A new look Gold Medal

2007 has been a busy year for Gold Medal, with the company undergoing a huge restructure. As the company rapidly moves towards its’ goal as the North West’s biggest tour operator, the company branding has also been under the microscope.

The branding exercise has enabled Gold Medal to review its’ product portfolio, identify its’ positioning and confirm its’ target audience.

Gold Medal Travel has a 37-year heritage and boasts some of the best relationships in the business with the trade, airlines, hoteliers and car-hire suppliers. Gold Medal’s new branding perfectly encapsulates the company’s position as a major long haul tour operator. With a full product offering including everything from long haul holidays and city breaks to flights and car hire, the company can fulfil any holiday requirement. The new strapline ‘The World is Open’ makes a powerful statement referring to the fact that Gold Medal is opening the gateway to the world, making long haul travel accessible.

Gold Medal’s Sales and Marketing Director, Ruth Connor is clear about Gold Medal’s positioning: “Gold Medal is making desirable affordable and helping customers visit destinations they only ever dreamt of, giving them the ultimate holiday experience. Gold Medal offers over 1500 destinations worldwide, including Dubai, the Far East, the USA and Australia, as well as a complete tailor made holiday service – think Gold Medal and think bigger, better, further.”

Gold Medal Travel Group and its sub brands have all been included in the branding exercise and both Airline Network and Pure Luxury have undergone dramatic revamps.

Airline Network has come in for a funky overhaul, with its fun and fashionable branding placing it as a serious competitor against the likes of Expedia and Lastminute. Airline Network has a ten-year brand equity and the challenge with the revamp has been to retain the brand equity whilst demonstrating that the business is about more than just flights. The brand Airline Network remains and the branding focuses on the ‘Network’ element, with the strapline being – Everything Travel!

The word ‘Network’ has strong communication connotations and with the growth of online communities like Facebook and MySpace, the plan is to grow Airline Network into a travel community with the strapline ‘Get Airline Networking’ being used in all media communications. To coincide with the launch of the new look Airline Network on the 2nd January, there will also be an enhanced and improved Airline Network website where capabilities will enable visitors to dynamic package and build their own holiday itineraries.

Also under the spotlight has been the Pure Luxury brand which was launched in April this year. Pure Luxury has been given a chic and stylish new look, positioning itself as the world of new luxury. The key focus is still the art of indulgence and Gold Medal’s ability to handcraft unique tailor-made itineraries. The new brochure, launching in the new year will be packed full of beautiful and aspirational images offering truly indulgent holidays.

Gold Medal’s Ruth Connor has been the driving force behind the branding and is excited by the new brand offerings: “Gold Medal is a leader in its field. We have a wealth of knowledge and experience, coupled with exclusive product availability worldwide. The new branding is truly representative of Gold Medal and each of its sub brands and will help us position ourselves as a serious long-haul tour operator. The branding exercise has enabled us to review all our product offerings and hopefully deliver a product that is representative of the quality holidays that we sell.”

The new company wide branding will be a great framework for the company as it launches itself into 2008 as a quality tour operator.

For further information visit Goldmedal.co.uk.