TOM JARROLD
© TOM JARROLD

GLOBAL BRAND EVOLUTION

BACKGROUND

When W Hotels launched in 1998, it redefined lifestyle hospitality—turning hotels from places to stay into places to meet, socialize and be seen. Two decades later, the brand had lost momentum. As luxury evolved and W transitioned from Starwood to Marriott, its identity became inconsistent and increasingly reliant on clichés. What once felt bold and original had become spectacle without substance.


Below: What the brand looked like in 2019.


INSIGHTS

Research pointed to a significant shift in attitudes about luxury and the opportunity to target a younger Gen Z and Y audience.

CHALLENGE

Reconnect W with the qualities that made it iconic while redefining them for a new generation of luxury travelers.


In 2021, I was brought in to reposition the brand for a new generation of travelers, leading the strategy and creative direction for foundational initiatives including brand strategy, visual identity, room design strategy, and the opening of key flagship properties such as W Nashville and W Rome.

BRAND STRATEGY

Luxury liberated, a brand strategy that became the foundation for every aspect of the guest experience, informing everything from architecture and room design to food and beverage, programming, events, visual identity, and marketing communications.


NEW IDENTITY

The new identity, developed in collaboration with Brooklyn based Porto Rocha, translated LUXURY LIBERATED into a cohesive brand system, including a refined W mark, custom global typeface, visual guidelines, and verbal tone of voice. The result was a flexible identity that worked consistently across marketing, digital, and hotel environments while giving W a more contemporary expression.

SPACES DESIGN STRATEGY

The repositioning I led established the foundation for a new global brand platform, identity, and design direction that continues to guide W Hotels today. Since launch, the brand has been widely recognized by the hospitality and design press as entering a new era, with renovated flagship properties and new openings reinforcing a more contemporary, experience-driven expression of luxury.

IMPACT

The repositioning I led established the foundation for a new global brand platform, identity, and design direction that continues to guide W Hotels today. Since launch, the brand has been widely recognized by the hospitality and design press as entering a new era, with renovated flagship properties and new openings reinforcing a more contemporary, experience-driven expression of luxury.