60-Year-Old Contiki Unveils Refreshed Brand Identity

Image: A new look for the 18-35 social travel specialist. (The Travel Corporation)
Image: A new look for the 18-35 social travel specialist. (The Travel Corporation)
Bruce Parkinson
by Bruce Parkinson
Last updated: 6:50 AM ET, Wed January 19, 2022

Youth travel brand Contiki has launched a refresh of its brand identity that it says will "elevate the selling power" of the "amazing travel agent community" that markets its tours.

"During these strange times, we took some time to really understand what our travellers will want when the so-called 'new-normal' arrives," said Simon Llanos, Contiki chief marketing officer.

"We thought about our position and how we communicate social travel, something the world has dearly missed. We focussed on the things that are uniquely us: sharing incredible experiences, with brilliant people and a sense of fun, humour and community. We really feel we've bottled this feeling with our lively new brand evolution," Llanos added.

Contiki's says the new look is an expression of its values. Dominated by a colour shade dubbed 'Contiki Green,' the goal is to lean into "the energy, power and wonder of the feelings the brand creates on trips."

The green hue is also symbolic of the brand's latest achievement -- realizing its goal of becoming entirely carbon neutral beginning this month.

"Contiki trips are intelligently designed to be 100% carbon neutral but sacrifice none of the fun or wonderful experiences to achieve this," says Tasha Hayes, Contiki's Sustainability Officer.

"We know sustainability is incredibly important to our clients, but so is a complete travel experience and having a great time; we've looked at everything from our processes to communication to align with the 'new kind of green,'" Hayes added.

Contiki says the global pandemic hasn't just restricted young people's ability to travel, it has also closed them off to the kind of social connections essential for personal growth.

"One thing the pandemic brought into significant focus was the importance of our global community," said Llanos.

"Even when we were locked down in our homes, we were still connecting, still dreaming about travel and co-creating some inspirational content with our guests and partners. Even when we couldn't travel, those special social bonds made on Contiki trips endured - and that is truly unique to us. So, for 2022 and beyond, we live by our brand ethos of 'Travel.Together.' which means to travel with one another, the cultures we enjoy and the environment, too."

The evolution for Contiki comes as the brand has set ambitious goals for 2022, optimistic for a release of pent-up travel demand.

"In the last two months we've really started to see encouraging signs of a meaningful recovery," says Adam Armstrong, Contiki CEO.

"Our clients are resilient, confident and eager to resume their travels. We've developed this exciting new positioning with their help and we look forward to welcoming them back to Social Travel with Contiki this year."

To celebrate the brand evolution, Contiki has released a new video you can watch here.

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