Building a Brand in the Heart of Manhattan.
The Gallivant Times Square
Braintrust was chosen to create the new brand and make the property appealing to New York City visitors both stateside and international.
In a central location at 48th and Broadway, The Gallivant Times Square is the ideal basecamp for Manhattan dining, nightlife, theatre, entertainment, and exploration. From the in-room maps, to the location signs in the lobby, every piece of The Gallivant is meant to inspire adventure and New York City discovery.
Deliverables
- Naming & Brand Identity
- Visual Identity
- Interactive Design
- Social Media & Activations
- Web Development
A New Brand For A New York State of Mind
Most cities like to think they’re unique, but New York City truly is. It’s a world destination travelers have dreamed of visiting ever since watching a young Macaulay Culkin ran amuck in the early 90s. So, when we were called to rebrand the property, we began a rigorous discovery process that included property visits, guest studies, comp set comparisons, conference calls, late-night brainstorms, and in-depth lobby water analysis (yes, we did that). The new brand was influenced by the following insights and considerations:
- Over half of the current guests are international, so the new brand must appeal to both domestic and out-of-country visitors.
- The property’s great strength is the location and proximity to New York City landmarks.
- People come to New York City for a reason. Whether that’s business or pleasure, it must appeal to both mindsets.
- New York City is largely a city of discovery. There’s a never-ending list of things to see and experience.
The Name
People don’t just find themselves in New York City by accident. Whether you’re in NYC for business or pleasure, you’ve come to the city with intention and specific reason. The term “Gallivant” defines this type of travel. We travel to enrich our lives, and The Gallivant appeals to that “travel bug” in us all. Plus, as an unused name within the NYC hospitality industry, we were able to quickly create and own the brand story by “The Gallivant”.
The Brand Voice
Located in “The Heart” of New York City—major cross streets, 48th and Broadway—The Gallivant Times Square is the basecamp for Manhattan dining, nightlife, theatre, entertainment, and exploration.
Nothing captures the excitement and energy of New York City quite like the eclectic, chic, travel décor of The Gallivant. From the in-room maps, to the location signs in the lobby, every piece of The Gallivant is meant to inspire adventure and New York City discovery. Plus, with 336 variable guestroom layouts catering to the business traveler, family planner, or weekend warrior, The Gallivant offers all guests an upscale, comfortable, affordable NYC experience. Additionally, meeting space, in-room fitness equipment, bunk beds (yes, bunk beds), a full presidential suite, and more are all made available to ensure guests feel at home while they roam.
Logo Exploration
The primary color and mark are represented in gold. Gold shares the bright, cheerful attributes of yellow, but in a more traditional, time-honored fashion. Gold is also representative of courage and passion—attributes The Gallivant would like all hotel staff and guests to share. Passion for the City of New York, and the courage it takes to travel and discover new things.
The logo is made up of three parts: the compass mark, the property identifier, and the location identifier.
Color Palette
The color palette for The Gallivant was selected for its warm and welcoming nature — appropriate for a hotel property—while also reflecting the timeless feeling of excitement and energy that is Times Square. These colors can also be seen throughout New York City in older architecture and design. This allows The Gallivant to be a true representation of its location.
Developing Visual Elements
Social Activation
Connecting A Times Square Boutique Hotel With New York Pride Month
In an effort to elevate Pride festivities at The Gallivant Times Square hotel, Braintrust worked with the hotel team to put together a compelling Pride room sale package complete with a complimentary Gallivant tote bag, water bottle, custom Pride button, and Pride sunglasses. We promoted this on social media with organic posts, boosted posts, deployed multiple e-blasts, and ran the offer via Sojern display ads. The offer generated 97 rooms nights and yielded more than $20k in direct revenue.
In addition, we partnered with LGBTQ influencer Jessica Paege who posted about her stay at the hotel during Pride. The influencer helped elevate The Gallivant’s social media engagement by 569%, and yielded a 16,600% increase in Instagram followers during Pride month, effectively connecting The Gallivant with the LGBTQ community.
Web Development
We know that more than 76% of travel decisions are made online, so a great website for The Gallivant was a must. With that in mind, we created a fully-responsive website for the hotel that featured rich imagery, integrated booking engine and compelling package offers.
The Gallivant Times Square represents the excitement of travel and discovery that makes New York City an epicenter of world exploration.
