Roomzzz

Room^zzz is a rapidly expanding chain of aparthotels, found in major city centres up and down the country, offering guests a very specific type of overnight accommodation. The existing brand identity had been allowed to evolve organically over several years working with various agencies. As a result it had become disparate and disjointed and as such was no longer considered a good fit for the guest experience and their ambitious expansion plans. The client brief to Glorious Creative was two-fold.

The first challenge was to evaluate the existing Room^zzz branding and develop a more distinct and compelling visual identity that set Room^zzz apart from its many competitors, whilst bringing visual consistency to the various locations as well as all on and off-line communications. The second, to address the confusion and lack of clarity surrounding what an aparthotel consists of, in order to help leisure and business guests understand the many benefits and advantages of accommodation that combines the 5-star service of a hotel with the city centre convenience and space of a serviced apartment. Glorious Creative were also tasked with developing a ‘strong visual element’ that differentiated Room^zzz from other aparthotels.

The aparthotel is a relatively new concept, with many people yet to experience them, but their take up is on the rise, with guests enjoying the freedom they offer as well as a whole host of features and freebies. What also became apparent, from our research, was how invested the Room^zzz aparthotels were in the cities they occupied, differing significantly from the vast majority of average, generic hotel accommodation on offer, that often feel a million miles from home. Room^zzz want guests to feel as relaxed as they would in their own home, so all studios and suites come with plenty of room and all the comfort and mod-cons you’d expect to find in a modern city apartment. They also actively encourage guests to explore what the cities have to offer – Glorious Creative identified the need to major on these attributes when developing the tone of voice and key messaging.

Once we’d defined the brand vision, mission, positioning and essence, we set out the brand personality and six brand pillars. While creating the core brand assets, we eventually persuaded the client to refine the brand mark, simply sweetening the curves and improving the freehand letterforms to improve legibility. In addition, we reset the typographic styling, refined colour palettes, identified a photographic style and created a new and distinct tone of voice, all of which was captured in a comprehensive Brand Book.

We also introduced the concept of creating large, deconstructable montages in collaboration with illustrator Katie Edwards. These cityscapes proudly featured significant landmarks and buildings, cultural and sporting references, innovations and inventions, prominent people and celebrities all unique to a particular city. These artworks add a very special and regionalised personality to the Room^zzz brand, the end result of which is incredibly versatile due to its deconstuctable nature, appearing on interiors, social media, brochures and the Room^zzz website. The illustration style was then extended to promote 11 USPs and identify dedicated areas within the aparthotels, such as the gym, café, etc.

We loved the informality and flexibility Room^zzz aparthotels offer; stay for a night, a week, a month, a year – it’s entirely up to the guest. Room^zzz actively encourage guests to go out and explore whatever the city has to offer and staff are on hand to advise and help immerse guests in cultural experiences, shopping and socialising, restaurants and bars. The trouser press, the pillow chocolates, the mini-bar… they’ve all gone. In their place is a spacious living area, a fully-fitted kitchen, a HD TV or two, a dining table and 2,000 spring mattresses. Beautiful spacious apartments give guests the freedom to enjoy them how they want, to stretch out, work out, unwind by cooking up a storm in the kitchen, or just crash on the sofa.

With the brand properly realigned and reinvigorated, we were required to work with the Room^zzz in-house marketing team to manage the implementation across a range of media, ensuring a consistent and cohesive outcome and helping to create campaigns and promotional offers.