Howard Johnson by Wyndham is one of the world’s most iconic and well-known hospitality brands spanning more than 295 hotels globally. Over the past few years, hotel owners have invested $40 million in updating their guestrooms taking inspiration from classic mid-century modern design while adding contemporary and stylish accents. This redesign was aimed to appeal to our multi-generational guests, thoughtfully marrying our nostalgic past with a more modern look and feel to elevate the on-property experience that is distinctly Howard Johnson.
With a goal to increase consideration and bookings during peak summer months as more people head out on the road, we wanted to reinforce the messaging around our redesigned rooms. So, we launched a social media campaign – Step into HoJo – aimed at inviting these returning travelers back after a year-long hiatus. Step into a room you’ll wish was your own. A world of retro throwbacks and vacation vibes. Step into bright colors, funky patterns, fun getaways, and lots of smiles. Step into HoJo!
The marketing goals for the Step into HoJo campaign were:
The Step into HoJo social content series leveraged the trendy aesthetic of the redesigned guestrooms and paired it with mid-century modern visuals and messaging that speaks to the HoJo vacation experience. The creative juxtaposed custom retro illustrations of our rooms with corresponding real property shots to create bright, attention-grabbing content geared towards attracting young, getaway seekers.
The Step into HoJo social campaign successfully launched from May 19 – August 31, 2021 across our social channels, Facebook and Instagram, in the U.S. and Canada. The social media creative consisted of (1) 15-second video focused on the brand experience, (5) 6-second videos focused on different amenities from redesigned rooms and pool to free WiFi, (1) carousel unit that focuses on amenities as well as Count on Us, and (1) promotional post for the summer offer.
We utilized a full-funnel approach with the 15-second video optimized towards video views, the 6-second videos optimized towards traffic and conversions, and the carousel unit and promo post optimized towards conversions. This strategy allowed us to engage with the community, retarget content engagers, and drive them down the funnel toward booking.
Our social campaign effectiveness and success was measured by social impressions, video views, website traffic, and bookings. The results of our campaign are as follows:
