Amora is an established family business with a group of high-quality hotels and resorts in six different locations across Australia and Thailand. With the renovation and relaunch of their Brisbane location, the business was looking to invest in growing the brand across the Asia Pacific. There was an opportunity to refresh their brand identity to better capture their essence, value proposition and create consistent brand direction across the whole group.
DAIS crafted the brand essence in connection to Amora’s company mission, vision and emerging style aesthetic which was adopted across the whole group. Giving direction to the internal teams at each location on the shared brand objective ensured every person at Amora was aligned and striving to create a group brand experience.
To benchmark Amora’s current positioning in the market and identify what makes them different, we conducted workshops with the owners, market research and competitor analysis. It was clear that their family warmth, welcoming service and considered elegance of a Thai resort style were key to their ‘Amora Way’. This approach and philosophy was distilled in the brand strategy to create a consistent Amora experience. Our recommendations also included clarifying the brand architecture to ensure each location communicated the offerings of the whole group to strengthen their positioning as an international hospitality brand.
As a service business, it was important that the refreshed brand reflected the sensory experience Amora provides every guest. This needed to communicate their value proposition while focusing the team on the hotel delivery standard. The group brand’s technical descriptor is ‘Hotels | Experiences | Resorts’ which can be used to cross-promote their suite of offerings across each location.
The Amora team are very passionate about providing a different kind of hospitality experience. One that has a subtle connection to the Thai heritage of the brand, and where every guest feels at home and is welcomed to any Amora location with open arms, warmth and service with heart. The brand promise, ‘love the difference’, expresses the emotional and sensory experience they want to deliver for every guest.
At the core of the strategy is the brand theme, which is the internal performance benchmark standard every team member lives out every day. For Amora, creating a ‘shared smile’ between guests and staff means they have created moments of joy and memorable experiences for everyone, both internally and externally. If the team creates moments of a shared smile, they know they have delivered an Amora brand experience.
Through image treatment, colour palettes and typography, the brand was visually refreshed to be functional, consistent and adaptable to celebrate the uniqueness of each location. With the right brand foundations, the internal marketing teams were supported with guidelines, templates and tools to execute the new brand with clear direction and consistency.
The Brisbane Hotel renovation also involved a new restaurant which required a new name and brand that aligned to their strategy. Inspired by dappled light, the modern Australian cuisine and upmarket oasis fit out, the name Dapl was crafted. The visual language and tone of voice capture the native and local ingredients showcased on the menu. The Dapl brand has been enthusiastically adopted for the Brisbane location as well as the Amora Group for future expansion into their other hotels and resorts.
A key part of engagement is crafting a strong brand personality, which requires building perception from the ‘outside in’ and reputation from the ‘inside out’
