Boutique Design - December 2018 - 124

IDENTITY
TRANSFORMER
Mark Eacott, principal, HBA dna, leverages his
global experience to spearhead the new experiential
branding division from the world's largest hospitality
design firm. Find out his best practices for building
flags that stand the test of time and are truly (and
perennially) distinctive.
BY ALICIA SHEBER

HE'S LIVED IN EUROPE, Asia and America and worked globally, creating

HOW DO YOU MAKE SURE YOUR BRANDS DON'T BECOME DATED?

We future-proof our concepts and validate our work by keeping an ear
close to the ground, being in touch with and understanding the next
generation traveler. One tip we always give to clients is to "know your
guest." Know them, understand them - even hire them. When you truly
understand your guest, you can create a product that is truly focused (to
them), relevant and future-proofed. It's not a secret, but it's commonly
overlooked as an underestimated key source. We also do a great deal of
data driven research, insights and immersion work, to inform our ideas
and the brands we (re)create.
WHAT HOSPITALITY TRENDS ARE YOU SEEING IN YOUR RESEARCH?

We've revealed a shift towards "transformative travel" and "luxury wellness
tourism," providing guests a journey in personal development as well as
travel. Guests will book a trip to explore not only a new city, but also themselves. We'll see this search across all ages - from baby boomers to Gen Y
- with a constant striving to become better versions of themselves and a
chance to disconnect.

WHY WAS NOW THE RIGHT TIME TO LAUNCH THIS DIVISION?

WHAT SPECIFIC ADVANTAGES DO CLIENTS GAIN BY TRUSTING A DESIGN

We continue to see mega-mergers of hotel groups, which created a greater
need for brands (new or existing) to have a very clear DNA, voice and
offering. We also saw a need for a stronger connection between the two
markets, the U.S. and Asia, and Asian brands wanting to capitalize on the
record-breaking growth in the Chinese traveler abroad, creating brands
specifically for them abroad. That's why we set up dual headquarters in
Los Angeles and Singapore.

FIRM WITH THE CREATION OF A BRAND CONCEPT VERSUS WORKING

124 boutiquedesign.com

DECEMBER 2018

WITH A BRANDING AGENCY?

Essentially, it's something we call "for hospitality, from hospitality." We are
finding more and more clients choosing to come to us (over a branding
agency) due to our key hospitality and design background which enables
us to create, define, but also conceptualize new brands - in bringing them
to life. 

C O U R T E S Y O F H I R S C H B E D N E R A S S O C I AT E S ( H B A )

award-winning projects. He's been in-house with brands such as Soho
House and YOO to get a strong sense of hotel operations. So, is it really
surprising that Mark Eacott would want to expand his scope of work
beyond simply interior design, even with a firm with as extensive and
exciting a pipeline as Hirsch Bedner Associates (HBA)? Not really, but as
Eacott points out, it's his interior design background that provided the
needed jumping-off point for the career move that enables him to use all
the tools in his kit: HBA dna. "We still consider ourselves designers and
couldn't add the value we do now had it not been for our design backgrounds," he says. "This allows us to go much further than a typical 'brand
agency' by also spatially bringing the brands to life with design and planning strategies, look books, finishes and furniture guidelines, and ID
renderings that conceptualize and visually test concepts before going live."
Sure, HBA dna can do the visual identity work typical of branding
agencies. But the division, launched in June of 2018, aims to work hand in
hand with clients to provide micro-detailed answers to big macro questions. "At the start of ID projects, we always ask ourselves and the client
questions such as, 'Who is the target guest?' 'What hospitality experiences are they looking for?' and 'What's the essence of this brand and the
brand signatures?' The answers coming back were often full of superlatives and lacking in detail, so we decided to create a specialized division
to help with those answers."


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Boutique Design - December 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Boutique Design - December 2018

Boutique Design - December 2018
Contents
From the Editor
In This Issue
Check Out boutiquedesign.com
The Buzz
2018 Gold Key Awards: The Why Factor
Q+A:S+S=Success
Products: Casegoods
Products: Lighting
Exit Interview
Boutique Design - December 2018 - Intro
Boutique Design - December 2018 - Boutique Design - December 2018
Boutique Design - December 2018 - Cover2
Boutique Design - December 2018 - 1
Boutique Design - December 2018 - Contents
Boutique Design - December 2018 - 3
Boutique Design - December 2018 - From the Editor
Boutique Design - December 2018 - 5
Boutique Design - December 2018 - In This Issue
Boutique Design - December 2018 - 7
Boutique Design - December 2018 - Check Out boutiquedesign.com
Boutique Design - December 2018 - 9
Boutique Design - December 2018 - 10
Boutique Design - December 2018 - 11
Boutique Design - December 2018 - The Buzz
Boutique Design - December 2018 - 13
Boutique Design - December 2018 - 14
Boutique Design - December 2018 - 15
Boutique Design - December 2018 - 16
Boutique Design - December 2018 - 17
Boutique Design - December 2018 - 2018 Gold Key Awards: The Why Factor
Boutique Design - December 2018 - 19
Boutique Design - December 2018 - 20
Boutique Design - December 2018 - 21
Boutique Design - December 2018 - 22
Boutique Design - December 2018 - 23
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Boutique Design - December 2018 - 101
Boutique Design - December 2018 - 102
Boutique Design - December 2018 - 103
Boutique Design - December 2018 - Q+A:S+S=Success
Boutique Design - December 2018 - 105
Boutique Design - December 2018 - 106
Boutique Design - December 2018 - 107
Boutique Design - December 2018 - 108
Boutique Design - December 2018 - 109
Boutique Design - December 2018 - Products: Casegoods
Boutique Design - December 2018 - 111
Boutique Design - December 2018 - 112
Boutique Design - December 2018 - 113
Boutique Design - December 2018 - 114
Boutique Design - December 2018 - 115
Boutique Design - December 2018 - Products: Lighting
Boutique Design - December 2018 - 117
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Boutique Design - December 2018 - 120
Boutique Design - December 2018 - 121
Boutique Design - December 2018 - 122
Boutique Design - December 2018 - 123
Boutique Design - December 2018 - Exit Interview
Boutique Design - December 2018 - Cover3
Boutique Design - December 2018 - Cover4
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