When it comes to ‘keeping it local’ a group of Wānaka and Queenstown creatives have gone the extra mile in a brand video campaign for their client.

Mt Cardrona Station, a 400-hectare Alpine village development on a sunny plateau sitting between the valley township and Cardrona ski area, is creating an alpine village like no other on just 29 hectares of the land.

The rest of the magnificent Central Otago landscape is set aside for homeowners to enjoy, with 30km of professionally engineered walking, biking and hiking trails winding their way through golden tussocks, alongside historic water races and stunning lookout points.

The brief from developers Mt Cardrona Station, which has owned the land since 2004, was to tell the local story of their vision for the land and the village they’re creating.

“Our brief was to go way beyond a standard property ad, bringing to life something that embodied our tagline ‘Home for your adventurous spirit’,” says Mt Cardrona Station co-owner and director Chris Morton.

“The campaign brings to life exactly what that means, how it looks and feels to be out on those trails in such wide-open spaces, with a ski field next door, and yet still have five-star resort style village facilities there too.

“From the beginning we’ve aimed to give people access to the land which even before we owned it had been in private ownership for a very long time. The video is the epitome of the lifestyle we’re creating on the station.”

Charging Queenstown-based strategic branding studio Feast Creative to deliver on a strategy that would tell the story of the station and its people, the stage was set for an innovative and emotive storyline that embraced its local community on so many levels.

“The hero brand piece was born to embody Mt Cardrona’s Station’s core brand proposition ‘Home for your Adventurous Spirit’,” says Feast director Scott Conway.

“Shying away from generic drone shots and library track music, the hero ad has been crafted on showing a ‘day in the life’ on the station and the abundance of adventures to be had, from sunrise to sunset, across every season.”

Three separate shoots over four days combined to produce the nearly two-minute long video, with Wānaka musician Danny Fairley of Mirror Audio providing a bespoke music track just for Mt Cardrona Station.

A stunning holiday home called Two Barns, nestled in the Cardrona Valley, brought to life by interior designer Vee Kessner and lighting director husband Mark, provided the perfect aesthetic for the warm and welcoming interior shoot.

Designed to be sympathetic to the area’s heritage -- as are homes at Mt Cardrona Station -- its protected spaces of light and warmth which are suited to the region’s diverse climate, readily lent themselves to the piece.

Local talent is peppered throughout the video, from two siblings of Olympic gold medallist Zoi Sadowski-Synnott (Dylan and Illume Sadowski-Synnott) enjoying the house and everything it has to offer, to a Queenstown wine tour director on an invigorating walk.

A dinner table scene features wines from Wanaka family-owned company Maude Wines, and Cardrona Distillery’s single malt whisky is clearly the perfect after dinner tipple, an award-winning drop that’s spent five years in oak just down the valley.

Queenstown-based production agency Shotover Media brought its well-recognised video production skills to the campaign, delivering all the ‘wish you were here’ feel goods to the stylish lifestyle piece.

“I love the energy Feast has brought to our proposition through the video; that this is a place for adventure, community and fun,” says Chris Morton. “The hero brand video brings this to life in a way that will excite and engage current and future owners and visitors to the station.

“What we offer at Mt Cardrona Station is much more than property and this comes across so well. It’s an adventurous lifestyle set within a spectacular alpine setting that you can access from your doorstep, complete with luxurious resort-style facilities.”

Many other local businesses, while not featuring in the campaign, are also the bedrock of the whole project. They include award-winning Queenstown company Baxter Design (for its visionary landscaping plans) and Wanaka’s CDL Building, the development’s preferred construction company.

Multi-award-winning Abodo Wood, which has a showcase Cardrona Cabin in the small township, features in the station’s flagship home design The Rose.

Watch the campaign here.

© Scoop Media