Achieving brand growth is about more than just expanding its reach. It’s about cultivating a deep and meaningful relationship with people and place, no matter the landscape. It requires a purpose, values led philosophy, ensuring as a brand scales from one location to the next, it does so authentically and sustainably – not only adding commercial value but cultural value to the world around it.
So how can blueprints help preserve a brand's essence whilst allowing them to scale and do so at pace? And how can they respond authentically to diverse terrains to ensure they standout and stick around, not just today but tomorrow? We delve into the benefits and principles associated with building a brand blueprint and adaptive design philosophy that responds to each location.
Building Brand Recognition
Driving familiarity, with a distinctive brand identity is nothing new, but doing so with a cohesive design language that goes far beyond a clever logo or fleeting ad campaign, is what drives recognition. For if a brand is to standout and stick around - for the long term, it must do so by looking holistically across the customer journey. It’s why brand blueprints transcend design disciplines, taking all layers of a brand into consideration. From interiors to communication, service to product design - they set a clear creative direction, weaving a compelling narrative across touch-points, always laddering up to the brand ethos and values. Recognition surpasses mere aesthetics. It’s a belief, a mindset, a feeling that becomes synonymous with a brand. This is what helps build recognition and ultimately brand loyalty.
Scaling Authentically
Traditional brand building has often involved replicating success from one location to another. Yet, in doing so brands risk overlooking the rich tapestry of local story, the nuances of local context, not to mention revenue opportunities. The magic lies in the convergence of a brand’s ethos with local flavour, capturing both universal brand truths (or design pillars) consistent from one location to the next, but allowing them to adapt to their context. It requires a blend of creativity and commerciality to identify and serve the needs and behaviours of the people and place. It means shaping a clear brand framework and set of tangible tools that allow teams and partners to stay true to the overarching brand, whilst harnessing the unique qualities of each location to drive revenue.
Elevating the Everyday
Establishing a clear set of brand signatures, that can be interpreted at a local level is one aspect of brand blueprints, but underpinning them with a consistent set of quality standards is what builds trust. The democratisation of design in our homes has given rise to guest expectations, they know what good design is and equally what it isn’t. They’re looking for more than just a bed for the night. Yes, a blackout blind is a must, as is comfort and cleanliness, but the ability to go above and beyond to elevate the everyday is a hotels superpower. Mapping the magic moments across the journey where a brand comes alive, is where blueprints come in to their own. This is where a stay becomes both memorable and meaningful, inspiring enriching experiences that guests love.
Driving Efficiencies
With blueprints, brands can streamline processes, allowing for more intuitive decision making across the lifecycle of a hotel. From identifying future pipeline properties to sourcing likeminded local design partners, training service standards to briefing operational collateral, a blueprint can guide when to lift and shift or indeed adapt to a location. It can reduce both capital and operational expenditure, ensuring with each and every new location, it’s not a case of starting from scratch each time. It brings the focus back to the heart of hospitality, allowing more time to be spent on the experience and the unique nuances that embrace both the people and place.
In conclusion, brand blueprints aren’t rigid manuals. They are dynamic and ever-evolving, serving as a vital guiding north star as a brand sets itself up for growth. They translate abstract brand philosophies and values, into actionable brand pillars and principles. They allow a brand to shape cohesive brand narratives, evocative experiences and design tools that allow partners to seamlessly and intuitively translate a brand into place. Put simply, through a blend of commerciality and creativity they allow a brand to grow sustainably, without losing its soul.
To discover the power of brand blueprints and discuss the value they’ve brought our clients - get in touch.
IDEAS, CULTURE & COMMUNITY
Community over competition - it’s an ubiquitous hashtag, and one that could be viewed as an antithesis to established design agencies.
Collaboration isn’t a concept that comes naturally to agency models - they simply aren’t designed for it. In creating AboundStudio, we put collaboration at the core of our business model.
Paired with the move away from standard operational hours and fixed locations, Abound’s business model does not have a KPI of building an ever-growing team of permanent employees trying to cover off all possible client requirements in terms of expertise. We never held the view that a one-stop-shop was ideal, or even realistic. We’ve witnessed too many examples of marketing agencies adding ‘branding’ to their list of specialities as almost an afterthought, then doing some creative wrangling of the project to meet the teams’ skillset. Rather, our eco-system approach sees us working with our clients not just for them, tailoring a team around the project, pairing the best talent (not the only talent) to deliver a result that is nimble, fresh, innovative, effective and powerful. Best of all, the approach delivers a creative outcome that exceeds the clients’ expectations. All of this at pace without the constraints of the standard agency model.
Building a project’s creative dream team of competent and innovative people can involve seeking out the ‘competition,’ likeminded studios and creatives who love working smarter with more flexibility, who see partnership and collaboration as an energising and fulfilling way to achieve an incredible result for a client. AboundStudio is incredibly proud of our hand-picked collective approach.
Our collective includes creators, innovators and thought leaders working at the intersection of brand creation, concept development and experience design, translating fresh thinking into unforgettable brands. We’re everything a client needs; nothing they don’t.
An empire has the vision for scale, an eco-system the vision for connection rather than competition. We love talking collaboration and the power of the collective- if you do too, reach out to us here.
Acknowledgement of Country.
AboundStudio acknowledge this country's First Nations peoples and their ongoing strength in practising the world's oldest living culture. We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the lands and waters on which we live and work, and pay our respect to their Elders past, present and emerging.