Opinion BY Armin

Walibi Rocks

First opened to the public in 1975 in Wavre, Belgium (near Brussels) by Eddy Meeùs, Walibi is a family of amusement parks with locations in the original Wavrens, two in France, one in Holland, and a water park counterpary in Belgium as well, called Aqualibi. The name comes from a combination of three towns: Wavre, Limal, and Bièrges — the kangaroo character reportedly came after Meeùs’ son noticed that a wallaby looked like a kangaroo. The parks were purchased by Six Flags in 1998, then sold to British investment company Palamon Capital Partners in 2004, then to Compagnie des Alpes in 2006, who own a wide range of amusement parks across Europe. Earlier this year, Walibi unveiled a complete new look and Walibi-themed universe in collaboration with multiple specialists in animation, marketing, merchandising, and more. The identity was designed by FigTree in Paris. The site NewsParcs has the complete story in detail.

A great, in-depth look at the whole process.

The main idea is to create a whole music-based story around Walibi, who has a band called W.A.B. (Walibi’s Adventures Band). He also has a twin brother who is his opposite and has a band called The Skunx. They battle. Musically. It may not be your grown-up idea of fun, but this ain’t for you, it’s for teenagers. There are also movie spin-offs and concerts in development. Everything looks well realized and the villains look like fun.

Walibi, left, and his more evil twin brother Squad, right.

Walibi’s bandmates, Zenko, Fibi, and Haaz.

Squad’s evil bandmates, Motiv (how awesome are his shoes?!) and Loco.

Costumes. Creepy, but less so than Barney the purple dinosaur.

Regarding the logo… The old one was more Wally World than world-class, twenty-first century entertainment, so the revitalized look is much needed. And it’s pretty cool too. The Walibi dude is a little too slick for me, but that’s not a demerit at all, just personal preference. The custom wordmark is energetic, fun, and very well executed. The “W” has enough of a superhero look and I bet it looks great on a t-shirt. Overall, this is a great overhaul of a 25-year-old brand that doesn’t only make design sense but will probably be excellent business too.

Thanks to Marc Nijborg for the tip.

Many thanks to our ADV @ UnderConsideration Partners