Branding a Global Amusement Operations Company

ICON Global Partners is an international amusement operations company that personally guides owners, investors and operators through the entire design, development, implementation, servicing and maintenance process. Their main focus is in developing markets, and they work with clients who aspire to be world-class in a time when service and safety expectations are continuously increasing.  The company is lead by two industry leaders, Chris Perry and Tim Mow.

ICON came to Visual Lure for branding guidance and logo development, graphic design services, and WordPress website design and development. Below is some of the work we completed for ICON:

Initial Brand Exploration

When we are creating a new brand from scratch, exploring and defining the brand is an important first step before any design work is completed. This can be done through conversations or by filling out a brand framework form.  Here is ICON’s brand positioning and messaging:

Brand Promise:

Proactive, transparent, personalized (hands-on) service from concept to opening, and beyond.

Brand Positioning:

• Helping the leisure and amusement developer to success by listening and providing comprehensive support and technical assistance throughout the development process.
• ICON wants to be the company of choice for those aspiring to achieve international standards of safety and service for their amusement facility in developing markets.
• ICON is an operations speciality company for amusement facilities that aspire to be world-class in developing markets.

Master Positioning Statement:

• What: The only amusement operations speciality company
• How: that will hand hold (lead) through the entire process
• Who: for owners/investors and operators
• Where: in developing markets
• Why: who aspire to be world-class
• When: in a time where service and safety expectations are increasing globally

Target Audience:

• Owners and investors of potential amusement facilities and mixed-use developments globally
• Existing operators looking for assistance with a future redevelopment or looking to improve their operation
• Amusement suppliers/manufacturers that are involved in projects which have not yet defined who the operator is
• IP companies (Cartoon Network, Cirque du Soleil) that are involved in amusement operations that would like to have clearly defined design and operating standards for their brand
• Hotels that are adding aquatic elements and want to ensure they are safe and operationally efficient

Brand Mission:

ICON’s brand mission is to help others who (aspire, have a desire, have a drive, want, aren’t afraid of the journey) to become (iconic, world class) in their market.

ICON’s Thought Process:

1. Where can we lead our customers (so that our competitors can’t follow)?
   By developing strong relationships and partnerships that are built on trust, transparency and hard work. Personalized, client-centric commitment focusing on direct interaction and solving potential issues before they become problems
2. How can our brand help customers help themselves?
   By working hand in hand, we are teaching people how to think differently
3. What new forms of value can we deliver?
   Working hand in hand in partners in an economical way (by being based in the region) By being more than an operator and representing our clients in our own areas of expertise
4. How can our brand become a platform for creating customer opportunities?
   Volume of key clients in region. Building brand awareness by the success of client base
5. How can our brand become a richer context of living?
   Safer, more enjoyable facilities, with better service. Partner for future projects with an easier path of development/openings. By taking the stress burden off of the owner and/or driving higher profits through experience, knowledge and efficiency.

Brand tone of voice (Brand’s personality):

• Confident
• Personal/Genuine
• Local
• Helpful (solution focused)
• Passionate

What does ICON do better than their competition? What makes ICON different?

• ICON is based in their target region (Southeast Asia, which reduces travel costs and makes us easier to communicate with vs. having to speak with someone in North America or Europe)
• ICON is personally involved vs. passing the work to a project manager or hiring someone other than the leaders of the company
• ICON’s operators have recent operating experience in some of the most recognized water parks in the world.
• ICON is not afraid to get their hands dirty and work with clients onsite
• ICON offers multiple solutions through their own resources (one-stop shop)
• ICON prefers a client representative approach in which they will interact with other consultancies on the client’s behalf

Final Logo Design

Here is the final logo. It features a globe made from waves – as water parks represent the core of their business. We also added a swoosh/splash under the mark to give it a sense of playfulness and motion. The typography is heavy and arched from the bottom to give it an “iconic” feel, and gradients give it a sense of depth – making the mark more fun, which is what this company is all about.

Logo Explorations

Below are a handful of logo design explorations we presented. The client requested that we use a globe, and they preferred the color blue – because a majority of their business is water park related.

Business Card Design

Website Design

Designed and developed in WordPress, the new ICON website is a fully custom, simple, clean, and easy to maintain theme. Even though it’s a pretty simple layout, we added a wave to the sticky header so that it didn’t look like a cookie cutter theme. The site is of course fully responsive, rendering beautifully on any type of device or screen. Additional features include: easy to apply column short codes for layout flexibility, an RSS industry news feed automatically pulling from an industry news resource, and an accordion services section.

We also installed and configured WordFence for added security, and WP Rocket for improved load-time speeds giving the site an A rating on both GTmetrix and Pingdom.

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