Not what you might expect

The Queensberry Hotel

Brand  |  Print  |  Signage

Ambition

The whole mission of the new Queensberry brand design was to innovate the proposition into a new, but far more fitting place. The Queensberry is a three star boutique style hotel and what sets it apart is its proud independence, its history, its quirkiness and undeniable character plus its fastidiousness to service and style. The previous brand was uninspiring and had outlived its use. Laurence and Helen Beere, the owners of the hotel, knew it was time for a change and that they needed to stand out but it was the approach and cheekiness from Absolute that created a whole new concept around the original owner of the hotel – The Marquess of Queensberry, a controversial character who developed the ‘Queensberry Rules’ of boxing. The new ‘related’ brands for the hotel, its sister restaurant ‘The Olive Tree’ and the new ‘Old Q Bar’, all based on the heritage of The Marquess, completely innovate the story and the appeal of the property and show that hospitality marketing can be far from boring!

SOLUTION

Absolute extended the brand design brief to create the slogan ‘not what you might expect’ and the concept of ‘The Queensberry Rules’ (based on the original boxing rules developed by The Marquess of Queensberry) to work across all of The Queensberry’s brand communications – and all the different communicators build and deliver these messages with gusto. An element of humour reigns through all of the visual and written communications and visitors start to understand the historical context of the hotel in a very fresh and cheeky way. This provides intrigue for the customer and confidence in the product from the client’s point of view.

RESULTS

The journey through the communications leaves no doubt that this is a very different, but very desirable, place to stay. The power of the communication lies in the fact that they it is completely unique to the property and the hotel, and they are extremely brave. This new brand style is a strong flavour and it may not be for everyone – but it absolutely hits the button for the right market of people who will fully appreciate what The Queensberry is.

Absolute has been working with he Queensberry Hotel and Olive Tree Restaurant for 15 years. Both brand and interiors have been given the Absolute Touch and continue to do so both on and offline.