What can the sunny heart do for Thomas Cook?

Thomas Cook has rebranded, ditching its globe logo and famous tagline for a sunny heart and the words ‘Let’s go’, see previous story, but what does it mean for business?

Gary Jacobs, CEO of marketing firm, Fox Kalomaski Crossing (FKC) looks at the power of the brand.

"Thomas Cook’s new identity and ‘Let’s go’ strapline has stirred up some interesting comments, opinions and debates on the company’s decision to drop the decades old positioning ‘Don’t just book it…’ – you can finish the rest yourself.

The beauty of branding is that it is subjective and often polarises the target audience or, as in the case of Marmite, cleverly creates polar opposites as a part of its brand strategy. 

A few years ago, the Minister of Tourism of a North African country asked me what I thought of his country’s logo. To avoid giving a subjective opinion, I used the analogy of a well-cut suit, in that the brand’s logo itself is more or less irrelevant if the experience of wearing the suit is uncomfortable. I’ll come back to that point in a moment.

‘Just do it’ (you know the brand) spends a small fortune establishing an emotional connection between its product and the hard work needed to succeed in sport. It resonates with consumers who love their sport, whilst creating a strong call to action to those wanting to get involved. The experience of using the product must follow through on the brand promise of being able to just do it whilst wearing or using their products.  If it fails to deliver, then the consumer will walk away and tell their contemporaries to do the same.

So, back to the Minister of Tourism and his country’s brand identity. Consumers have been divided for years over the decision to book a holiday to this destination, not because of the logo but because of the stories they have heard from friends and family about their experiences whilst holidaying there. Following the principle that if you can please most of the people most of the time your brand is likely to achieve a high net promoter score, recommendations will follow and your target audience, in-spite of the design of the logo itself, will look on your brand favourably.

We will know if Thomas Cook group’s new management has made the right choice in the years to come, when we will look back and acclaim or damn their actions. A response will come principally from the company’s shareholders and it will not be the logo or strapline they question but the overall performance of the management team and the company’s financial results.

If Thomas Cook gets its basics right i.e. product, place, price and promotion, then the debate over the design of the new logo will be irrelevant.  If, however it doesn’t, then consumers may very well rewrite the strap line as ‘Let’s go… somewhere else’.

Do you think Thomas Cook was right to drop its strapline ‘Don’t just book it, Thomas Cook it’? Take part in our Mole Poll by clicking on the homepage here