Hyatt’s New Brand Messaging Has Travelers Thinking Double

Hyatt, the Chicago-based hospitality company best known for its hotels, recently launched a new brand platform built around the messaging “Be More Here”. As stated by Hyatt, the purpose of the campaign is to encourage travelers to be more present and have more meaningful experiences when they travel. Certainly, the “Be More Here” tagline gets that across.

But wait, there’s more… If you turn those three words around in your head a little bit, another meaning emerges. By emphasizing the “more” rather than the “here”, now the takeaway is that you will become better or greater when you stay at Hyatt. Whether this reading is intentional or not, it’s there for the taking.

This, friends, is the beauty of the double meaning. A technique often employed in fiction (literature, film), the double meaning enables consumers to consider a work in multiple ways—often reflecting the plot (surface) versus thematic (deeper) intentions of the creators. A couple prime examples of double-meaning titles emerged at this year’s Sundance film festival: A Real Pain and Between the Temples.

Do double meanings make marketing messages more memorable? First and foremost, your messaging has to work on a base level; so ensuring that single meaning is sticking with your target audience is key. But, if that box is checked, and you can add an extra layer of meaning on top that will keep your messaging spinning in more minds (even if just on a subconscious level) that’s a win for your brand.