X MARKS THE SPOT

The entertainment landscape of (movie)theaters, festivals, and other places to spend your spare time has become increasingly competitive. To stand out and be considered by the target audience we needed to build a strong, distinct brand with a clear position and brand image. Luxor has always been strongly connected to the DNA of Rotterdam. Entrepreneurial, honest, bold, and welcoming. We wanted to emphasize that. So we decided on ‘Typically Rotterdam’ and ‘Leading in hospitality as its main pillars.

A show, content, or a product are the main reasons guests buy a ticket at a theatre. So why should you choose Luxor instead of others? As we like to call it, it is the ‘X-Factor’. It is the city of Rotterdam, with hospitality, having high standards, and big entertainment. Something extraordinary, something special. It is the difference between ‘seeing a show’ and ‘seeing a show in Luxor’. It defines the brand experiences for employees, partners, artists, and the public. 

The X-factor is more than a creative concept for a corporate identity. The X-factor is at the heart of everything we do at Luxor. It is the extra attention that is given to visitors. The audience, artists, partners, stakeholders. It is a free drink during the show. The personalized card in the dressing room. The swift payment of our suppliers. It is the smile of the doorman when you go home. The X-factor is a separate box on the daily review sheet, and it is rated during everyone’s performance review.

When it comes to positioning a brand, one of the most important (and often most overlooked) aspects is internal branding. Employees, volunteers, partners, and artists are important touchpoints of your brand. It is who the audience sees and talks to. It is who they remember when they go home. They are the personalization of the Luxor brand.

To create a company culture that makes it possible for employees to deliver the X-factor experience we implemented a structural internal branding strategy. Employees are constantly reminded of the values of the brand. This starts with onboarding.

New employees receive a welcoming kit. It contains, amongst other things, a poster with useful facts, FAQ’s and ‘nice to knows’ about the brand, the building, and the people that they will encounter. It also holds a series of interactive cards with personal questions that they need to fill out and small assignments they need to carry out. The results are displayed in the internal bar where they serve as conversation starters during the weekly Friday afternoon get-together.

Throughout the year everyone at Luxor is consistently encouraged to behave and interact in a way that will strengthen the brand from the inside out. Inspirational talks by Marc (the CEO), motivational activities organized by management, and communication in and around the building. Internal branding is not a hobby project run by the communications department. It is a company broad structural plan that involves every department. HR, finance, management down to the party committee.

After almost 15 years the identity originally created for the New Luxor Theater was in need of a face-lift. Because Luxor is so closely connected to Rotterdam (both by values as well as target audience) we wanted a visual- and verbal identity that would match the personality of the city. Rotterdam is bold, straightforward, rough, and loud. We wanted this to show through in the visual elements. We started with a strong simple color scheme, red being the dominant color as a link to traditional red velvet theaters. The way we use typography and the dotted lines is a reference to old-fashioned broadway signing.

The X in Luxor is the most recognizable letter in the name and we wanted it to be a big part of the visual identity. Together with the color scheme and the typography, it became a small set of distinctive brand assets we use in all forms of communication. From corporate identity and internal signing to external communication and campaigns. Choosing a small set of distinctive brand assets and using them consistently and constantly is crucial to creating brand awareness and important for building a strong brand image.