Vision for the future gets nearer
After eight months of extensive market research undertaken by a leading brand identity and design consultancy, the final touches have been put to our new corporate identity, which will be unveiled internally as you read this. It is an exciting yet challenging time preparing for the first Mount Charlotte Thistle Hotels Sales and Marketing Conference.
Some 240 members of our senior management, including operations directors, general managers, sales managers from all over the world and our London-based sales and marketing team, will meet at Birmingham's International Convention Centre for two days to discuss our vision - our corporate strategic plan for the next five years.
Aside from planning for the conference, I have been reviewing the advertising pitches from the three final agencies whittled down from a much larger list. It has been an interesting process to see three totally distinct creative approaches result from the same brief.
The new agency will be primarily targeting the national press and you will even see a difference in our recruitment adverts at the back of Caterer & Hotelkeeper. The announcement of our chosen advertising agency will coincide with the public announcement of our new corporate identity on 13 September.
As part of our new corporate identity, Conference Plan - our free venue-finding service - will be relaunched and we have briefed a design company to come up with ideas for a direct mail campaign. I am one of the most fervent believers in direct mail as a communication tool within the marketing mix. Not only does it allow for creativity, but is also measurable in terms of business.
It has been another month of gastronomic experiences. Dinner with Doreen Boulding, the general manager of Chelsea Harbour's Conrad Hotel, was an opportunity to discuss industry developments at one of my favourite restaurants, Shepherd's. And a dinner party the next evening enabled me to see Brian Williams, the new general manager of the Ritz, an old friend from my days at Mandarin Oriental.
On a more amusing note, the Kensington Palace Thistle's switchboard accidentally put a call through to me for our press office. I was asked the address to send a letter to the Princess of Wales, and had to point out: "This is the Kensington Palace Thistle Hotel, not Kensington Palace!"
