Center Hotels
Stay like a local in Iceland
A re-imagined hotel brand
In 2018 I-AM were appointed by Center Hotels to re-brand their 7 part Icelandic hotel chain. We worked closely with the Center Hotels family on how they could reinforce their position as the most loved hotel group in Iceland and beyond.
Being a family business, one of the key goals was for the new brand to better capture the family values and human side of the company.
The local heart of the city
The new brand is based around the philosophy of ‘Staying like a local’ by giving a real insight into the heart of the city, the spirit of our people and the soul of Iceland.
A key element is our brand circle, representing being located in the center of the city and also a viewfinder into local life and creativity.
An authentically Icelandic voice
Iceland has a unique culture, language and personality which was essential to communicate in our brand. We developed a ownable tone of voice which was bold, inspiring, and proud – just like Icelanders themselves.
Local storytelling is communicated through two juxtaposed fonts, which play off against each other in personality.
The hotel family
The hotel family consists of seven (soon to be eight) hotels across the city center which vary in size and services. As part of our strategic work, we have developed a new brand structure which splits the hotels into two tiers – standard and endorsed.
The endorsed hotels offer a more differentiated and elevated experience, each its own individual brand personality.
A physical home for the brand
Center Hotels Laugaveur, which opened in July 2019, is the first physical representation of the new brand. We designed a memorable customers focused experience across this 200 room hotel which included a lounge lobby, bar & bistro and grab & go offer.
There are ‘Stay like a local’ touchpoints throughout the hotel – proving the guest with loads of insight into the city and beyond. This included the inclusion and promotion of local artists work throughout the space.
A new digital presence
As part of the wider re-brand project, I-AM were taksed with designing the new Center Hotels website to create a digital experience that complimented the physical experience,
A key feature of the new website was full bleed lifestyle footage of the hotels in order to capture the ambience of the hotel and the local side of the city.
Building brand affinity
In order to effectively re-launch the brand we worked on a awareness strategy which included works across multiple channels such as social media, guerilla marketing, tradeshows, advertising and marketing.
The purpose of all channels was to make a clear signal for change through fun and intriguing solutions.
“We feel fortunate to be working with I-AM London Studio across a full rebrand of the chain. The collaboration has been a wonderful journey and we are incredibly proud of the first fruit of our labour Center Hotel Laugavegur, Stökk grab & go and Lóa Bar & Bistro, all of which have exceeded our expectations with record sales since the launch.”
