Hospitality_Showcase by Albert Smith Group

Hospitality

All About Identity Magazine January â&#x20AC;&#x201C; June 2009

The Oaks Group arrive in Townsville

It has been little under a year since Queensland based Oaks Hotels & Resort Group opened its two stunning new properties in Townsville; Oaks on Palmer and Hotel M. Complimenting their expanding collection of properties across Australia, New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates both Oaks on Palmer and Hotel M have carved out unrivalled popularity status as leaders for quality hotel and apartment accommodation in the region. The Townsville skyline was recently poised as cranes lifted the two large exposed neon signs into prominent positions on top of the Oaks on Palmer and Hotel M buildings, signifying their presence in the rapidly evolving North Queensland city. Built on a once vacant site at the city end of Palmer Street, Oaks on Palmer commands excellent street presence and has elevated the visual aesthetic of the area with its crisp white facade, landscaped gardens and dominate design that mirrors a contemporary, modern feel of this tropical city. The addition of signage from Albert Smith Signs has only drawn further attention to Oaks on Palmer with the signs seen as a local landmark for visitors who need only look to the skyline, day or night, to be greeted with the dominate blue and white Oaks signature logo, and follow the new beacon to arrive promptly at Palmer Street without the need for navigation or directions. Hotel M also illuminates the skies of Townsville with its bold white ‘M’ and red strike, seriously stylish signage matching that of its accommodation, an undisputed leader in the race for accommodation supremacy in Townsville with no rival coming close to its confident, contemporary designs. Hotel M is sleek, sexy and sophisticated and delivers a standard unseen in North Queensland. Built on the same site as the Metropole Hotel, a little further down Palmer Street than its sister property Oaks on Palmer, Oaks Hotels & Resorts Hotel M is less imposing in stature, fitting snugly behind the historic Metropole Hotel, a position the Hotel has occupied since Townsville’s earliest seafaring days. The decision to let the famous Metropole Hotel retain street frontage pays homage to an iconic history but also to show off one of the most famous refurbishments that has ever been made on an original Townsville Hotel. A new bistro, bar, gaming lounge and alfresco street side dining area has elevated the Metropole to new popularity status. While you get your fix of smooth designer accommodation at Hotel M, you can also taste one of Townsville’s best traditions by enjoying one of the best counter meals in the tropical north at the Metropole! Kerri Hamilton – Oaks Hotels & Resorts 17

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Formule 1 ‘Best Price’ Displayed In August 2007, as one of the nominated sign suppliers to Accor Australia, we were invited to Tender for the design and construction of an upgrade to Formule 1 Hotel pylon signs to include changeable LED price digits, so that staff can instantly and easily update the price displayed on their signs and without the costs associated with access equipment to service large pylon signs.

OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS 1. Press RUN 2. Sign starts flashing 3. Key in the new value 4. Press RUN to activate NOTE: Key in zero for leading zero blanking ie. key in 076 for 76

Did you know that currently most Formule 1 Hotels still offer rooms from as little as $70 per night? No wonder they promote ‘Sleep Well at the Best Price’. So whilst currently the signs only need to display two digits, considering inflation and a few years down the track this may exceed a two-digit display. Therefore, our solution allowed for a three-digit character to ensure longevity and flexibility of the system.

The specification of the LED’s is critical to the success and legibility of the sign. We designed an IP54 weatherproof rated system with a viewing distance of 200 metres (at 60kph you will see the display for approximately 11.3 seconds), and a viewing angle of 110 degrees horizontal and 40 degrees vertical to maximise the viewing audience. The brightness also plays an integral part in the legibility of the digits day and night. We specified 2,000 mcd yellow leds with 3 LED’s per pixel (non scanning). The LED’s automatically dim at night, via pulse width modulation, so there is no flaring at night but are bright enough in direct sunlight. The sign is controlled by a handy telephone style keypad that plugs into a weatherproof data port at the base of the sign. The operator simply follows a quick 3-step process to initiate a change and key in the new price. As an added feature we allowed for future upgrade to GSM, if required by the site at a later time. Each sign is pre-fitted with a data cable to allow the GSM modem to be mounted at the base of the sign; therefore a minimal cost now avoids costly access in the future. Now only a year down the track, following site surveys and the lengthy local authority approval process, Formule 1 sites in Australia are displaying the best prices in the best way possible. Elizabeth Easton – Albert Smith Australia

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SUBSCRIPTION

Contents JULY-DECEMBER 2005

NOVOTEL implements new visual identity

Managing Director's Message..........................2

American Express lights up Sydney ..................3

Regional Re-imaging projects a specialty ..........4

What's the score..............................................5 Ezyscore

Talbot Hotel Group..........................................8 Building the Brand

Who says the sign industry isn't trendy?..........10 Signvest

Local artist supports Red Cross ......................10 Daniel Templeman

Total-Sinochem Fuels Company Limited is a joint venture of Sinochem and The BRT blends retail and tavern ....................14 Total France. Sinochem is one of the Brackenridge Tavern In compliance with the new global four graphic nationalcharter oil companies in China; Coles 1st Choice for liquor ........................... 18 brand, Novotel Brisbane was of the the firstinofthethe they operate petroleum, fertilizer and chemicals sectors and enjoy high Price Waterhouse Coopers High Level Novotel Hotels in Australia to adopt the new livery. Building Signs ............................................. 20 prestige around the world. Total is the world’s fourth-largest Hilton in the heart of Brisbane....................... 22 General Manager, Howard Kaplan ordered the main international oil and gas company, with operations in over New RCH Busway brings relief to commuters..24 identification signs to be installed, in time to coincide with 130 countries. Jax and Quickfit are now the one ! .................11

the Novotel Conference being held at the hotel.

Position Prestige Paradise ............................. 26 Graham Cameron residence

The core business of Total-Sinochem Fuels

Company Limited Thank you to Howard Kaplan and Perry Slater for is to develop, construct, and manage a network of 300 service stations of choosing Albert Smith Group to supply the new branding high standard and quality, in Beijing, Tianjin, to your hotel, it was a pleasure to work with Hebei andyou. Liaoning of East China.

One way to break a drought ........................ 28 Lismore Shopping Centre

Toyota in 3D ................................................. 6

Elizabeth Easton – Albert Smith Australia

From royalty to the fast lane in China .............12 Spyker

Total Sinochem ............................................ 30

Added service, Added value, Added opportunity ................................................................... 16

All About Identity Magazine is a free publication published by Albert Smith Signs Pty Ltd. Copies are sent to clients, staff and colleagues. Please sent enquires and comments to: Albert Smith Group 59 Taylor Street Bulimba, QLD 4171 Australia Tel 61 7 3395 9888 Fax 61 7 3891 0713 Eml enquiries@asgroup.com.au Web www.albertsmithgroup.com Elizabeth Easton, Editor Jody Burton, Graphic Design Printcraft, Production Cover Design by Kathy Lin

Building upon the successful working experiences between Total and Albert Smith in Philippines; about six months ago Albert Smith China was invited to participate in the Retail Visual Identity (RVI) Program of Total in China. As the RVI of Total is being applied consistently worldwide, our job in China was made easier, through simply applying the same engineering design and production methods that we’ve been applying in Albert Smith Philippines into our local manufacturing. In addition to this, our production lead time and learning curve for the Total signage was significantly reduced through the sharing of production resources and parts with our Philippine counter-part. Consequently, we have reduced the production hours by 40%, plus we have got each and every production detail correct first time, even at the first production trial.

JANUAR Y - JUN E 200

Corpor ate Identity An inte

gral par

2006 DEC 2006 EDITION -11JUNE JANUARY

t of Bra

nding Page

Albert Smith China is honoured to be appointed as the sole signage supplier for Total-Sinochem stations in China. Up to now, we have successfully completed 6 stations. Our scope of works include the supply and installation of a wide range of signs such as for the service bay, the convenience store facade, the pylon sign and including cladding of the canopy.

Millennium Arts Project Page 16-17

Family

Signmake r goes organic Page

Friendly

The largest world's railway station Page

Sharks

Page

EDITION JANUA RY12 - JUNE JUNE 2007

Maggie Shi – Albert Smith China Albert Smith India

AAMI Brisbane

Riding the Elephant Page 25

2007

- JUNE 2007 JULY – DECEMBER JANUARY

Memories of Mongolia

Page 20-23

ASB Bank ALL– ABOUT IDENTITY MAGAZINE One Step Ahead Page 18-19

Page 4-5

LED Lighting for Brisbane Hotel Page 18-21

Out of the

Smoke

Using 3D Animation Page 6-7

Page 20-21

Cinema Chain Booming Page 8-9

Celebrating 100 years of Service

20th Anniversary Page 4-5

Page 12-13

For a subscription to AAI email your details to marketing@asgroup.com.au Privacy Information: The personal information provided by you is used by the Albert Smith Group to contact you and send you information about the Group's products and services. You may request access to your personal information and request that it be corrected at any time. If you wish to request access to, or correct, your personal information or for more information about our Privacy Policy, please contact our Privacy Officer as follows: Telephone: +617 3395 9888, Fax: +617 3891 0713. Email: enquiries@asgroup.com.au. Postal address: Albert Smith Group Privacy Officer" PO Box 226, Bulimba, Queensland, Australia 4171. To view our Privacy Policy and Trading Arrangements, please go to our website: www.albertsmithgroup.com

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Ibis Sydney King Street Wharf is the only new build hotel to open in Sydney CBD this decade. The Ibis is an eight-storey, 91-room hotel, part of a combined retail and hotel development that covers approximately 1490 square metres of prime real estate on the corner of Shelley and Erskine Streets at King Street Wharf. The entire project cost close to $30 million. “It is significant that the only new build hotel to open in the CBD this decade is an economy-sector hotel,” said Mr Issenberg, Chairman & Chief Operating Officer, Accor Asia Pacific. “While many of the city’s upscale hotels such as the Sofitel Wentworth Sydney have been extensively refurbished and upgraded, the cost of CBD land has made the development of new-build hotels extremely prohibitive. However, economy hotels such as Ibis put their major emphasis on rooms, rather than restaurants and meeting space, so while the block of land is relatively compact, its design maximises the room capacity, allowing us to offer a very competitive rate for such a prestigious location.”

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Accor has been one of very few hotel groups to open new hotels in Australia this decade, including the 5-star Pullman and 2-star Formule 1 at Sydney Olympic Park. Ibis is growing rapidly as a brand across the Asia Pacific region, with over 100 Ibis hotels under development in China within the next three years. The brand is also expanding in Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and Korea. The building signage for Ibis Sydney King Street Wharf was supplied and installed by Albert Smith Group early in the New Year. Due to the restrictive access the high level signs, located on 3 elevations, were installed via rope access. The distinctive Hotel Ibis signs can be seen from as far as Darling Harbour and by motorists travelling on the Wharf Road overpass.

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Comiskey Group on their game Comiskey Group is a privately owned property development company based in Queensland and operating since 1996, with development interests around Australia, primarily specialising in childcare, taverns and retail developments. One of the groups more recent success stories is the brand new Beachmere Tavern located on the corner of James Street & Beachmere Road, which borders the picturesque Bribie Island - Moreton Bay area. The tavern is a simply stunning, architecturally designed, modern venue and includes indoor and outdoor dining, gaming room, sports bar, drive thru and a large childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s play area. Perfect for the whole family! Beachmere and the surrounding area is one of Australiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fastest growing regions with an annual population growth double the Australian average and the development of the Tavern and the adjacent supermarket and speciality shops also by Comiskey Group, is a clear indication of just how much growth this region is currently experiencing. Of course, being Queenslanders we also like our beer, and the Tavern has plenty of cold ale on tap to help cool down on those hot summer days!

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Early 2008 Rob Comiskey commissioned Albert Smith Signs to supply and install external venue branding and feature strip neon over the drive – thru building “blades” which we successfully completed. Rob then approached us later during the year to assist him with providing a solution to add some life and colour to the gaming room area and to provide dynamic and unique signage over the main and secondary entries. The design charter was to maintain the “beach” theme of the tavern, with a “nautical” twist to tie in with the name of the gaming room which Rob cleverly dubbed as “Cash Cave” in his initial briefing. The challenge to create a dynamic and unique design was then handed over to our Signspec team and Tom Smart took the initiative. We followed a traditional approach within the gaming room and installed two rows of red and blue perimeter neon around the bulkheads which added the light and colour that Rob was expecting. For the entry signs, Tom travelled down to Northern New South Wales in his own time to visit local antique shops to source authentic

“nautical” equipment, and came back with historic ships steering wheels, port holes and old net floats under his arm! He also visited several specialty timber suppliers to select an appropriate timber to act as the background, but with a look that resembled a section of a “tall ships” hull. Tom then combined these historic elements with some current technology, with “Cash Cave” fabricated 3 dimensional letters in a “ye oldy” type font, backlit by amber LED to create a “gold” halo lighting around the letters. He also added LED rope light to highlight the existing faux stonework around both entries. The final design is indeed dynamic and unique and delivered on Rob’s charter and we believe these signs are a clear indication that one off “craftsmanship” is still alive and well within our industry. We are very proud to be associated with Comiskey Group and are equally as proud of these eye catching and interesting signs. Hope to see you down at the Tavern on a Sunday afternoon! Jason McCormack – Albert Smith Australia

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Holiday Inn re-brand 11,000 signs worldwide The dramatic change to the Holiday Inn brand is seen worldwide through their recent signage upgrade. IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) is one of the worlds largest hotel groups, boasting more guest rooms than any other hotel group in the world. It owns, operates and franchises 7 hotel brands, (InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites), has over 160 million stays per year, more than 600,000 rooms and over 4,100 hotels across nearly 100 countries. In October 2007, IHG announced a worldwide re-launch of the Holiday Inn brand family, comprising Holiday Inn, Express by Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express. The re-launch programme gives Holiday Inn a refreshed and contemporary brand image. Holiday Inn is making dramatic changes to its signage, evolving the iconic script logo, energizing the signature colour green and eliminating the current shield shape. The brand will replace more than 11,000 signs around the world to reflect this refreshed and contemporary look. The new brand signage will also be incorporated into design elements in each of the more than 3,100 hotel lobbies and more than 400,000 guest rooms worldwide. Albert Smith China has been invited to participate in this brand re-launch program. As the sole authorized Art Wall and Cube Light supplier for the Holiday Inn brand family in China, we also supply the hotels with Pylon & Monument Signs, Wall Signs, Directional Signs, Building Letters, etc., throughout China. We supplied and installed the signage for IHG and are proud to now be playing a key role of its brand re-launch program. Cindy Lu â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Albert Smith China

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Let the Games Begin! Marriott brings a new level of luxury to Beijing Marriott International, Inc. is one of the world’s foremost hoteliers with about 3,000 lodging properties in 68 countries and territories. It operates and franchises properties under more than a dozen of brands, including the JW Marriott and the Ritz-Carlton. As the most prestigious Marriott brand, the JW Marriott is a high performance luxury hotel, meticulously designed for both business and pleasure. It provides travelers a deluxe level of comfort and personal service. In the fourth quarter of 2007, JW Marriott Beijing, one of 39 JW Marriott Hotels and Marriott’s “3000th property” worldwide, was opened with much fanfare. Located in one of Beijing’s most fashionable areas, the JW Marriott Hotel Beijing is an integral part of China Central Place, a prestigious landmark of this capital city which has undergone an impressive transformation as both a major commercial center and a world-class tourist attraction. The complex comprises of three top grade office towers, a large shopping mall offering over 900 international brands and exciting dining options, high end residential apartments and the Ritz-Carlton, Beijing. Albert Smith China was delighted to be the signage supplier for both the JW Marriott and the Ritz-Carlton. We supplied and installed truly impressive LED illuminated channel letters on top of the portico of the JW Marriott, which are golden during the day and white at night. The other scope of works included the pylon at the main entrance of the Ritz-Carlton, additional channel letters for the JW Marriott and stylish way-finding signs for both properties. As its third property in China, the 305-room Ritz-Carlton is the ultimate luxury destination for travelers en route to the 2008 Olympic Games, or those simply seeking to enjoy the many treasures of this timelessly beautiful city. Official statistics predict that during the 17-day event, more than 7 million travelers from home and abroad will visit Beijing for the Games and nearby tourist sites. Among them will be about 50,200 athletes, international workers, journalists, sponsors and their business clients.

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Whilst the short term aim is to cater for the influx of guests for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, the tourism bureau predicts that the number of overseas guests will grow at around 30 to 60 percent annually, rising to a peak in 2010, with an increase in the average occupancy rate to more than 72% in 2009 alone! To capitalize on this unprecedented growth of China as a major tourism hotspot, another 20 Marriott International branded hotels are scheduled to open in China throughout the year 2010. We look forward to working again with Marriott International and wish them much good fortune and prosperity in their endeavours. Cindy Lu - Albert Smith China

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A Sanctuary of Luxury

All About Identity Magazine January – June 2009

Sofitel Huanghe Sheshan Resort Shanghai

French hotels group Accor is relaunching its Sofitel network, aiming for a more exclusive image that will help turn the brand around. The rebranding is part of a 2.5 billion euro ($3.7 billion), five-year expansion plan for Accor that began in 2006. Standards in Sofitel hotels had varied, but under the new scheme all will be rated five-star and higher. Sofitel describes itself as French hotel group Accor’s premium hotel chain, but the new identity spearheads a move to reposition the brand further into the luxury market. Sofitel aims to compete with chains like Ritz Carlton and Hyatt. The group plans to have 250 Sofitels within the decade. Currently, onethird of Sofitels are in emerging markets, but that would expand to 60 percent within 10 years. Albert Smith China were delighted to be appointed as the signage supplier for the branding of Sofitel

Shanghai Sheshan Huanghe which opened in March 2009. This unique and exclusive, platinum 5 star, deluxe hotel has vibrant Tuscany style architecture featured with lagoons water falls, and exotic tropical landscaping. A sanctuary of luxury just 35 minutes from city centre of Shanghai China, this luxury hotel has extensive facilities, from spa, gymnasium, tennis, and golf driving range to inspired events facilities. The 368 themed rooms are elegantly decorated and enhanced by a luxurious imperial suite and exclusive villas. Albert Smith supplied and installed the elegant LED illuminated wall brand logo and wall link icon at the entrance, and on the top of wall, and the ‘stele’ sign located in the pool before the rockery. We look forward to working again with Sofitel new projects. Sally Xu – Albert Smith China