Operator streamlines its top-end product into an enhanced Signature range. By Rebekah Commane
Thomas Cook is simplifying its line-up of brands by dropping its Style range and offering all luxury product in a new-look Signature programme.
The enhanced Signature brand will be positioned as the high end of the Thomas Cook range, but will be adapted to offer flexible packages with flights from other airlines, not just the operator’s own.
Speaking to Travel Weekly, Matt Appleby, head of long-haul product at Thomas Cook, said: “We are repositioning the brands within Thomas Cook so that we have a clear ‘good, better, best’ proposition.
“Airtours is our value proposition, Thomas Cook is our core mid-range product and now Signature will become the best of our product range.”
Flexible flying
Appleby added that market research had shown that customers don’t really understand the difference between chartered and scheduled flights.
He added: “We don’t want our brands to be pigeonholed as charter or scheduled; the difference is becoming less and less.”
Product and yield director Stefanie Berk said customers were looking for a bit more luxury and flexibility.
“It might even be that they fly low-cost to Sardinia because it’s the easiest way to get there, but they want a five-star hotel,” she said. “It’s a special, hybrid customer we are addressing with this [Signature] brand.”
Full spectrum
Signature by Thomas Cook has traditionally been a long-haul, scheduled range and it was repositioned last year to encompass the top end of the Style product, which became Signature European Beaches. The Signature range has now evolved to include a full spectrum of destinations.
“We’re simplifying things for customers and agents with the Signature brand,” said Appleby.
“If you want to stay at a top Cancun hotel, instead of having to look at one brand to choose a Thomas Cook flight and another to fly on Virgin, you can go to Signature and see all the different flying options available.
“So rather than having a Caribbean brochure for Thomas Cook and another for Signature featuring scheduled flying and the same high-end hotels, we’ll have one brochure, so it’s simpler.”
Revamped logo
The revamped Signature brand will feature a new logo. The platinum lettering of the previous Signature branding has become dark brown and the font changed.
The Thomas Cook ‘sunny heart’ logo has also been removed from brochure covers to help differentiate the brand from others in the range, said Berk.
“A lot of these customers want to feel a bit different to the ordinary Thomas Cook customer”, she said.
“They consider themselves Signature clients rather than Thomas Cook, but they like the security of the operator in the background as a safety net.
“We felt the new brand needed to be more separate, that’s why it has a strong new logo.”Berk said the target market for Signature was high-end but not ultra-luxury, likening it to Kuoni.
Signature brochures
New Signature brochures have been designed with full-page destination images on the cover. The line-up of brochures includes the Caribbean, America & Canada, Florida, Exotic Escapes and Europe and the Red Sea.
In total, the range features more than 1,000 properties. Among 80 new properties are the Burj Al Arab, Dubai, and Fontainebleau, Miami. Some of Thomas Cook’s own, mainly Sentido, properties will feature.
Initially, the long-haul programme will offer complete flexibility of airlines, with this due to be extended to the short-haul products in the coming months.
Agent training
Thomas Cook is training 100 agents in its retail network to be Signature experts as part of its Signature Extras programme.
So far 50 of these agents have had destination and customer service training in Peterborough, with the remaining 50 to be trained soon.
“They’ll be brand ambassadors within the retail network and spread the Signature message and they’ll also be a point of contact for customers,” said Berk.
A new Signature website has been created within the Thomas Cook site that includes a section where customers can look up who the expert is in their chosen destination and contact them or make an appointment to visit. The ambassadors will be located in stores around the country. Berk said Cook was also considering training third-party agents but nothing had yet been finalised.
The changes were due to take effect today (December 11), with the Style Collection brochure withdrawn and the new-look Signature programme launched.