Travelodge books in a CDG review

Conran Design Group will bed down with budget hotel chain Travelodge between now and February to come up with a consistent look and feel for the brand.

The consultancy has been appointed as Travelodge’s brand guardian this week, with a brief to bring greater differentiation to what is a ‘homogenous’ sector in design terms, according to Travelodge sales and marketing director Simon Gregory.

‘Initially, CDG has been asked to work on creating a framework for the brand’s iterations – one directional piece that will bring the brand values to life and make consumers feel what it’s all about,’ he says.

‘We haven’t defined the group’s role going forward from there, but it’s likely to touch on receptions, bedrooms, our food and beverage offer, behavioural aspects, colours and textures – the whole breadth of the brand really, wherever it appears.’

CDG’s remit has evolved from positioning work carried out by its sister ad agency, Euro RSCG Wnek Gosper Partners. However, Gregory maintains the group’s appointment, after an informal pitch process, was a separate development.

The ‘Travelodgic’ ad campaign has been successful in increasing bookings and brand profile, according to Gregory, and CDG will need to animate the brand values of ‘simple, fair, friendly and efficient’.

Gregory adds, ‘It’s about providing a great stop-over, however, that’s not to say design can’t play a role.

‘People expect a warm, comfortable and pleasant experience.’

Although ‘the brand leader’, CDG executive director Jane Simmonds says Travelodge is often regarded as a ‘generic – a little bit like a Hoover’.

The group, under executive creative director David Chaloner, will ’round off’ the brand’s experiential aspects to make it more distinctive, she adds.