MCLEAN, VIRGINIA Hilton Worldwide’s upscale DoubleTree brand is getting a new logo and a tweak to its name.
The new brown logo features a silhouette of a realistic leafy tree alongside a large capital D, replacing the former logo of two green modern, cartoonish trees interlocking above the name.
Along with the new imagery, the brand is going by a slightly different name. Although the T in DoubleTree has long been capitalized on hotel signage, it had previously referred to itself in marketing materials as simply “Doubletree.” The capital T now appears in all formats, and the formal name now includes “by Hilton.”
The new DoubleTree by Hilton logo and name will officially launch during the first half of 2011 as part of a comprehensive rebranding initiative that will feature new advertising, marketing and communications campaigns, as well as new amenities and services for guests at DoubleTree by Hilton’s growing collection of 240 hotels on five continents.
“The introduction of our new DoubleTree by Hilton global identity communicates, with a new unified worldwide look, the brand’s proud Hilton Worldwide affiliation, and acts as a stronger symbol for current and future customers to associate today’s DoubleTree by Hilton with its highly positive brand attributes,” says Hilton Worldwide President and CEO Chris Nassetta.
The redesign is the first major change to the brand since 1995. The global repositioning and rebranding strategy also is an evolution of the “by Hilton” branding that has existed for many DoubleTree hotels beyond the United States. The new naming convention eliminates the potential for customer confusion and helps integrate the equity of the brand’s worldwide portfolio, Hilton executives say.
“By celebrating a modern, updated look and feel for DoubleTree by Hilton in logo, product and services, we hope this new brand strategy will enhance name recognition and consumer preference and energize these outstanding hotels’ natural and welcoming characteristics for many months and years to come,” says Paul Brown, president of global brands and commercial services for Hilton Worldwide.
Once launched in the first half of 2011, the new brand identity’s earliest public-facing appearances will be through print and digital marketing, communications and advertising campaigns and on newly opened DoubleTree by Hilton properties. A comprehensive plan will guide the transition of the identity into signage, amenities and collateral at the existing 240 DoubleTree by Hilton hotels and resorts worldwide. A new naming architecture for hotel locations also will be implemented.
