Thomas Cook simplifies brand structure

1st Oct 2013 07:10

Thomas Cook has announced it has begun to bring many of its brands together under a new logo in order to simplify its marketing strategy.Group Chief Executive Harriet Green said the company had begun for the first time in its 172-year history to bring its various subsidiary brands under one roof, having committed to reduce its multiple UK brands from 30 to less than 10 consumer facing and business brands to eliminate confusion in customers. "This major milestone in the transformation of our company, as we continue to develop our product offering and focus on our omni-channel approach, is much more than the rollout of a new logo. "It symbolises how we are leveraging the combined power of the group to maximise our presence in the mind of customers, whilst helping to reduce cost."The new logo has been dubbed 'Sunny Heart' and from October 1st will replace the globe sybole on the company's website, international stores, airline fleet and throughout its offices. Thomas Cook said the group's many leading brands, such as Neckermann in Europe, Ving in Sweden, Condor in Germany and Elegant Resorts in the UK, "will all connect with the 'Sunny Heart' in different ways". The FTSE 250 company added that the new brand "captures the essence of Thomas Cook", which in short translated to "Let's go!".The group believes the rebranding reflected values for which customers come to Thomas Cook; "values of trust, personalisation and innovation, and an approach that is high-tech and high-touch across all customer touch points".A pre-close statement from the company last week showed summer trading continued in line with expectations at over 95% sold, but that bookings in recent weeks had lagged behind last year's strong late-booking market.OH