Thomson name is officially gone

The Thomson name officially disappears today after six decades as a popular package holiday brand.

Named after Canadian media baron Roy Thomson, who formed the company in 1965 after buying Skytours, Riveria Tours, Luxitours, Gaytours and Britannia Airways, the well-known British brand is being dumped in favour of the global brand TUI.

It comes after months of intensive marketing with the strapline ‘We cross the T’s, dot the I’s and put ‘U’ in the middle’, based on the TUI smile.

TUI is actually an acronym for Touristik Union International, the German company that acquired Thomson in 2002.

Although the Thomson name will disappear, sister all-inclusive brand First Choice will remain and last week TUI launched a completely new brand, Marella, for its cruise line.

TUI is also retaining specialist ski brand Crystal.

Nick Longman, MD of TUI UK and Ireland, said: "Re-branding under the TUI umbrella has obvious benefits for Thomson; with one consistent brand across all territories the UK and Ireland can leverage TUI Group relationships with external partners to extend global footprint and ultimately expand and diversify the offering for customers."

He pointed to further growth in the TUI hotel portfolio and investment in the development of exclusive concepts, including TUI Sensatori, TUI Sensimar, TUI Magic Life and Robinson Club.

Longman said switching to the TUI brand, which is not yet well-known in the UK, would enable the operator to attract the sort of clientele who would not have considered booking a Thomson package.

"We would have struggled to sell some things, such as the Sensatori, because these are not the sort of products that people expect of Thomson, but the TUI brand is seen as more modern, more contemporary." he said.

Next summer will see the opening of a new TUI Sensatori Resort in Rhodes and a TUI Sensimar in Halkidiki.

"As Thomson we modernised the package holiday and as TUI we’ll push the boundaries even further," said Longman.

"We have more data than any other holiday company in the world and we want to use this to offer experiences that match individual needs. That means more personalisation at every touch point.

"Recognising that consumer trends and content consumption habits are changing we’ll be investing more in digital content and interactive digital experiences for customers in store.

"It’s our ambition to create holidays so personalised that they choose ‘you’ and define a new ‘third way’ to travel, combining the ease and convenience of a package holiday with the flexibility and choice of independent travel. Ultimately we want to transform the UK travel industry."

He said TUI’s ‘high impact, heavyweight’ marketing campaign will reach 98% of the UK population, 24 times.

It will kick off tomorrow with a 60-second advert to the tune ‘Ain’t Nobody Loves You Better’ that will air for two weeks.

There will also be posters across key sites nationwide, print, radio, bus sides in major cities, ‘attention grabbing’ digital and mobile adverts, a significant presence at airports and key transport hubs, a major exclusive sponsorship deal with SKY One, complete take-over of the Gatwick shuttle and stand-out displays in retail outlets.

TUI UK and Ireland marketing director Jeremy Ellis said: "There are three main tasks for digital communications during the launch – make the TUI name famous fast, inject warmth and meaning to the new brand whilst driving reappraisal, and minimise drop off through the customer journey.

"We have worked with our key partners to ensure that the TUI brand is prominent throughout the launch with the right blend of innovative and impactful formats that will continue to drive the strong performance of our digital marketing."

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