CompetitorCatalogueDescriptions

Rustic Pathways: Catalogue Review

Content, Formatting, Offers · Language · Style · Credibility

Content, Formatting, Offers

The catalogue automatically jumps into the inside spread and the table of contents. It prioritizes organization and clarity right off the bat. Each section has a corresponding page number next to it. The table of contents goes as follows:

- Welcome - More Than a Summer Experience - Vision - Who Travels with Rustic Pathways? - Team - List of countries - Financial Aid - Spring Break Programs - Safety - Group Travel - Responsible Travel - Gap Year Program - Community Service - Frequently Asked Questions - Study Learning - Next Steps

Welcome section includes a couple of paragraphs that briefly explain Rustic Pathways’ offerings and mission. The Vision section has a similar style, but includes a fold out map demonstrating all of the places Rustic Pathways travels to:

- Australia - Fiji Islands - Peru - Burma - Ghana - Tanzania - Cambodia - India - Thailand - China - Laos - United States - Costa Rica - Mongolia - Vietnam - Dominican Republic - Morocco

Team has several pages of all of the Rustic staff with pictures, bios and credentials. This alludes transparency and hence trustworthiness. It’s personable, adds personality and blends credibility in the sense of both likeability and professionalism. Financial Aid a few ways one can apply, but it’s not extensive. There are steps for risk management (Safety, Responsible Travel), so that it seems like they’ve formulated appease parents. Their overall format develops a pattern thus evoking, even further a sense of consistency, which makes their readers feel comfortable.

The Community Service section breaks down community initiatives, student learning (paragraph explains this), community service hours, and areas of focus (education, infrastructure, environment, community health, and economic development). Each area of focus is sub-divided with more specifics. Each focus has an assigned symbol, which are later allotted to different types of trips as a sort of key. They signify what offerings are in each trip.

More Than a Summer Experience condenses more information. Who Travels with Rustic Pathways? Has bios of travelers in Instagram posts in a grid pattern, which is in the style of Instagram. Excellent photography. Hip and young. Family testimonies. List of countries is another table of contents of sorts. It then delves into a complete section for each country. The country has a two page spread with a beautiful photo evoking the feel of that place. After that each country follows a similar format. population, capital city, currency, language, attractions, then staff bios, service focuses, quotations from

staff and alumni, program offers, photos, financial and age group information, travel dates, service, length). Consistent and clear. Always has a wide array of excellent photos.

Spring Break Programs include Costa Rica, Dominican Republic (2 programs), and U.S. Two programs per page. Similar format otherwise to above programs, more simplistic

Group Travel has “Rustic Pathways Groups” marketing a “holistic approach” with facts in order to provide more assurance and information. It also has six themes of travel: Beyond service, curriculum based, cultural exploration, local immersion, pushing boundaries, schools to schools. These lists are made to assure prospective travelers and parents that everything is planned and has a moral code.

Gap Year Program are more 1-page offerings of different trips. After the fact offerings. It says why you should do it and its’ components: Service and adventure, Spanish language immersion, Road trip semester, Internship semester. Frequently asked questions – self-explanatory. What’s next? (Next steps) displays social media platforms, lists next open house, link for online and how to enroll.

Language Speaks directly to audience. Identifies potential travels by including phrases like, “Perfect for” ___________ ex: trailblazers, service buffs. Readers can internalize, “Oh, that’s me!” And urge to fit within that in-group. Also bolsters each country’s and trip’s marketing with language. Labels the trips with hip names rather than mere descriptions, such as “Epic Outback.” Finally, #sorustic reinforces branding.

Style Lots of photos and color. Imagery is bright and vivid, but also color codes each country with adhering font. Follows a grid-like, almost Instagram style layout. Very organized: clear, consistent and follows an unwavering pattern, which the reader can be familiarized with right away. Symbols for trip component is friendly and easy to read.

Credibility Very personable. Relates well to millennials. It’s transparent. The amount of testimonies and bios helps. Instagram photos posted by students make it seem authentic and hands on.

Summer Fuel: Catalogue Review



The cover is completely light blue. It is simple, made of hard stock, and has its logo in the middle in silver. The first pages are all blue with “2016” and a quick blurb about the program. The second page is a picture of two students, one boy and one girl. It’s light and sunny feeling, slightly out of focus.

After that the catalogue quickly transitions to outline its four types of programs. There’s pre-college, study abroad, college prep, and social entrepreneurship. The schools are listed under each. Only study abroad would be a true competitor for The Experiment. Summer Fuel is mostly about prepping young professionals for college and/or the work world.

“Why Summerfuel” goes into a list of reasons why you should pick them. On the page next to it a girl looks up as if thinking about applying. It evokes curiosity. The page after is a world map with color-coded dots assigned to each type of the four programs. Thereafter the book is divided into the 4 program sections.

Pre-college is all yellow. Each type is sub-divided into locations such as Boston or Berkley. Each city follows the same format:

- Picture taking up entire page with city name over it, lower left hand corner: dates, price, age, program schedule

- Second page: half picture, send half blub - Third: “your summer home” (campus description), sample day schedule, academics,

suggested academic tracks, picture - Fourth: activities and trips, included excursions, course offerings, pictures

The study abroad section’s theme is red. It generally has the same format as the pre-college trip.

College admissions is all green and has a different first page than the first two programs. It says “get results” and has a list of various ways to prep, “learn from those who know” (advisors/experts), and a sample schedule. From there each of the trips are divided by place and has dates, prices, age, housing, dining…

Social entrepreneurship has a couple of pages of overall program information and then two locations after. It says “create solutions” with a list of different topics, a sample schedule, and then more offerings. Georgetown and Stanford, the two locations have: blurb, cost, dates, included trips, after class, weekends, and pictures. The last pages has ways to apply and get in contact. “Let’s do this.”

Language - Phrases like “your summer home” try to familiarize the reader. Each program is abbreviated.

Style - Summery and light. Lots of bright fuzzy pictures, but really only of the students themselves. Color codes everything, but it’s overly bright and not comfortable to look at. Feels cheesy.

Credibility - Instills identification for the students. The parents probably feel good reading it, because it’s all about academics. The teachers have lots of credentials. Testimonials.

Where There Be Dragons: Catalogue Review



Cover is horizontal, not vertical like a book. It intermixes cloud-like sketching with a photo of a lake. The dragon around a circle logo is opaque so that you can see the lake photo through it. The color maroon is in the title. This instills color identification. The inside cover spread has a quotation and a cite picture of silhouettes of people standing on a hike overlooking body of water, which reflects the sunset. It’s mystical and feels like “Where the Wild Things Are.” Adventurous.

Table of contents has a group staff photo and is then divided on the opposite page by “what type of dragon are you?” This urges the reader to identify with the program; summer, gap, college-accredited. Next section, our story has a photo of a little boy on the back of a motor cycle looking back towards the camera. This matches the quotation on the page. Includes the story of the founder in Beijing – strong ties.

What makes it a Dragons course? Talks about program offerings and how they’re different. They have unique itineraries, know that change doesn’t happen overnight, while promising to bring each student the most authentic experience they can. The student to instructor ratio is 4:1. There are pictures paneled along bottom of page with opaque waves/cloud and picture framing on top.

Our core values section illustrates the symbols allocated for each of their values: Global citizenship, leadership & skill-building, self-exploration. Sub values are under each core value. The reinforcement of morals helps to encourage readers to trust the organization.

Continent sections subdivided by country. Each follows this pattern of formatting and delivery of information: with Asia (then Chine) as the example:

- Left page – grid, outline of Earth’s continents with picture of sea and boats, quotation - Right – blue. Description in center of page in white font - China – Mandarin Language Intensive, China – The Silk Road, […}, Myanmar –

Development Studies & Social Transformation - Each trip has one page and follows same format - A banner picture at the top with country name, type of program and length as sub-headers - Underneath ^ number of days, description dates, ages and symbols of program component

emphases - Underneath ^ Program overview with description and a quotation from a past participant. - On either side of the paragraphed text there is a drawn map of the location with picture on the

other side - All of the sections are color-coded. Ex: Asia is blue. Along the edge of the page it’s blue with

the country and time of year so that you can flip through and find the program easily

Middle of the book outlines all program offerings in a table. Two-page spread. Divided by location/program type – 4 sections à Asia (Purplish blue), Latin America (Purple), Africa & Middle East (Blue), and Gap Year (Green). Sub-sections divided by program type (focus). Focuses and countries are assessed on the vertical column by the program component (rugged travel, home-stay, language study…). Marked with number of checks à key ranks the checks by low, moderate and high. Other components are ranked by number of days, hours, length of hikes, and dates. Also includes if it includes college credit,

the dates, ages and page number so you can flip back. Good to quickly compare programs and pick the good one for you in an easy way!

College – Accredited Study Abroad is completely muted yellow over page. White and black font. Explains “dragons’ study abroad”. Partnership with Naropa University. Their study abroad faculty – credibility “4+ years of in-country experience”. Outlines study abroad programs – places à Andes & Amazon, China: South of the Cloud, Himalayan Studies, and Visions of India à with quite blurbs underneath. Offers class credit. Course options à four types with blurbs à The Regional Seminar, Contemplative Intercultural Development & Leadership, Independent Study Project (ISP), and Language Study

Risk Management has a quote from a parent. Claim that they want students to have an authentic, challenging experience, but they have risk management systems in place à find a balance between real travel and immersion, but still keeping parents at ease. Back up their claim with “four foundational aspects of risk management system” with blurbs: We Hire Experienced Instructors, We Have a Robust Network of In-Country Resources, We Place a Premium on Professional Development, We Have a 24/7 Support Team in Boulder. A couple more paragraphs, then a bolded offer to be contacted about any concerns

Our instructors has a picture, credentials, paragraph about their instructor. Back Cover is all orange, has logo, quotation, symbols of program components, contact info, succinct and sticks to branding

Language “Be a dragon” identification. Uses pretty almost poetic yet conversational language. Sticks with branding.

Style Opaque clouds. Mysticism. Authenticity. Strong country ties.

Credibility Table in the middle of the book fakes credibility. An infographic well-used. Lists credentials of staff. Relationships in other countries. Infographics and transparency. They are realistic with their claims and don’t pretend to know everything. Always learning. Open-minded.

National Geographic Student Expeditions: Catalogue Review



Its format is set apart due to its magazine-style format. The cover is a picture of students holding up a National Geographic Society flag dressed in winder apparel in front of a rocky mountain. The inside cover spread includes a letter from the executive vice president on ½ of photo of a student taking a picture Yellowstone. They offer high school and middle school programs. Middle Schoolers go to Italy, France and Spain, Costa Rica, Belize, Australia, and Alaska. High School includes four types of trips:

Expeditions: America’s SW, Alaska, Belize, Cuba, Ecuador and the Galapagos, Argentina and Chile, Peru, Iceland, Switzerland and France, Italy and Greece, Ireland, Tanzania, Namibia, Bali, New Zealand, Australia, India, China

University Workshops: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Colorado Boulder

Community Service: Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Peru, Hawaii, Fiji, Thailand, Nepal, Tanzania

Photography Workshops: Yellowstone, Edinburgh, Prague, Paris, Barcelona

National Geographic experts, trip leaders, student experiences, scholarship information, how to apply, more ways to travel with Nat Geo, terms and conditions, trip calendar.

About Our Trips: pgs. 4-6. There is a quote of a student testimony and a group photo of a group that went to Thailand underneath. Other page has picture framing on the top and bottom with three pictures from trips each. Sub headers include “innovative programs”, “access to the experts”, etc. and paragraphs underneath to elaborate and support credibility.

Choose Your Experience: 6-8. Type of programs are color coded (expeditions = blue) and have symbols for areas of focus: photography, wildlife & biodiversity, archaeology & ancient culture, creative writing, film & video, cultural geography, marine & tropical conservation, climate & geology.

National Geographic Experts: 8-10. There’s a featured photo of a leader climbing down the wall in nat geo spirit. Second page has bios with photos.

Trip Leaders: 10-12. Bolsters the experts section with an addition to the experts – the trip leaders distinguishing the two.

Student Experiences: 12. Three paragraphs review personal experiences from three students. A picture of students looking out the back of a trip on the top.

Scholarship Program: 13. Doesn’t say much. Refers readers to website.

Trip Descriptions: 14-69. Each location has two pages. Color coded to type of program. Expeditions includes picture, trip highlights, description, itinerary, areas of focus (with symbols), dates & tuition, expert bio for that trip, map, and quote. Sections are merely divided by color coding and tab labeling them by program type. University Workshop and Community Service follows the same format. Photography Workshop only has one page per location. But includes same basic info.

Middle School Programs, a new addition has the same format but is more simplified. There are two countries squeezed onto each page and merely lists the focuses, highlights, description, dates & tuition, and experts.

How to Apply: 70-72. Two page spread includes steps on how to apply, eligibility, group size and composition, transportation details, photography and filming, expectations, and more on the website, which solicits readers to follow social, read blog posts and sign up for the email newsletter.

More Ways to Travel with Nat Geo: 72. Can also travel with your family!

Terms and Conditions: 73. Fine print details of rules and eligibility.

Trip Calendar: 74-75. Color coded table of dates per program and location.

Back Cover Picture of a big tortoise. “Get out and Explore!”

Language – Good branding of places. In table of contents each expedition has a sub-header. Ex: Iceland: Land of Fire and Ice. Simple language.

Style – opacity: there are many graphics, text boxes and more that are opaque over a photo in order to highlight text but not disrupt the photo. Student-centric. All about adventure and learning. Clouds, sky. A toned-down and less intense version of National Geographic. Student magazine.

Credibility – Nat Geo already has solid credibility. The experts are selection from experts in their field. Student testimony supplicates.

Putney Student Travel: Catalogue Review



Cover includes a good photo of a girl on a boat. Inside cover spread has a few photos, a letter and picture of the directors, and various highlighted reasons as to why someone should pic Putney: 65 years of experience, outstanding leaders, innovative programming, personal attention, positive group dynamics, high expectations, hands-on learning, a philosophy of good stewardship. Pictures has a distinguished layout.

Attend a Presentation has a photo of Australia with locations listed. What’s Inside has the table of contents: Putney celebrating 65 years, student stories, meet our leaders, (five program areas) pre-college staff, scholarship opportunities, meet the Putney directors, dates; details & tuitions, how to apply, our collaboration with National Geographic.

65 years of experience has a vertical timeline of their history. Student Stories has three students with a quote, picture, and location. Outstanding Leaders has a couple of paragraphs talking about where their leaders come from.

Delves right into five program types. Community Service is color coded with green. It has pictures that highlight education, the environment and outdoor work. The sub headers say: “Change at the Local Level”, “Cultural Connections”, and “Your Challenge”. They try to emphasize the importance of hard work and authenticity – this is not vacation. From there the spreads have a photo on one page with a quote and two locations on the next with the trip title, location, grades, duration, dates, departure, tuition, trip highlights, picture, and description. Places include: Fiji, Vietnam, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Ecuador & The Galapagos, Peru, Ghana, Tanzania, The Indian Himalaya, India, and Nepal.

Sections are only divided by color. Language Learning is yellow. It also has big pictures and the sub headers of “Full Immersion”, “Authentic Interaction”, and “Your Challenge”. Same format. Places include: Spain, France, Costa Rica, and Ecuador & The Galapagos,

Cultural Exploration is blue: “Active Adventure”, “Authentic Immersion” and “reative Focus”. Trips/places: Switzerland, Italy, France, & Holland; Australia, New Zealand, & Fiji; Nicaragua & Costa Rica; Skiing in Patagonia; Iceland; Thailand; Diving in Belize; Writing in Ireland; Writing in Prague; Writing in the American South; Farm to Table Italy; Cuba; and Morocco. . This trip is different and has a section that says “meet a leader” with a bio and photo.

Middle School is purple: “Hands-on Learning”, “Adventure & Immersion”, “Outstanding Staff”. Same basic format. Places: Costa Rica, Spain, and France & Holland.

Pre-College is orange: “Campus Life”, “Field-based Seminars”, and “Community”. Much different format. Has information sessions, credibility for pre-college staff, schools… Each college has a two-page spread. Amherst, London, Florence, Paris, Shanghai, Madrid, and Barcelona. Each includes: completing grades, duration, dates, tuition, description of campus, seminars, afternoons and excursions, a day in the life and a sample schedule.

Scholarship opportunities has an “open door fund” and resources on how to request a scholarship. Meet the Putney Directors has a group photo and small written bios. Dates; details &

tuitions has a table of dates per trip. How to apply has steps and links to the website. Our collaboration with National Geographic is simply a 1-pager on how they team up and try to give one another business.

Language – heavy on the student testimony. All about commitment, “Sign a pledge”. A cause and effect à trust us, and you will be happy à proof in the photos and student quotations. Different depending on program type. The language in middle school adheres more to what parents want to hear. “A Taste of Europe”, some trip titles has descriptions in the name that captivates the audience.

Style – green, young, vibrate, educational. Paneled photos a bit like Instagram. Almost like a scrapbook.

Credibility – historical timeline. They’ve stayed true to their morals throughout time. Their leaders come from many different places and fields. They are highly qualified. You can see pictures of them to get a better sense of who they are. Via National Geographic.

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