Just one month ago, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts unveiled a complete creative brand relaunch built around the tagline, “Luxury Is Our Love Language.” Designed to celebrate the hospitality company’s unique definition of luxury, the rebrand was accompanied by a series of campaign videos—what the brand refers to as “Based on a True Stay” stories—boasting the kinds of elevated experiences that only the Four Seasons could deliver.
In Special Delivery, for example, a concierge assists in making an aspiring young girl’s dreams of becoming an equestrian a reality by hand-delivering a pony. And in First Snow, Four Seasons brings a winter wonderland to an LA couple’s hotel room. Ultimately, the stories—which were created in collaboration with advertising agency Publicis Groupe’s NYC-based creative collective, Le Truc—“offer a glimpse into the many ways in which Four Seasons teams go above and beyond for guests every day,” the brand stated in a recent press release.
The rebrand's debut was accompanied by campaign videos—"Based on a True Stay" stories—that boast the kinds of elevated experiences that only the Four Seasons could deliver (such as bringing winter to LA).Photo: Courtesy of Four Seasons
The reimagined branding took effect on Aug. 29 and will roll out across the Four Seasons’ 124-plus hotels and resorts in 47 countries, as well as in its restaurants and bars, residential, retail, and private jets over the course of the next year.
With more hospitality companies in the world than one can keep track of, BizBash sat down with Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts’ chief commercial officer, Marc Speichert, for his insights into the rebrand, plus how it makes Four Seasons cut through the noise.
He noted how substantial the media rollout for the rebrand has been. “To put this effort into context, this campaign is one of our biggest, multi-million-dollar global brand launches. Our paid media spend increased by 300%—the first time that we’re supporting brand equity messaging through paid media amplification.”
Keep scrolling for more insights from Speichert...
In the campaign video titled Special Delivery, a concierge at a Madrid Four Seasons property assists in making an aspiring young girl’s dreams of becoming an equestrian a reality by hand-delivering a pony.Photo: Courtesy of Four Seasons
Why was now the perfect time to rebrand?
Marc Speichert, the chief commercial officer of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts.Photo: Courtesy of Four Seasons
How did you inform the decision to rebrand? Was it post-stay surveys or data from something else?
Our strategic decisions are informed by insights and grounded in our philosophy that the guest should be at the center of all decision-making. For our brand relaunch, we needed to truly understand the competitive landscape of luxury hospitality, the changes that our industry has experienced over the past few years, and what luxury consumers want and need.
As a result, our new brand creative platform is rooted in field research carried out by our teams, detailed guest segmentation work, a brand equity audit, insights and data collected from hundreds of guests, input from employees and industry leaders, stakeholder surveys, and so much more to continue evolving our brand in a meaningful and modern way.
How does Four Seasons define luxury and how does “Luxury Is Our Love Language” differentiate your brand from other luxury brands?
To us, luxury is about a focus on how people want to be treated—on the simple elegance of radical empathy, a sense of belonging, and the creation of luxury with genuine heart. True luxury is not about rigid, impersonal service. Many associations of luxury are of excess materialism, exclusivity, and subliminal snobbishness.
We understand that across every touchpoint—in person and digitally—consumers want to be personally recognized as a special guest and welcomed like a friend. We are evolving our brand with these preferences top of mind by delivering simple acts of unscripted care and acts of love that create a sense of belonging to transform a single transaction into a lifetime connection with our brand.
[As far as the competition,] we are exclusively focused on the luxury segment, on our iconic brand, and on our competitive advantages: our incredible people and culture. Grounded in our 60-plus year history, we’re showcasing our legendary service offering throughout our new creative platform with authenticity and authority. Our new brand creative pays homage to our legacy in a fresh and vibrant manner.
How are you reaching your target audience with the media rollout?
In order to reach luxury consumers, our paid media strategy balances high-impact and high-reach interest channels with hyper-local targeting. We’re tapping into U.S., affluent millennials to target intergenerational wealth and find prospective guests using digital, traditional, and social channels, focusing on mass reach with digital out-of-home [platforms such as] TikTok and Hulu.
Four Seasons is set to assume management of the historic Hotel Danieli in the Riva degli Schiavoni region of Venice along the Grand Canal. Following extensive renovations, the property will be reintroduced as Hotel Danieli, Venezia, A Four Seasons Hotel (pictured) in 2025.Photo: Courtesy of Four Seasons
The Naviva property is the brand’s first adult-only, tented resort in the Americas, with 15 standalone luxury tents nestled across 48 acres of forest on a private peninsula overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It may be one of Four Seasons’ smallest properties in its portfolio, but its cliffside design is unlike any other.
Also in the pipeline? A Four Seasons hotel and private residences in Nashville. And by 2025, wanderlusters can book stays in a Four Seasons hotel in Venice, Italy. There’s also plans for openings in Doha, Qatar; Muscat, Oman; Xi’an, China; Melbourne, Australia; Diriyah, Saudi Arabia; and two new hotels in Egypt.
By the end of the year, Four Seasons will expand on its Punta Mita property with the opening of Naviva (pictured), an adult-only tented resort. There will be 15 standalone luxury tents nestled across 48 acres of forest on a private peninsula in Mexico overlooking the Pacific Ocean.Photo: Courtesy of Four Seasons
