The Partner, a new hotel management service here to ignite potential growth in the Mediterranean tourism industry. By offering everything from interior design, brand development and business consultancy to hotel management, social media and marketing. The Partner teams up with business owners to optimise operations, re-energise business models and deliver world-class guest experiences.
As a new and exciting service with multiple options for clients to choose from, The Partner needed to clearly communicate their offer with a strong brand that would make an impact on the island. They asked us if we were up for the challenge so we hung up the ‘do not disturb’ sign and got to work. Here’s how we did it.
Locking in a 5-star strategy
Without a solid strategy, you don’t know where you’re going. After researching the industry’s challenges, opportunities, audiences and the brand’s offer we took these insights and created a Brand Framework. This is a document we build for all our branding projects. It defines who the client is, what they stand for, their role in the world, and where they are going. It's our North Star, guiding every choice we make to ensure whatever we do is in line with business goals.
Using our research, we narrowed down the brand’s three key principles. These were creativity - they are agile problem solvers here to capitalise on opportunity. Sustainability - no shortcuts allowed, this brand focuses on creating long-term success. Finally, collaboration - no hotel, resort or business is the same. Each one demands true partnership and support so that each guest leaves planning their next return. With a clear strategy of what the brand wanted to achieve, next, we needed a name to help them get there.
Finding a name that checks out
We wanted a name that would create the right impression, something that showed that the brand is here to support clients in their success. Something inclusive. It also needed to have a URL domain available, fit the brand strategy, and hit it off with the client. No easy task you might think, but our naming process is designed to make naming go down as smoothly as that first sip of limoncello on your long-awaited holiday.
By exploring different themes that relate to the brand’s offer, we then workshop options, conduct focus groups and run domain checks to gather a final list. By the end of this process, we were able to hone in on what would strike a chord with the desired audiences. In short, we put ourselves in the customers' shoes. If you were a hotelier, who would you turn to when you don’t have the time to manage a hotel yourself? Or when you do have time but need fresh thinking and help to introduce tech tools? Or when you’re on your own but you need someone with experience to streamline operations and revitalise your customer experience?
At these times it would be great to have someone on your team, someone you could trust, who is as invested in your success as you are. Someone like…a partner. Voila. The Partner was born. With a happy sign off from the client, we were ready to move on to design.
Creating a look that will make a splash
Sky-high palm trees, the sea breeze, salty air, good wine and great food - there’s a lot to love about the Med. But if there’s one thing it's especially known for it’s the sea and more specifically the unique colour of our sea. The shimmering turquoise waters of Malta, Greece, Italy, Spain and all the Mediterranean are iconic. To pay homage to its beauty, we made turquoise the main brand colour complimenting it with sleek black and white and an elegant font to add a luxury, professional feel.
As an extra link to the brand's roots, we took further inspiration from water by creating a brand mark in the shape of a subtle wave and incorporating it as a connecting line in our brand imagery. This allowed us to highlight the feeling of connection and communication that The Partner offers to hoteliers.
What comes next?
We’ve said it before but we’ll say it again, a brand is much more than a logo, marketing or nice design. It’s your entire customer experience. From the moment they hear your name to the moment they interact with your website, team or product. At the TAB, we believe that the best branding is a multi-sensory experience. So we don't intend to stop our creativity here. As an ongoing project, we’re working with The Partner to explore other ways to engage customers by giving The Partner a strong online presence with a website they can be proud of, as well as exploring different scents they can use in their offices, and alternative materials like cotton and silk for business cards. But we can’t tell you everything because that would spoil the surprise.
The truth is we love branding, and it’s even better when we find clients like The Partner that bring a new kind of challenge to the table. If you want a team behind you to cheer your brand on and help your business stand out, get in contact. We would love to hear about it.
