Eurostar: Clearer classes of service
Classes of service
What are classes of service?
Eurostar has three levels of service. Standard, Standard Premier, & Business Premier. The new names and branding for each of the services was created by SomeOne.
Each experience is very different, yet each service is very Eurostar. So it made sense for the new visual brand identity and Brand World to be applied across the three tiers, but so they remained easily differentiated for ease of use, each each was given it’s own brand identity principles, colours, tone of voice and imagery.
What was the problem?
Eurostar had three different services when you booked a ticket.
You could travel ‘Business Premier‘ — which meant you could use the lounge, travel in the Business Premier class carriage (the best carriages) and get great food & drink onboard, at your seat, for one price. You could even check-in super quick which meant even less waiting time. The thing is, everyone just called it ‘First Class’
You could get the regular service from what was called ‘Standard Class‘ — Here you got great value travel and is the core of the Eurostar brand.
Then there was the ‘other one’ that was called Leisure Select. No one really understood what it was, how it differed from Standard, or ‘First‘ — but it was actually brilliant. You go to travel in the front section of the train, get good food on board to your set and receive a considerably better experience than traveling in ‘Standard Class’
The problem was the offer wasn’t clear. The naming was confusing. There were three totally different visual brand identities that didn’t connect. Signage was confusing and often led to those with Leisure Select tickets trying to get through the fast track check-in or booking desks when in fact the tickets were only valid to go through regular channels.
This confusion often led to disappointing customer experiences and made it hard for people to make the right choice when it came to buying tickets. It also made it very hard for the staff at Eurostar to describe the three offers and therefore tough to sell.
How did we crack it?
New Nonclamenture: We simplified things by just describing each class…
Standard
Standard Premier
Business Premier
Then using the adaptive sculpture, created three beautiful versions.
One from brushed Steel.
One from bushed steel, placed next to gold.
One from gold.
We then created specific photographic treatments for each tier.
This way each tier felt different, told it’s own unique story and was flexible enough to take on new ones. Most of all they felt united and firmly from Eurostar.
What do Eurostar think of it?
‘You would be hard pressed to find someone who could really describe what the three classes of service offered a year ago. Things had become confusing and we were not doing our offer justice with the branding. Now we have three clear points of view that elegantly connect to the Eurostar vision of travel. We’re delighted with the results.’
Jean-Marc Barbaud, Brand & Design at Eurostar