- Client
- Taj
- IHCL
Being invited to work on a globally respected brand like the Taj Group of Hotels is a matter of extreme pride for anyone. After all, Taj is that iconic brand that has been ranked as the ‘World’s Strongest Hotel Brand’, and ‘India’s Strongest Brand’ across all sectors.
We at Water Communications were approached by the marketing department of IHCL, which is parent to a galaxy of well-respected brands in the hospitality sector, including Taj, SeleQtions, Vivanta, Ginger, amã Stays & Trails and Tree of Life, amongst others. Of these, we had also worked on Ginger, before.
To quote from its own website, Brand Taj is all about storied halls, sophisticated delights and unrivalled indulgences. It’s about elevated refinement and luxury at the level of royalty. ‘Iconic’ is the single word that best describes Taj. In keeping with such a pristine image, IHCL expects the same levels of professionalism and delivery from its partners, collaborators and whomever it deems to associate with.
Much of whatever is done for the Taj must be adorned in shades of sophisticated poetry and finesse. Historically, its brand communications dwells upon curating soulful journeys and ‘experiencing the soul of destinations’.
Keeping all these calibrated sensibilities in mind, Water Communications was taske with two prestigious assignments – the curation of IHCL’s Business Development (BD) brochure, and a second brochure for a special black-tie charity event linked to the 120 th anniversary celebrations of the Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai.
Each of the above had very different objectives, target audiences and hence required very different sensibilities. The BD brochure sought to onboard more properties across India and the world and would reach out to business associates, high net worth stakeholder investors, Government and industry bodies, etc, right across the globe. The 120 years special event brochure, on the other hand, soft-targeted stake holders, entrepreneurs, partners, celebrities, politicians, business persons, and other such.
In each case, the content flow, language nuances, imagery and design elements were carefully curated and calibrated keeping in mind IHCL and Taj’s distinct refinement and sophistication.
A business development brochure is the soul of a brand. Its absolute calling card. Within its limited pages, it should not just narrate the entire story, but capture its soul and instil in the reader a deep desire to be associated with the brand.
‘Soul’ was the key word here and, unlike regular BD brochures, this one had to go well beyond mere information and pretty pictures – however vital and indispensable these were, as well. It had to amalgamate the skills of a poet with those of a designer, and yet do the combined job of a marketing executive and data-analyst.
The content delivery was dressed in a polite tone, as if talking to a family member – a dearly loved one, at that. This aligned to IHCL’s own virtue they termed ‘Tajness’ – the soul of its differentiated hospitality that subtly guides all its interactions and, in fact, defines its very being. Tajness has mystique and charisma, all of which had to be subtly reflected in the content delivery.
The proposition also had to create value for each stakeholder. In doing so, every interaction at every level had to come across as warm, concerned and familial.
The visual content, too, was all art and science. A majority of the time was spent in zeroing in on the absolutely right image. ‘Good enough’ simply wasn’t good enough! We spent weeks sifting through over 50,000 visuals to finalise the 80 or 90 that perfectly fit each individual narrative and the overall communication.
Within all these exacting parameters did the content flow – from introducing the parent company (Tata Group), an IHCL overview, building up to its hugeness, portraying it as the hospitality ecosystem it is, seamlessly sliding into the IHCL values, acronymised as TAJ, touching upon TAJness, and finally subtly making the business proposition.
The iconic Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai, was celebrating its 120 th anniversary, and part of the celebrations included a gala evening with a black-tie charity event its centrepiece. Funds raised would be channelled into the many welfare and support initiatives run by the Taj Public Service Welfare Trust. The brochure would be sent out to influential and high net worth stake holders, entrepreneurs, partners, celebrities, politicians, business persons, etc. What we were tasked with, was to curate the complete communication for this high-profile document.
The Taj Mahal Palace is a well-known and respected icon – the very flagship and epitome of Indian hospitality. But we still needed to weave a storyline that ran through its history. More than storyline, though, it had to be a tapestry of prose and poetry – bringing to life the elements that went into making the Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai, the timeless beauty it had evolved into over more than a century of its existence.
Like a golden thread, our story wove true tales and anecdotes from its eventful and sparkling history – the legendary personalities behind its founding and subsequent growth, its intertwining with Indian history, its interior and exterior design, architecture and ambiance, its legacy and of course, it’s renown as the finest tradition of authentic Indian hospitality.
And yet, all of this elaborate story had to be narrated succinctly and with utmost sophistication – without a wasted word. Less, here, was more!
Likewise, the imagery. Every visual needed a very good reason to be there, and each had to convey a story in itself. The same with design elements and layout. They had to be captivating and classy, ruled by minimalism. We added value to each section – for example, the segment about the founder, his legacy and philanthropy, was very classily rendered in black and white.
We did not look at this as an assignment, rather a piece of art that needed to be curated with utmost thought and sensibilities. Our biggest reward came from the appreciation expressed by this very elite client themselves.
