Swiss style

In a time of year filled with January blues, the widespread promise to get healthy and little prospect of real daylight amid the grey cloudy days, a sunshine-filled holiday is often the first thing on people’s minds. The second Saturday of January is described by the media as ‘Sunshine Saturday’, where the lure of sandy beaches drives consumers to the websites of travel companies and hoteliers; anything to make the rush hour commute bearable.

In late 2016, Switzerland-based holiday destination management company, Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts, updated its visual identity, in a move which whether intentionally or otherwise coincides with the January holiday boom. The company, which began as a Zurich-based restaurant under the Mövenpick brand in 1948, has its headquarters in Baar, Switzerland.

Recent growth of the Mövenpick portfolio led to the development of its new visual identity. Led by the London office of international design agency, Bulletproof, the update to Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts goes back to its roots in order to develop a succinct and appealing corporate character. 'Möwe’, which translates to ‘seagull’ in German, is said to have provided the inspiration for the original Mövenpick name, created in 1948 by its founder, Ueli Prager.

And Bulletproof retains this important aspect of the company’s heritage in its development of the Mövenpick logo, which displays the original seagull emblem flying above the letter ‘N’. A spokesperson from Bulletproof says, “The power of the bird icon continues through to the wider brand world, with the graceful lines of the bird’s wingspan creating the architecture for the visual identity as brand marque holders and windows into the Mövenpick world.”

They continue, “Bold secondary colours offset the new Mövenpick corporate red, bringing life to the brand and adding vibrancy and variety to hotel brochures and communications.”

While the brand redesign provides a new visual face for Mövenpick’s hotels, spas and other destinations, as well as its corporate-facing arm, it also serves to reflect the company’s updated renewed position. ‘We make moments’, its new service philosophy, aims to use at least one moment of each day to make Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts guests feel special. Some of these gestures may be quintessentially Swiss, while others could be a small personal touch by the Mövenpick staff. Both resonate with the attention to detail which underpins the overall Mövenpick brand.

Nick Bosworth, VP brand and marketing, Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts, says, "Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts is deeply proud of its Swiss heritage. But in a world that’s becoming ever more global – and with our own international footprint of hotels growing each year – we needed a corporate identity that would connect at a deeper level with consumers in every market.” Bosworth continues, “Bulletproof understood our global challenge implicitly, creating a corporate identity that makes the brand relevant to the modern, global consumer while staying true to our Swiss soul, and flooding our communications with the life and vibrant colour that only global travel can bring."

With a tagline of ‘Passionately Swiss,’ Mövenpick’s commitment to its heritage is clear through the high-quality holidays and attention to detail it provides. Reflected through its fresh logo and crisp visual identity, the company’s importance in the hospitality industry is cemented worldwide.