Corus by The Partners

The Partners was selected before Regal Hotel Group director of marketing Sue Whitehead came on board. ‘Our sector has a trend of similar identities and [they are] normally in blue,’ she says. The six-year-old hotel group has grown through acquisition to be the third biggest of its kind in Britain.

The name was changed for a practical reason. ‘There was an overseas operator with the same name which was leading to confusion, and because we had grown through acquisition the portfolio was relatively mixed,’ says Whitehead. ‘We have committed £80m to refurbish the estate, and we wanted an identity to reflect that. Our goal is to be the market leader of the three-star sector.

‘Because we are a young company we needed to stand out. We are great believers in wit in design being a way of catching attention,’ she adds. But the solution also had to be practical, working on soap, uniforms and plates as well as stationery. ‘We needed to tell the world that this was a fundamental change [for our business] and the identity had to reflect that,’ says Whitehead. Out of 115 Corus hotels, 21 have so far rebranded.