Popularly known as the Taj Group of Hotels, Indian Hotels Company Limited is South Asia’s largest hospitality focussed enterprise. A collection of iconic palaces, luxury resorts, business stays, unique getaways and budget stopovers define IHCL’s pioneering leadership – one that is backed by a 100-year plus legacy. However, the group was posed with an identity conflict and a brand portfolio architecture that was limiting. DY was roped in to help with the reinvigoration of power brands under the Taj banner in order to further unlock the growth potential of each of them.
Why IHCL and not Taj?
Taj stands for iconic luxury properties with a trademark of heritage, a touch of regality and pristine class. The weight of Taj brand’s grandeur was heavy for emerging brands such as Ginger. Conversely, other populist brands could pull down the Taj equity, which is already established stellar industry benchmark. Taj also limited future opportunities if a new venture did not fit the Taj criteria or diluted the Taj codes of luxury.
This created the case for IHCL that had the market equity to emerge as a strong parent brand – a house of brands spanning offerings from luxury of Taj to volume catering of TajSATS, also uncovering the growth potential of ‘nestled’ brands like Jiva, Khazana and the like.
The new brand architecture
Liberating a range of brands from the Taj banner, such as Vivanta, the way forward was the rejuvenation of now standalone brands Vivanta and Ginger and the creation of the service retail brand Expressions and a curated hotels brand SeleQtions.
Establishing the corporate core of Crafting Delight
Beyond impeccable systems and effective processes is the inspiration to exhilarate. That’s where lies the labour of love; a promise of ‘wow’. Bred with a passion for delight, beyond the proverbial extra-mile-effort, the running belief for the group is a culture where everyday operations reveal pleasant surprises and create lasting memories.
The Golden Ratio, obtained for the Fibonacci Sequence that describes the perfectly symmetrical relationship between two adjacent proportions. In design, the Golden Ratio, can be illustrated using a Golden Rectangle i.e. a large rectangle containing a square and a smaller rectangle.
SeleQtions
Experiential travelling is about reminiscent storytelling, through conversations – live and virtual. With this as a starting point, SeleQtions is a unique collection of curated properties with a distinct character. These would be slices of time having resounding legacies of the place/property, or set in location – with experiences that have a unique character within their structure. Or these could be a play of theme.
The Connaught in central Delhi is the first SeleQtions being unveiled that brings together the multifarious CP as one.
Vivanta
Vivanta is a smart collective of business & leisure hotels that celebrates individuality of travelers. The Brand targets the global cosmopolitan travelers who prefer dynamic & smart luxury, while carrying their unique modern individualistic style. They seek personal markers over similar codes and yet effortlessly converge in like-minded ecosystems.
The new Vivanta brand experience brings out the feel of special-ness with a touch of surprise in design, decor & service. Its identity system is dynamic and upbeat for its smart and modern spirited users.
Ginger
The opportunity was in the repositioning of a budget hotel chain Ginger as the preferred hotel chain for millennials. Tapping on to their core behavior of instantly switching between extremes, Ginger’s promise is to facilitate multitudinous possibilities, seamlessly. This is also the core thought for Ginger’s visual identity of a switch. The result? A vibrant, fast-paced, fun-filled experience for price conscious travelers percolated exuded through design, service and culture.
Expressions
IHCL now liberates its illustrious offerings in service retail, beyond the hotels that house them. We unlock the equity of our ‘quick treats’ such as Salon, Jiva Spa, Khazana and, of course, the culinary legends such as Golden Dragon, Thai Pavilion, Wasabi by Morimoto.
These celebrations are encapsulated as ‘EXPRESSIONS by IHCL’.
