SVP and Worldwide Director of Marketing Howard J. Wolff says the reception to WATG’s rebranding has been “universally positive.”

The process of re-branding can not only add freshness to a firm’s operation, but also reshape the very perceptions of its clients. Last year, the 63-year-old WATG sought to do both as it re-branded itself. The Irvine, Calif.-based firm is a design consultant for the hospitality, leisure and entertainment industries, and has additional offices in Honolulu, London, Seattle, Singapore and Orlando, Fla. To date, WATG has worked in 157 countries and territories, and designed multiple hotels and resorts.

But as it had helped clients refresh their properties, WATG had not done so for itself in 20 years. According to Senior Vice President and Worldwide Director of Marketing Howard J. Wolff, this was despite the fact that it had quadrupled its size, increased its number of services and changed leadership.

The process of re-branding, he explains, began with a “convening of a future vision group” that represented its offices and services. “They met several times over the course of several months and presented a compelling vision of the firm in the year 2015,” he says.

In addition, WATG collected the opinions of 250 people through a Web-based questionnaire and asked a branding consultant to perform one-on-one telephone interviews. With its client perception survey, Wolff says, the company was able to supplement its internal process and create a program for renewing its brand.

Through the process, the company implemented a new Web site, leadership development initiatives and knowledge development programs, and created a technology lab centered on design innovation.

The company also changed its brand name. While its formal legal name is Wimberly Allison Tong & Goo, WATG is its new brand name. In field research, the company’s respondents had commented that shortening its name would be easier for name recognition.    

WATG also implemented a new logo. “Our new logo breaks out of the box,” Wolff commented in a statement. “The letters are composed with plenty of breathing space – representing our expansion and our continued openness to the forces of change.  The letterforms themselves, based on an Optima font, are quite timeless; and they communicate a sort of ‘informal sophistication’ that has always been part of the firm’s character.”

The company has undertaken green initiatives along with its new identity, and all of the company’s printed materials are produced with recycled and recyclable paper with agri-based inks. WATG has also joined with The Conservation Fund’s Go Zero program. To offset the carbon effects of 1,400 travelers attending The Lodging Conference in Phoenix, the company planted trees in wildlife refuges and parks throughout the nation.

‘Building on the Past’
A challenge in the rebranding process “was building on the past without being a slave to it – communicating that it’s a re-energized firm without suggesting that it is an entirely new firm,” Wolff says. “We have a rich heritage and portfolio and reputation that we want to embrace, while at the same time, [we want to move] forward with a renewed energy and vitality.”

The process also gave WATG the chance to highlight work it was less known for. “One of the things we discovered was that WATG is best known for the architectural design of large resort projects,” Wolff says. “We have no problem with that. That’s the work that gets published most frequently and most widely.”

The perception also showed that WATG could promote other service lines, such as planning and interiors, and its smaller, urban and non-resort projects, including casinos, wellness facilities, and residential and mixed-use properties. “We’re expanding people’s perceptions, while staying focused on our core markets of hospitality, leisure and entertainment,” he states.

WATG’s work has paid off. “The reaction has been universally positive, particularly to our new Web site, our renewed focus on design and our commitment to the environment,” Wolff reports.