Excerpt from Digiday
Marriott Bonvoy wants people to know that it’s more than just Marriott - the hotel chain actually has 30 brands under its umbrella and 500 boutique hotels. To get the message across to younger consumers, Marriott Bonvoy is taking an educational approach to its advertising to showcase the various experiences across its offerings.
“A lot of people hear Marriott — and there’s tremendous brand awareness — but they think of Marriott Hotels or Courtyard by Marriott,” said Brian Povinelli, svp and global head of marketing and brand at Marriott International. “The strategy for the company over the past decade has been to create a travel marketplace where we offer everything from entry-level, select serve to high luxury including yachts like the Ritz Carlton Yacht.”
The hotel chain is looking to use its marketing efforts now to connect its various brands including Westin, Moxy and Ritz Carlton, as well as its many boutique hotels, so that consumers understand it has more to offer than its namesake brand. To do this, Marriott Bonvoy has joined the myriad brands using both in-house and external agencies for its marketing efforts. (Roughly 82% of marketers have some in-house now, according to the ANA’s latest study.)
Marriott’s in-house agency, Riot House, which has roughly 40 employees, came up with the strategy for this particular approach. The company then worked with creative shop Superbloom to execute the idea. “We’ve built a creative chassis,” said Povinelli. “Affiliation is the underpinning of the strategy. Letting people know that Marriott Bonvoy has 30 brands and that Westin, for example, is a part of Marriott Bonvoy. You’ll see whether the message is coming more from the portfolio or it’s a Moxy ad there are elements [that are consistent throughout].”
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