thefork rebranding

Services provided: Strategy (purpose, positioning, portfolio); Expression (naming); Culture (internal branding, values, behavior)

Introduction

IENS, once started as an online review blog by Iens Boswijk, has grown into the market leader in the field of reviewing and booking restaurants in the Netherlands. Times are changing, and so are the expectations for a service that either facilitates reviews or reservations (or both). After the international thefork (part of TripAdvisor) acquired IENS, a distinct opportunity arises in 2019 to position the brand strongly and clearly towards the future.

Challenge

IENS has many visitors who can make online reservations at thousands of restaurants. A website with a history dating back to a personal blog founded in 1998.

Since then, many parties have become and remain involved in the existence of the IENS brand. How IENS interacts with the consumer, the restaurateur and the international thefork brings both expectations and opportunities that need to be developed in the coming years.

Approach

In order to understand what customers think of the IENS brand and their expectations of dining out, we conducted extensive qualitative research together with Jochum Stienstra of Ferro Explore. Subsequently, we used the BR-ND Outsider (online brand experience research) to find out from a large number of IENS users what they think of IENS and especially what they expect from it.

With this information, we worked out the envisioned brand story for the Netherlands, together with a large group of IENS employees, during an intensive co-creative Kitchen session.

Through this co-creative process, we were able to establish the principles of the brand. In the coming years, the people of thefork in the Netherlands will face the challenge of developing the brand in such a way that it will be loved by all parties involved. In doing so, the organization will add real value to society by strengthening the culinary landscape.

Results

During the process, it became clear that a complete rebranding of IENS to thefork would offer great advantages. Together with employees in the Netherlands and the head office in Paris, a new brand story was developed for thefork. This story is the basis for marketing communications before, during and after the rebranding.