To amend and restate the Certificate of Incorporation of the Company to change the name of the Company from “MGM MIRAGE” to “MGM Resorts International” 

This change, if approved (and it most likely will) will take effect immediately – in fact MGM Mirage already has the new domain name up and running – just redirecting to their current site. (http://www.mgmresortsinternational.com) 

As companies grow and evolve over the years – its sometimes necessary for them to change their name to better reflect the direction they are heading in. Some examples which come to mind are Apple Computer changing to Apple, Inc. in January 2007, or who could forget Radio Shack’s corporate name from 1963 until May 2000 - Tandy Corporation. 

There has been some speculation that the reason MGM is dropping the Mirage name is to distance itself from Steve Wynn, who sold Mirage Resorts to MGM Grand, but that sounds too much like a conspiracy theory when it looks like all MGM is trying to do is better reflect their growing stable of businesses and international footprint. 

When MGM Grand, Inc and Mirage Resorts, Inc first merged, each property contained gambling, and was located within the Continental US. Now, MGM-MIRAGE now has a number of non-gambling properties in the planning stages, and they’ve also started to franchise some of their brands through MGM-MIRAGE Hospitality. Plus their footprint now reaches beyond the shores of America from Dubai, to Vietnam and Macau. 

An example of the MGM brands being franchised can be found in the Dubai Pearl development, where they are constructing Bellagio Residences and Hotel, MGM Grand Hote and a Skyloft Hotel (based upon the Skylofts at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.) Two brands that MGM-MIRAGE Hospitality has not really provided details on is their mx and emblem brands which were mentioned in a profile done by Hotels Magazine back in 2008, but that magazine has since shut down their website. 

While I’m sure the brand recognition will help fill these hotel-only resort properties, I think it will be interesting to see how people will respond to going into an MGM Grand w/o being able to gamble. 

andrew@alconic-inc.com 

MGM Mirage MX Logo

The first is MX which will be MGM Mirage’s lifestyle hotel brand.

Think: MGM Mirage’s version of the W.

There is very little information about the MX brand, but one of the most forthcoming sources is MMH’s website where a brochure can be downloaded that includes the logo and a few paragraphs on the brand. I’ve cut and pasted the description of the brand below

MX will be the contemporary, design forward, urban-chic hotel of the new century with a young,
edgy and energetic vibe. Created to stimulate the imagination and push the boundaries of art
and design, MX provides an experience filled with novelty, discovery and surprise. In doing so,
MX becomes the clear choice for a distinct and powerful crowd of progressive thinkers. The
bold and edgy surroundings challenge the senses and invite guests to explore the sensory
playground of MX.
MX will delight culturally savvy visitors with a five-star experience built on thought-provoking
design and studded with awe-inspiring details. From the spa to the restaurant to the bar, each
space offers a new twist to discover. Guests are kept in constant exploration, which is in itself
exciting, fulfilling and unique.
To complete the experience, MX is staffed by extroverted and knowledgeable people who
are able to make relevant suggestions and contribute to each guest’s quest for discovery and
conversational content. They achieve this while simultaneously delivering flawless service
and savoir-faire. Those who stay at MX may leave with the impression that they have finally
seen it all, but when they return a few months later, they quickly find that a whole new
experience awaits.

The text above isn’t all marketing speak using big words (very odd in the hotel industry), as it sets some definite goals they have for the brand, and wow – they have set the bar pretty high.

There are three points that stick out to me in the description of the brand: Extroverted employees, different experience upon return, focus on the senses.

Extroverted Employees

W Hotels is famous for having unique employees who believe in the brand and are a major part of the brand, so much that their vocabulary focuses on words that start with “W”.  The Industry Standard is also unique by having some of their employees dress as nerds (in my opinion, others would have another word for it).

But MGM is looking for extroverted people to work here, (for those who need a refresher, the definition for extroverted is: “Marked by interest in and behavior directed toward others or the environment as opposed to or to the exclusion of self; gregarious or outgoing”)

Maybe I’m reading into it a little too much – as every hotel really would like all of their employees to be extroverted, I mean who would want an introverted front desk employee, or bellhop? But MGM is taking it to a new level by actually stating that front and center. It also leaves those who are introverted on the sidelines – should they even consider applying? Not everyone is an extrovert, and that’s ok – not everyone has a Type-A personality. I’m curious to see how that will pan out once something comes of the MX brand.

Different Experiences Upon Return

This point is interesting because from the way its written, it seems as though every few months the hotel will go through a top down renovation – new colors, furniture, smells, artwork, art, etc. Is that even possible? How cost effective would that be? W Hotels once again is the example I’m going to use, every few years each W seems to go through a complete renovation of the rooms and public areas, W Chicago City Center was one, W New York, & Times Square are some examples which just completed their renovations in the last year – but even W only does it every few years, and I’m sure that cost plays a big part in that.

I’m really interested to see what these “experiences” will be, and how will they will integrate into the whole brand and the physical space that the hotel is built in. If MGM is somehow able to successfully and cost effectively change the hotel a few times a year without the hotel’s price point being sky high it’s a hotel industry game changer.

Focus on the Senses

Reading the description of MX reminded me of LeMeridien’s focus on LM100, which was their way of becoming a cultural hotel, having artwork, sculptures, food, music – everything that touches the senses come alive inside the hotel. It seems as though MGM Mirage is trying to do the same for their MX brand, which is great, but I’m curious as to what the marketing speak of “surprises” will entail. Will butlers pop out of the walls with champagne? Will you walk in the room and wonder what music will be playing this time?

Lastly, is it any coincidence that the MX logo (above) slightly resembles a lion, which is MGM Grand’s famous emblem?

Which is once again ironic, because that’s the the name of their second brand..

The second brand is “Emblem”.

I’ve found even less information about Emblem – the last mention of it occurred in May 08 in a blog post from Hotels Magazine, where it was mentioned as an “ultra-luxury” brand. I haven’t seen anything else about it, so its possible that it was canceled due to the economy – its worth mentioning that MGM already has an ultra luxury brand – “The Mansion” which is a part of the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, it has its own private entrance and is completely separate from the main building. Perhaps this was to be a re-branding of The Mansion?

Conclusion

It’s interesting that MGM Mirage is putting so much into their MGM Mirage Hospitality division by coming up with new hotel brands that they can open throughout the world that don’t have a casino component like all of MGM’s current properties do (or at least are closely affiliated with). Once the economy and travel picks up again – MGM Mirage may be a viable competitor in the non-gaming lodging industry, although it will take years for them to get to the scale of any of the majors.

andrew@alconic-inc.com