InterContinental Hotels Groups (IHG) seems to be undergoing a rebranding, and I dig it. The company has quietly rolled out a new logo on its website, and also slightly changed the name of its loyalty program.
IHG goes from bold orange to non-bold black
Here’s IHG’s old logo:
Meanwhile here’s the new logo that I’m seeing on the IHG website:
I’ve gotta say, I really like this change. Companies spend way too much money on these kinds of changes, and put a lot of thought into colors, bold vs. non-bold text, etc.
The marketing world would have you believe:
- The use of orange is generally intended to portray excitement, enthusiasm, warmth, playfulness, and being bold; add in the bold text being used for orange, and that emphasizes that even further
- The use of black is intended to portray seriousness, professionalism, elegance, etc.; with the text being less bold than before, it emphasizes that even further
Clearly a lot of thought went into this, and perhaps it represents an overall evolution of the IHG brand. IHG has struggled with brand identity, since historically it consisted of InterContinental (a pretty “serious” brand), and then all kinds of playful and limited service brands (with Hotel Indigo falling in the former category, and Holiday Inn Express, etc., falling in the latter category).
IHG is improving in the luxury sector, though, between acquiring Regent and Six Senses. It makes sense that the brand may want to portray a less playful and more serious image.
IHG Rewards Club becomes IHG Rewards
While subtle, it would also appear that IHG Rewards Club has been rebranded simply as IHG Rewards. All mentions on IHG’s website now refer only to IHG Rewards, without the “Club” at the end.
I guess this is the next step in the subtle transition of IHG’s loyalty program. Back in the day it was known as Priority Club, then it became IHG Rewards Club, and now it’s just IHG Rewards.
In an ideal world IHG would actually improve the (uncompetitive) loyalty program rather than just change the name, but that might be too much to ask. 😉
Bottom line
IHG has undergone a pretty significant rebranding, as the company has transitioned from bold orange to non-bold black text. In the marketing world that reflects the company trying to portray itself as being more serious rather than playful.
Personally I really like the new logo. Sure, it might be simple and even a bit boring, but I always thought the bold orange branding was a bit strange for a company that has an ever-increasing number of premium properties.
What do you make of IHG’s new logo and branding?
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