Four Seasons has been synonymous with luxury for over 60 years. But in a market where travel disruptors are capturing the attention of younger lux-enthusiast guests in innovative, social-first ways, the brand’s awareness among Gen Z and millennials was waning. Our challenge was to reimagine Four Seasons for the social-first age and engage a new generation of guests.
As Four Seasons’ Global Social AOR, we set out to break luxury free from slow-moving norms and make it fresh, relevant, and culturally in tune. For millennials, culture moves at the speed of social, and brands are expected to understand this. Arming the Four Seasons for the digital age meant being poised to amplify trends and drive social conversation, fast, while also never losing sight of the brand’s long-standing commitment to “experiences of exceptional quality, grounded in genuine care”.
With Four Seasons ‘Baby’, we turned 2024’s most viral social moment into a culture-shaping brand play, redefining Four Seasons for the social-first era.
When a TikTok of a baby reacting to “Who wants to go to the Four Seasons Orlando?” with an emphatic “Meeee!” started gaining internet traction, we sprang into action and took control of the narrative. With all eyes on the brand, it was Four Seasons’ chance to turn a fleeting micro-trend into a lasting connection with millennial audiences — and a piece of viral culture.
To move the moment forward, Four Seasons leaned into its one big advantage: it could actually make baby Kate’s dreams come true. “Four Seasons Baby” turned the world’s youngest luxury brand ambassador into 2024’s most unlikely TikTok star. Subverting luxury category norms, we made Four Seasons Baby the playful hero of the brand’s return to TikTok after a two-year hiatus and delivered a powerful message about our commitment to exceptional quality and genuine care.
In under 3 hours we conceived, remotely directed, and edited a response post, creating a playful twist on the viral moment, featuring the Four Seasons Orlando staff inviting baby Kate and her family to an epic stay.
It was crucial to resonate with social media audiences in a way that was authentic to the brand. So when it came to her itinerary, we let the comments section call the shots: Gold truffle pasta? Absolutely. Baby bottle on ice? Of course. All on a baby’s schedule? Most certainly. Our hero video, set to the trending audio track "Million Dollar Baby", built on the audio-first appeal of the original viral moment.
Throughout, we kept the social excitement alive by giving the people what they wanted: gifs, stickers, and memes of moments from their stay, with lots of fun banter in the comments to engage our audience.
From baby Kate’s first ‘Meeeeee’ to creating a response; flying the family in; curating, executing, and sharing her stay; and fuelling the fans — we did it all in 7 days.
Phew.
The results? A masterclass in real-time, culture-first marketing. “Four Seasons Baby” was the brand’s best-performing digital campaign ever, with a production budget of less than $5k CAD and without a single dollar of paid media spend.
The campaign delivered:
But it didn’t stop at metrics; what began on TikTok spilled into culture.
The “Four Seasons Baby” turned into a hit song on Spotify, made headlines on daytime television, and graced the front page of People magazine. Celebrities like Hailey Bieber, Meghan Trainor, and RuPaul all took notice, amplifying its reach. Four Seasons Baby was hailed as “most viral moment of 2024” by a TikTok representative at Cannes Lions — and most importantly, Four Seasons Baby delivered a powerful and timely message about the brand’s commitment to exceptional quality and genuine care.
