Aesop, the brand story telling agency which launched in May this year, has created a full brand identity and guidelines for one of the most ambitious marina transformations being undertaken in Europe—the refurbishment of Barcelona’s Marina Port Vell. The identity is being rolled out across stationery, merchandise, launch materials, uniforms, signage and a new website, and Aesop is working closely with the architects of the new marina to ensure that the brand identity is consistent within the environment there.
Photo: Barcelona’s Marina Port Vell identity
Following Salamanca Group’s purchase of Marina Port Vell in July 2010, Aesop was appointed to develop a total brand solution for what is to become a new superyacht marina, opening in Autumn 2012. Salamanca Group wanted to understand the fundamentals of supply and demand in the industry, the triggers that sway market opinion to buy or rent a superyacht berth and what the most important factors are when making these decisions.
Photo: Barcelona’s Marina Port Vell identity
Aesop’s first brief, ahead of the design of the identity, was to undertake extensive research to ensure that business and brand strategies would be aligned. Aesop was briefed to understand and feedback on the market overview (demand and supply, berth sale and purchase patterns, price, benefits of berth ownership, overview of the Spanish market), define audience profiles, establish key considerations for choosing a marina, understand the competition and set the brand strategy to align with the business needs. Building on this, Aesop went on to design the visual identity and is helping to roll out the brand, which is to be unveiled, together with the new superyacht marina layout, at the Monaco Yacht Show on 22nd September.
Martin Bellamy, Chairman and Chief Executive of Salamanca Group said, “Aesop’s brand story process informed our business strategy for the marina, and they created a striking visual identity to deliver the impact we need to stand out from other marinas around the world.”
Roger Hart, Chief Executive of Aesop said, “We spent a couple of months immersing ourselves in the superyacht world—interviewing captains, crew, industry experts and the like – to understand the market and we subsequently created the strategy and positioning of ‘the best home port in the med’. This ensures that they’re targeting owners/captains (and influencers) with the appropriate messaging using the most relevant and impactful channels.”
Martin Grimer, Creative Director of Aesop said: “The visual identity aligns perfectly with the ‘moral’ of the brand story: “Moor in the City”. The logo itself is an aperture shaped ‘M’ with a playful nod evocative of boats entering the marina. With a personality exuding vibrancy, the symbol itself is filled with many images rich in the culture of Barcelona. Colourful, and able to tell many stories, the visual identity is made up of 20 ‘M’ logos that are interchangeable. And specially commissioned photography ensures a powerful and unique image collection to, again, build on the richness of the identity.”
Aesop is currently working with a range of clients including GSK Ribena, Shell, Birra Moretti, LJ Group, Foster’s, Alex James and Heineken UK.