The Knickerbocker, a historic hotel first opened in 1906 by John Jacob Astor IV, was the preeminent destination for VIPs, celebrities and titans of industry in its day. In addition to hosting and housing the likes of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Theodore Roosevelt and Enrico Caruso, the hotel was also the rumored birthplace of the martini and the originator of the red velvet rope. The onset of Prohibition marked the beginning of the end for the hotel renowned for its lavish parties and nightlife, and in 1921 the property was converted into offices. Designated as a New York City Landmark in 1988, and reopened as a hotel in February of 2015, EVINS sought to promote the reopening of the Knickerbocker Hotel after over ninety years, while celebrating the 109th anniversary of the original hotel opening.
EVINS and the Knickerbocker Hotel created and executed a one night only promotion through social media, web assets and through online media, offering a limited number of rooms at their original 1906 room price of two dollars on the night of the 109th anniversary.
A static entry form was created and placed on the hotel's website, which allowed visitors to enter by providing their email address, location and contact information. News of the promotion was shared with online media, digital and social media influencers and to followers on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to encourage entries, and spread through social media to other interested parties. The entry process also included a social media auto-post, which further shared the promotion to the followers of those who entered.
The contest was promoted from October 1 - October 18th, and winners were announced on October 20th. The winners were selected randomly, and received an invitation to stay at the hotel on the evening of the 109th anniversary, October 23, 2015.
The eighteen day campaign received over 10,000 entries, nearly one million social media impressions and coverage from numerous media outlets including Travel & Leisure, Conde Nast Traveler, Town & Country and CNBC, resulting in over 320 million media impressions.
