Novotel. Sally fitzgibons

Project Overview

Client: Novotel Hotel

Campaign: InBalance Campaign — In-Room Training & Wellness Launch.
Role: Photography & Creative Direction
Scope: Brand campaign imagery
Deliverables: Still imagery for multi-channel brand use
Location: Sydney, Australia
Markets: Australia & New Zealand

PROJECT overview

A national campaign for Novotel Hotels launching the InBalance by Novotel wellness initiative, fronted by ambassador and professional surfer Sally Fitzgibbons.

The campaign introduced:

• In-room training videos led by Sally

• Health-focused room upgrades

• Gym and recovery offerings

• A repositioning of Novotel as a wellness-conscious hotel brand

THE OBJECTIVE

To visually position Novotel as a credible, performance-aligned hospitality brand — not just a place to stay, but a place to maintain momentum.

The imagery needed to:

• Align authentically with Sally’s athletic credibility

• Showcase practical in-room training functionality

• Highlight health room amenities

• Connect wellness with travel and family life

• Function across digital, ambassador and brand channels

This was about embedding fitness and wellbeing into the guest experience — without losing warmth or approachability.

Challenges & Planning

The shoot required careful coordination across:

• Ambassador scheduling

• Active hotel environments

• Rooftop and gym access

• In-room spatial limitations

• Capturing both performance and lifestyle moments

We needed to create dynamic athletic imagery within operational hotel spaces while maintaining brand polish and consistency.

Lighting and composition were key — particularly in smaller room environments where movement had to feel powerful, not constrained.

Role & Responsibilities

.I led the photographic execution of the campaign, working closely with the Novotel marketing team to interpret and deliver the visual direction.

In addition to photography, I provided full campaign support including:

• Creative interpretation of the wellness brief

• Ambassador on-set direction

• Team build and crew coordination where required

• Location planning within operational hotel environments

• Schedule management across multiple spaces (rooms, gym, rooftop)

• Production oversight to ensure efficient, on-brand execution

The aim was to deliver a cohesive visual campaign that supported both the ambassador and Novotel’s broader wellness positioning — without disrupting live hotel operations.

Creative Approach

The visual strategy centred on four key pillars:

Performance Credibility

Movement-driven compositions that reflected Sally’s elite athletic identity — strong, dynamic and controlled.

Lighting Precision

Studio lighting was used across nearly all setups to create a consistent, balanced “sunlit” look — particularly when shooting in darker hotel rooms during full daylight hours.

This ensured continuity across locations, times of day and room types.

Functional Wellness

Clear visibility of in-room training equipment, branded mats and gym spaces — making the program feel practical and accessible.

Lifestyle Balance

Moments of warmth and recovery — healthy meals, family interactions and city views — reinforcing that wellness integrates naturally into travel.

DELIVERABLES

The final image suite supported:

• Launch marketing for InBalance by Novotel

• Digital and website rollout

• Social and ambassador-led promotion

• In-room training video support assets

• Broader brand wellness positioning

Assets were designed to function as both hero campaign imagery and modular marketing content.

Outcome

The campaign strengthened Novotel’s positioning as a wellness-conscious hospitality brand, aligning with Sally Fitzgibbons’ performance credibility while maintaining accessibility for everyday travellers.

The imagery created a cohesive visual identity for the InBalance initiative — bridging elite athletic performance with practical guest experience