Hospitality · Brand
Jackmont Hospitality
Making the company people experienced match the company people saw.
Challenge
The company had changed. Its brand hadn't.
Before I returned to Jackmont Hospitality, I noticed a disconnect between the organization presented on its website and the company I came to know.
Jackmont was a growing, multistate hospitality operator. Younger alumni were returning in leadership roles. The company was experimenting with live entertainment, investing in communities, and welcoming families.
But its corporate identity communicated something more traditional and conservative.
With the CEO focused on growth, that gap mattered. Prospective partners would encounter Jackmont's brand before meeting its people.
I wanted those experiences to match.
Discovery
I started with people, not design.
I asked returning leaders why they came back, what they valued, and what they believed Jackmont stood for.
“Work hard, play hard” surfaced consistently.
But beneath that energy was something more important. Jackmont cared about its guests, understood the communities it served, and treated hospitality as something beyond a restaurant transaction.
People wanted to be recognized, welcomed, and treated like people.
That was the company our identity needed to express.
Decisions
Building support for change.
A brand refresh wasn't part of my original assignment.
I partnered with our new HR Director, a returning company alumnus, and pitched the idea to the CEO.
We continued making the case for approximately a year.
This wasn't simply about an outdated website. The people, business, and ambitions had evolved. Our public identity needed to reflect that.
Eventually, the CEO said, "OK. Do it."
New Thought Marketing became our creative partner.
Execution
Respect the history. Reveal the people.
The existing mountain logo had a history.
I researched the Jackson family's mountain home in Blue Ridge, Georgia, gathered family photographs, and worked through the sensitivities of changing something with personal significance.
The blue mountain evolved into a textured red mark inspired by a folded napkin, preserving the mountain shape while bringing hospitality into the identity.
We also reimagined executive photography.
Visitors could see the formal leader, then discover a more personal side through an interactive portrait featuring sports, music, flowers, or another interest.
The goal was simple: let people encounter the humans behind the company.
Systems
Design for how the business actually works.
While working with the branding firm, I was also managing Jackmont’s day-to-day marketing.
I knew what leadership needed because I was responsible for producing it.
Different business opportunities required different information. I didn’t want a conventional brochure filled with material irrelevant to the recipient. I also didn’t want every important meeting to require another design-and-print project.
So I developed a modular presentation packet with interchangeable hard-stock inserts.
We could customize it for restaurant operations, airport concessions, and different executive audiences.
A package could be assembled in approximately 20 minutes, without starting over.
Outcome
A brand the business could use.
The refreshed identity gave Jackmont a more coherent way to present its people, history, hospitality philosophy, and business capabilities.
The materials became part of executive meetings, airport concession packages, and business development conversations during a period of growth.
I wouldn't claim the refresh caused Jackmont's expansion.
What I can say is that we created an identity and presentation system better equipped to support the business it was becoming.
Operating Principle: Understand the business deeply enough to design for what comes next.
A beautiful deliverable can solve an immediate problem. A thoughtfully designed system can solve the recurring one.
