The primary objective of this campaign was to showcase the depth and breadth of Marriott's luxury portfolio while generating affiliation amongst the Marriott brands.
There are many people in the world who may not know, for example, that The Ritz-Carlton and W are both part of Marriott. We set out to showcase that connection and immerse people in the amazing #MarriottLuxuryBrands portfolio.
With seven luxury brands in the Marriott family and hundreds of luxury properties worldwide, Marriott is in a unique position to satisfy the desires of every type of luxury traveler. From those who want VIP access to the trendiest clubs in Amsterdam to those who want private villas on the coast of Thailand, we endeavored to show that you can find what you need with the Marriott Luxury Brands.
Additionally, we wanted to provide each brand a new opportunity to gather high-quality images, videos, and influencer content for their own use on social media.
Finally, we felt it was important to do something bigger than what other hotel brands have done before. Influencers visit hotels all the time, but it can get sporadic to the point of confusion with influencers touting one brand today and a competitor tomorrow. We wanted to create a campaign that accomplished our main objectives above and lasted long enough to truly create a sense of cohesion in the minds of consumers.
In order to accomplish our objectives, we created a global tour of the best luxury hotels in Marriott's portfolio to promote the diversity of their luxury offering, as well as produced social-first videos showcasing the Marriott Luxury Brands and their connection. Each of the seven Marriott Luxury Brands was featured via one hotel and one stop on the world tour.
Seven brands. Seven hotels. Seven countries. One unforgettable world tour.
In order to bring this tour to life, we partnered with a variety of travel/lifestyle influencers who would travel with us and share the experience with the world through their own lens while our photo/video crew created high-quality content. This influencer tour was designed to extend beyond traditional forms of marketing and advertising. We know that consumers don't want to see yet another brand talking about itself. They want to see trusted travelers experiencing what the brands truly have to offer.
Influencer partners for this campaign were chosen based on a very specific set of criteria. Using quantitative and qualitative analysis, a short list of partners was chosen based on: follower count, audience quality, topical relevance, diversity, performance, and exclusivity.
After extensive vetting and interviews, the influencers who we chose to travel with us were: Tara Whiteman, Patrick Vollert, Gaby Garrido, and Elizabeth Keene. (combined IG follower count of 2.3M)
Our team of four world-class travel and lifestyle influencers traveled around the globe for 22 days making seven stops at some of the best luxury hotel properties in the world. The entire tour was documented via Instagram posts and Instagram stories from the influencers and our hotel brands, showcasing every aspect of this once-in-a-lifetime experience, and highlighting each different approach to luxury hospitality.
Each stop lasted two days and immersed the influencers in not only the destination, but also the brand. From extravagant meals to once-in-a-lifetime signature experiences, each brand was able to tell its story through the lens of these four luxury travelers. Instagram posts and stories took viewers from private helicopter tours of Vancouver, to silent discos on the canals of Amsterdam, to cocktails aboard a private yacht off a Maldivian atoll. Over a three week period the world was able to see the Marriott Luxury Brands as a family of hotels offering varied approaches to luxury to satisfy any desire.
We chose to use Instagram as our primary channel because of its highly engaging and visual nature. Between influencers with millions of followers and our own brand channels, we had the ability to tell this story to and unprecedented number of global travelers in a much more engaging way than traditional media buys.
This campaign was wildly successful. Through owned, earned, and paid social media posts over the entire tour, we told the world a cohesive story of seven incredible luxury brands. Consumers were able to follow along with their favorite influencers as well as the brand's themselves and get a taste of the unrivaled properties and unforgettable experiences that are available from the Marriott Luxury Brands.
We greatly surpassed our expectations and succeeded in showcasing the depth and breadth of Marriott's luxury portfolio while generating affiliation amongst the brands.
As mentioned previously, the tour lasted 22 days and took people around the globe. All told, across the influencers and photo/video crew, we created and shared 952 pieces of content across social media, highlighting the incredible experiences at each stop.
All posts used the new hashtag #MarriottLuxuryBrands to unify the conversation.
In every possible metric of reach and exposure this campaign smashed benchmarks and exposed the Marriott Luxury Brands to consumers in a way that had never been done before.
