Opening Campaign for Shangri-La Le Touessrok, Mauritius
Asian luxury hotel brand Shangri-La approached our agency to launch their new hotel. They had acquired the iconic Le Touessrok hotel in Mauritius. We crafted a master narrative to merge these two strong brands into one. Starting from the insight that holidays are increasingly cookie-cutter, with little mystique, we launched a campaign to “Give Back Space for the Imagination”. I led both the copywriting and the strategic positioning.
GIVE BACK SPACE TO THE IMAGINATION
In an age where our earth is mapped through GPS and Google Earth, every inch of the globe can be travelled without ever leaving home.
Gone are the days of setting off into the complete unknown.
The road to each destination has been paved by countless others, who’ve left a flood of instagram photos, Tripadvisor reviews, and Facebook updates in their wake. We’re left with a landscape saturated with ubiquitous palm trees and vanilla beaches.
In this barrage on our senses, there is no mystery, no space for our imagination.
Hotels across the globe jump into this frenzy. They cram their websites with laundry lists of amenities, each trying to outdo each other with even more perfect images of beach-front views and pristine white tablecloths.
In the race to sell paradise, a holiday in Mauritius becomes indistinguishable from one in the Caribbean, or Thailand. In the quest to present the perfect destination, they forget to take us on a journey.
We believe a holiday begins with a dream that needs to be nurtured, not manufac-tured. We believe the best holidays are the ones where the mind is free to roam, take unexpected turns, and make discoveries large and small.
We believe in giving back the space for the imagination. It’s a subtle art that involves stimulating the senses, without overwhelming them. It’s creating exquisite spaces that draw inspiration from the surrounding landscape and culture. It’s non-invasive Asian hospitality that allows you to do as you please.
It’s letting the imagination roam free, so that little moments can evolve into the richest of memories.
Local Stories: CBRE on Bond Street
To celebrate 50 years of the Financial Times on the iconic London Bond Street, our agency launched a campaign for Real Estate company CBRE to tell the stories of 3 buildings within their portfolio. I wrote the copy for the three stories, which were printed in long-form for editorial, then edited down for a print postcard, and then distilled into social bites for the #BondStSeries.
Story 2
HEADLINE
Landing Angels: Victoria’s Secret bring pink provocation to Bond Street.
DIGITAL POP-UP BOX
Landing Angels: Victoria’s Secret bring pink provocation to Bond Street. Tasked with a vision of a Flagship Store on Bond Street, CBRE met the challenge with its Insider Advantage, fresh thinking, and confidence. In a move that shook Bond Street traditionalism to its core, the angels landed—not the investor kind, but long-legged beauties and the crowds that follow them. Click here to read how rhinestones literally gave diamonds a run for their money.
POSTCARD
CBRE was tasked with a vision: a Flagship Store on Bond Street. Pass or fail. With nothing on the market, it required fresh thinking, quick moving, and confidence. A bold idea: instead of one store, how about three transformed into one? Armani, Armani Casa, and Pringle would be moulded into something entirely new. A cornerstone, visible from both north and south. Not just refitted, but entirely rebuilt. It was an idea that passed with flying colours-- primarily shades of pink.
CBRE understood Bond Street, had built it, and was about to change it—because the future waits for no one. It was a disruption that shook to the core. On a street built on refined palettes, and quiet demonstration of wealth, the angels landed. Not the investor kind, but the long-legged beauties and undergarments known for their brash American quality—loud, bedazzled, over-the-top. Victoria’s Secret on Bond Street. A pink-feathered provocation to the tight-lipped polish of traditional luxury. Soon: queues around the block, more footfall than ever before. The #2 performing store for the brand, making its opening UK act a memorable one. While some bemoan the move from diamonds to rhinestones, there is now a corner of Bond Street that touches a new world, where power lies in snapchatting fingertips. CBRE’s Insider Advantage knows: true vision is a glimpse of a future yet to come.
EDITORIAL
Like all disruptions, it began with a vision. CBRE was tasked with a vision so precise, so insistent, so… visionary it could settle for nothing less than complete fulfilment. Pass or fail: a Flagship Store on Bond Street. A large-scale presence on a street crammed to the gills, with retailers and investors squabbling over dwindling supply. There was nothing on the market. Not a thing. But visions require fresh thinking, quick moving, and confidence.
Like the biggest disruptions, its tremors went deep into the core. Here, that core was Bond Street: synonymous for the crème de la crème of London, a street where window-shopping meant gazing at the glitterati as much as the display of wares. Intricacy, excellence, craftsmanship, heritage. A street built on refined palettes, where differentiation was in the depth of nuance, where the wealthier you were, the quieter you got. CBRE understood this world, had built it, and was about to change it—because the future waits for no one.
CBRE brought to the table a new vision. Something bold and brash, not for the faint of heart. Instead of one store, how about three made into one? A holy trinity, a cornerstone for a new era for Bond Street, visible from both the north and south. What had been Armani, Armani Casa, and Pringle were moulded into something entirely new. Not just refitted, but rebuilt entirely for purpose. Bright pink fitting rooms, a powerful sweeping staircase, and delicate squares of lace dangling in the windows. It had been pass or fail, and they passed with flying colours-- primarily in shades of pink.
Then the angels landed. Not the investor kind, but the long-legged beauties and the lingerie they sold. Undergarments known for their brash American quality—loud, bedazzled, over-the-top. Victoria’s Secret on Bond Street. A reverse colonialism, a pink feathered provocation to the tight-lipped polish of tradition and understatement. A different kind of power player. And it flourished. Queues around the block, more footfall than ever before. Events regulating selfies, and sales that made it the #2 performing store for the brand. Entering the UK market, it was this store that helped it take centre-stage. While some bemoan the move from diamonds to rhinestones, there is a corner of Bond Street that touches a whole other world. A world that holds power in its snapchatting fingertips.
With its Insider Advantage, CBRE knows: what begins with a vision, is just a glimpse of the future yet to come.
