Turning hotel advertising on its head?
Westin Hotels has a new campaign that avoids room shots and fluffy beds but turns traditional advertising on its head by conveying what it feels like to stay at the hotel.
“This summer Westin Hotels & Resorts is transforming some of the country’s most hectic transportation hubs into ‘places of renewal.’ Westin’s $30 million campaign uses experiential mediums including 3-D and Bluetooth billboards, image-shifting lenticulars and sub-media (ads that appear to move on the train tunnel walls, much like a giant flip book), that bring to life the brand’s ongoing concept of personal renewal,” says HotelMarketing.com.
The campaign has been rolled out in major cities including Chicago, Boston, Atlanta and San Francisco.
“The use of non-traditional media marks an exciting new direction for Westin,” said Sue Brush, Senior Vice President, Westin Hotels & Resort. “What better way to convey the Westin Renewal experience than to literally surround consumers with positive experiential messages in subways and airports and on highways, where they are most stressed and yearning for an escape?”
“Deliberately devoid of room shots, fluffy beds, sunsets and other typical hotel amenities, the new campaign instead conveys what guests will feel at a Westin—a rejuvenating, personal experience, free from the stresses of travel and everyday life,” writes HotelMarketing.com.
The campaign’s clever use of imagery and environmental messaging turns everyday negatives into positives, transforming the mundane commute into an unexpected oasis. A busy escalator, for example, is transformed into a rushing tropical waterfall, while airport signage creates a mental link between negatives like the frustration of delays and positives like the exhilaration of surfers lined up waiting for the perfect wave.
Report by David Wilkening
David
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