.com
Belmont Park, an iconic San Diego destination, went through its first park-wide rebrand in 100 years. I led the strategy for this project. Today, the park embodies its unique blend of San Diego culture, nostalgia, and modern fun, making it a must-do for locals and tourists alike.
Research
Stakeholder Engagement
Brand Strategy
Creative Brief
Brand Identity
Photography
-
As it approached its 100th anniversary, Belmont Park needed to refresh its brand – its first-ever park-wide rebrand. Visitors to San Diego, as well as locals, usually overlooked Belmont Park in favor of other internationally-known tourist attractions. But Belmont Park has it all – beach, food, games, rides, entertainment, history. It needed to become a must-do destination for anyone visiting San Diego, and a place for all generations of locals to gather and have good times. And, it needed to lean into its most important differentiator: its San Diego’s version of the beachside, boardwalk amusement park.
"We felt the essence of Belmont Park had been missing from our brand identity for a number of years," says Steve Thomas, General Manager of Belmont Park. "There's so much here that enables us to be a pillar of the community in San Diego for tourists and locals alike – from the entertainment of the rides to the tasty food to the beachfront location. Yet we felt we were being overlooked. We wanted our new identity to help us create that connection with people so that everyone feels welcome."
Belmont Park also needed to create a consistent brand experience across the park: "There was no strong brand presence," said Alex Blair, strategy director. "The best thing about Belmont Park is that there's something for everyone, but each vendor had its own look and feel; there was no sense of unity between them. We knew that to elevate the customer experience, we had to bring everything together so that it felt cohesive while still leaving enough room for each ride and vendor to have its own personality."
During our research and strategy, we uncovered a core belief and market opportunity for the brand – their unfair advantage – and went all in to create a unique and powerful brand identity and positioning around this insight. Now they have a core essence to their brand that anyone can immediately see.
-
We conducted in-person interviews throughout the park, and it became clear what the superpower of the brand was:
“This is what I imagined California would look and feel like.” – Visitor
“Locals love San Diego, and tourists love San Diego.” – Steve ThomasWhat really shone through is how Belmont Park is ideally positioned to embody San Diego through memorable, exciting, and quintessential California experiences. Nowhere else can compete with that. Using this lens, we wanted to create a fresh and modern brand that leaned into the emotional connection between the park and its visitors.
We created a brand strategy, identity, and taglines focused on Belmont Park’s place as San Diego’s beachfront amusement park, positioning the brand to become a must-do for locals and tourists.
-
The new brand identity is brought to life in the park, at its most iconic spots greeting visitors and guiding them through their visit. Their new merch line showcases the new brand identity as well – hoodies, t-shirts, and more. The brand system also helped provide a consistent experience throughout the park.
The rebrand attracted widespread attention, enthusiasm, and excitement in San Diego and Southern California – now the park embodies San Diego as well as its unique blend of nostalgia and modern entertainment.
“It was amazing to work with the BLVR team on this project. Its such an honor to be apart of the team that brings the San Diego spirit to life through the Belmont Park brand!”
