The Thavorn
Brand Rejuvenation 2015-2016
The significance forgotten
Hotel business is a highly competitive and consistently growing market, especially in Phuket province, a globally desired destination of Thailand. Phuket is indeed one of the cities that drive the nation’s economy, with new vacation lodgings joining the tourist-vibrant scene every year. Existing hoteliers, therefore, must continue evolving in order for their businesses to survive. One of their adaptive strategies is to improve their brand images to remain attractive to the current demand. This is also the case of Thavorn Beach Village Resort, the first five-star, full-service resort in Phuket, which has featured in the vacation scene of this island city for over 25 years.
Thavorn Beach Village Resort is well-regarded and remembered for initiating the aspiration for Phuket to be a touristic city. Throughout its influential time, the resort provided hospitality for the country’s guests and prominent people. Despite its high standing, the resort had imperceptibly been thought of as old and obsolete, with little of its historic value retold to the young generation. Being less known and relevant to today’s market, Thavorn Beach Village Resort suffered a low occupancy of Thai travelers. Simplisis was then brought in to achieve brand rejuvenation, aiming to contemporize its image and regain its reputation and enticement among Thai travel aesthetes.
Metamorphosing the value and the uniqueness
Assessing this retreat complex and interviewing the owner, the 4th generation heir of Thavornwongwongse family, one of Phuket’s founding clans, Simplisis saw three main attributes to the value of this resort. Essentially, Thavorn, the hotel group that owns Thavorn Beach Village Resort, is the first hotel group in Phuket that offers full-service heritage hospitality. Secondly and equally important is the resort’s evergreen nature environing the entire resort ecosystem. In truth, the complex is perfectly hinged on beautifully stretched private sand beach, leaning against a tree-filled mountain and clustered with botanical gardens and lagoons.
The third attribute is the exquisite local Thai craftsmanship in sculptures and stuccoes inspired by Thai literature, which decorate every corner of the holiday structures. These three attributes to value were incorporated in our approach in designing the new identity for Thavorn Beach Village Resort brand. This new identity would communicate the resort’s value in a cutting-edge resonance, whilst safeguarding the look and feel of the brand legacy.
The challenge of this assignment was on how we could alter the attitude of Thai people toward the brand; how to make them feel that Thainess could be as faddish and charming as those modernist lodgings sprawling the town. We started with reconsidering the name of the resort “Thavorn” which conveyed a sense of antiquity and outdatedness to many Thais’ perception. We made the most careful upgrading that could cause the least possible change to the brand’s name. In the end, we believe “The Thavorn” is the name that could maintain the original brand awareness, at the same time, connotes the great sense of international, cultured and modern personality of the place. The new logo was fabricated to correspond to the three value attributes. The logomark is an outline of a tropical leaf curled to a form of Thai number one, making known the resort’s status as the first in Phuket and the patron of nature. The logotype is a modification of ancient Thai scripture, specially invented for “The Thavorn” and pronouncing the unique Thai craftsmanship.
Achievement beyond expected
After launching the new corporate identity and the changes in service touchpoints, The Thavorn Beach Village Resort has received more positive responses from its Thai targets, with evidently growing number of Thai vacationers. The brand rejuvenation did not only improve the awareness among the Thai customer segment, it has also helped attracting larger number of foreign guests, resulting in the highest occupancy rate at the resort since its opening day. The Thavorn Beach Village Resort has since then gathered several awards nationally and internationally. Simplisis is proud to be at the starting point of the brand’s resurrection, elevating creatively its status in the competitive tourism environment while still continuing the original value and the quintessentially Thai integrity.
