Princess Yachts International approached Taylor with two principal tasks: To transform the perception of the Company to that of a luxury brand rather than just a builder of luxury boats and secondly, to enter the highly competitive superyacht market with a new and separate range.
The challenge was all about balance: to inject enough change to make a decisive shift in perception without losing the timeless appeal of a range of yachts owned by thousands of existing customers.
Brand Marketing Strategy
Princess build outstanding yachts but our research showed that the brand played a very small part of the buying decision. Being owned by LVMH, the world’s leading luxury brand, a conscious decision was made to alter the brand/product axis in collateral and advertising. The ultimate objective was to get clients to buy the product because of the brand.
Identity
New fonts, a subtle but important change to the logo, a more contemporary look to stationery and a silver streak line at sea level – details that gave Princess a classic contemporary identity and a foundation for corporate elements across all marketing material. How these were all applied was the important point of difference that totally changed the look of the marketing.
Collateral
Redesigning the all-important range brochure was a huge task. 192 pages, 4 ranges, 21 individual yachts, 4 photoshoots in different locations and copy and artwork in 6 European languages as well as Russian and Chinese.
The range brochure was a very underused opportunity to change client perceptions. Our research showed that apart from face-to-face meetings, viewing the brochure was the client’s longest exposure to the Princess brand. Taylor dramatically altered the catalogue’s content with editorial lifestyle photography and more competitive copy points. We also gave the design and production a more sophisticated feel to separate Princess from their competition and to align them with more established luxury brands.
For M Class superyachts, the task was to convey how Princess production expertise brought advantages to custom-built yachts. With our experience in superyacht marketing we recognised that confidence was one of the key missing factors. Things that are seen as important sales advantages at one price point are just assumed at the next level up. Trying too hard gives the wrong impression. Our M Class brochure strategy involved a different style of photography, copy and layout. The objective was to show how a company steeped in production can succeed in the world of bespoke.
Advertising
Thoroughly understanding not just our client but also their competition is fundamental to the way we work. This required a detailed examination of the strengths of all 21 Princess yachts against four primary and four secondary competitors – a total analysis of over 70 yachts. Princess had advantages in performance, specifications, space and build quality. Distilling these strengths into concepts and copy, we created a range of advertisements for the UK, Europe, US, UAE and Asian markets.
Digital
Princess digital marketing includes a redesigned website that is consistently updated with our advertising concepts to create an integrated message. We also created a bespoke web application that was distributed on a custom made USB drive at events worldwide, with information on the Princess range for media and customers.
