Tanagram Partners

The Pineapple—Rebranding Luxury

Indecorp, a name derived from “The Independent Hotel Corporation,” is a company which owns several hotel brands—Preferred, Summit, and Sterling—and each were having identity crises of their own. Were their identities truly representative of service excellence and luxury? Did they have characters reflective of their unique brand attributes while sharing key attributes of the parent group? Experience in the market and user testing said no. It was time to start fresh.

The name came first. Instead of Indecorp, a name was chosen that held both equity (Preferred was already the name of Indecorp’s luxury hotel brand) and meaning. A friend and colleague of ours mentioned during a brainstorming session that the pineapple was a universal symbol of hospitality. After briefly putting the idea of a pineapple as corporate symbol aside, we were intrigued and proceeded to do some research. What we found brought us closer to the final solution than we could have imagined. Pineapples everywhere. Even King Charles II posed for a portrait while receiving one. The pineapple can be found as an architectural ornament on doors, fenceposts, above lintels, and in fountains, welcoming visitors at the entryways of estates and hotels around the world. What’s more, the form of the pineapple can be found in the geometry of many other objects symbolic of luxury: cut crystal, lace, a Fabergé egg, and the petals of a lotus flower. The final symbol and logotype combine to form the basis of an identity that is both comfortable and unique. The calligraphy, the color palette of royal blue and gold, and the refined strokes and balance of the symbol give hotel guests a sense of reassurance that their experience at a Preferred hotel will be one of impeccable service and luxurious surroundings.

Extending the use of the symbol to the hotel brands within the Preferred family gives added strength to each, allowing the individual brands (and the independent hotel members of each) to share the positive attributes of the others. Like jewels in a crown, the brands have a preciousness of their own but create something even more valuable and beautiful together.