London's most recent premier residential high-rise is in Hyde Park elegantly named The Bryanston. Designed by Viñoly of Walkie Talkie fame, the connection to nature is seen within every striking detail of the branding system. Alphabetical, the branding agency that focuses on reaching people through environmental, digital, and sensory branding, has created an identity for this luxury building that enables people to live and breathe the natural theme that radiates through the apartments, floorplans, and identity. Alphabetical captured the sights, sounds, and smells of the park, and ambient sounds are amplified throughout digital platforms to achieve sensory branding; every detail was thought through effectively and delicately.
The Bryanston, Hyde Park, London’s latest premier residential high-rise designed by architect Rafael Viñoly for property developer Almacantar, is due for completion this summer, after collaborating with Alphabetical on a multi-sensory digital brand strategy that celebrates its park-side location.
Almacantar approached London brand agency Alphabetical in 2018 because it wanted to eschew traditional property marketing techniques in favour of an approach that would make the most of its skyline-altering development overlooking the Central London park.
Created by Viñoly of Walkie Talkie fame, The Bryanston, part of Marble Arch Place, comprises 54 apartments, each with impressive cinematic views of Hype Park. And it was this connection with nature that formed the foundation for Alphabetical’s approach.
Tommy Taylor, creative partner, Alphabetical, says, “These are luxury properties targeted at an exclusive audience. Trying to wow them with expensive fixtures and fittings would never have worked. So we had to ask: ‘What does The Bryanston have that you can’t get anywhere else in the world?’ Priceless views of and access to one of the most beautiful royal parks in the UK.”
By taking inspiration from the park and from Viñoly’s building, Alphabetical devised a creative brand strategy that complements and celebrates the development and its surroundings. It also makes the most of multiple digital capabilities, creating a more impactful project with global reach.
“So often in property marketing, buyers are presented with two-dimensional campaigns,” says Almacantar’s marketing director Rachel Moore. “If all developments produce similar glossy brochures and lavish marketing suites, it’s hard for buyers to distinguish which one is right for them. We wanted to engage all the senses to create an experience of what life could be like on an emotional and physical level for people who move into this ground-breaking development.”
The team achieved this by capturing the sights, sounds and smells of the park. Field recordings and ambient sounds have been sampled from the woodland, meadows and waterways, creating a kind of natural symphony to be played across digital platforms. A giant screen – Europe’s largest at the time of installation – dominates the marketing suite, taking people on a filmic audio-visual journey.
All the marketing materials focus on the visual elements, ‘showing’ rather than ‘telling’ and reflecting the panoramic views that can be enjoyed from within the building. And a bespoke typeface relates back to plants that can be found throughout the area. The natural theme even extends to the way in which the apartments and floorplans are identified. Each has its own leaf from the native and imported trees in the park, further cementing the relationship between building and nature.
Synchronised approach
Taylor says, “Our approach makes sense for the location, the prospective residents, and because Viñoly himself has used the environment to great effect throughout the building. It’s constructed in London’s Portland stone, and there’s clever use of light everywhere you look. It also makes a real virtue of its beautiful surroundings, and we have endeavoured to reflect that.
“When you’re communicating with people who understand luxury but may not be familiar with the subtleties of life in our capital, environmental, digital and sensory branding is a great way to make that connection. It enables people to live and breathe the development, and it helps you reach them across all channels.”
Moore says, “The Bryanston needed something special to take it to market. Our prospective clientele already understands luxury, so we needed to be more inventive. Alphabetical understood how to connect with people, which is the most important aspect of finding the right solution. The team works across lots of sectors and is not constrained by what’s ‘expected’ in luxury property branding, which meant we were challenged too – our buildings are unlike any others so our marketing needed to reflect that. It was an exciting and creative process, pulling in all kinds of expertise: film, print, music, graphics, art to fit the purpose of all assets. The resulting campaign celebrates the project perfectly.”
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