Marketing Objectives:
Clearly state your marketing goals.
What did your company strive to achieve using this piece or program?
The public relations team had several key objectives for the Springfield Vib opening event, which included:
• Create a vibrant grand opening that reveals the stylish new brand in a fun, unique, authentic way;
• Increase awareness and attract today’s travelers to Best Western, by emphasizing the uniqueness of this hotel’s convenience, technology and social engagement; and
• Generate excitement amongst millennial travelers in urban markets through the new brand, showcasing today’s Best Western.
Target Audience:
Who was/is the target audience?
Characterize the composition, size, and location of your target audience.
Best Western Hotels & Resorts and its PR team crafted an opening announcement that was targeted to influential media covering the travel and hospitality industry in the United States. Targets included consumer writers, business editors and reporters, local dignitaries, social influencers, national and local broadcast, and hospitality and development trade publications.
Research, Planning, and Implementation:
What market research was conducted prior to planning the piece/campaign? Describe how you planned and produced the creative asseets with the mobile canvas in mind.
Since its brand refresh in 2015, BW has repositioned itself as innovative in the eyes of today’s travelers. Vib is an important piece of the Best Western story, showing how well the company has diversified its offerings to developers and travelers, bringing in the modern and upscale brands they demand.
Leading up to the first-ever U.S. Vib opening, Best Western’s PR team conducted a full media relations strategy, including local market research, event execution and media attention. By pitching local top-tier business writers, identifying the best-in-class vendors and locally-inspired caterers, the team built an in-market buzz that had attendees and locals anticipating the hotel’s unveiling. To ensure a fun and memorable experience in-line with the branding of Vib, the team developed a vibrant and stylish atmosphere to encapsulate the nature of the new brand, while a local musician and other event details incorporated local touches to best fit the Springfield market.
Message:
What is the key message intended for the piece/campaign?
What differentiates your piece/campaign in the marketplace?
• Vib delivers the contemporary design and local authenticity that today’s travelers desire with the comfort and value they’ve come to expect from Best Western. A place where originality is celebrated, innovation is a given and connectivity is a must, Vib is an upbeat blend of sophisticated affordability, and up-to-the-minute service – designed to put variety, style and comfort all in one place.
• Springfield, MO is a city that is on the move, which is why this location was chosen as the first Vib opening and the place to officially launch the new brand. With new restaurants and attractions opening weekly, and as a hot spot for business travelers, the city will continue to rise in community engagement and tourism.
• Vib demonstrates that Best Western is a fresh, contemporary hotel company with a variety of options available to developers. Today’s Best Western has a new look, and that look is vibrant!
Results:
Which of your original goals did you achieve and how?
How did you measure the effectiveness of the piece or campaign? Entrants should provide quantifiable results of their tactics or campaigns.
The media results surrounding the first U.S. Vib location far surpassed expectations, generating outstanding impact and incredible visibility with more than 434 million impressions in just three weeks. Select consumer and trade placements that drove home key messages included an exclusive first look in the Springfield News-Leader, featuring over 35 pictures of the new property, TravelWeekly.com and HospitalityNet.org.
The exclusive first-look story highlighted the arrival of the hip new hotel running ahead of the opening, perfect for teasing the Vibrant Reveal event. The story was seen by 130,050 UVMs from the local market, with an advertising value of $1,206.21. Most importantly, the story supported Vib‘s key messaging of convenience, technology and social engagement, building local excitement and driving people into the hotel. The hotel’s owner was wowed by the exposure and traffic from the local market within the first week of opening far surpassed expectation.
Project Analysis:
Please provide a brief background on the project and your efforts to preserve the destination’s natural, cultural and historic heritage.
Objectives and Goals:
What did organization set out to achieve in undertaking this project?
Creativity and Innovation:
What new and innovative ideas did you incorporate in either your method of outreach or in the implementation of the project that you think could inspire others committed to sustainability in the tourism and travel industry?
Communication:
How did you communicate your actions to the public, the media and other key stakeholders and what was the aim of the message?
How did you generate publicity in order to build awareness of, or support corporate values on your sustainability initiatives.
Results:
How did you measure the effectiveness of your efforts and what direct and tangible results did you achieve?
Leadership:
Please list the individual in a leadership role responsible for the project and how would you characterize their commitment to promoting preservation and sustainability best practices in the travel and tourism industry?
Division
Public Relations
Entry Title
Vibrant Reveal, Vib Springfield, MO
Innovation Analysis: Please provide a brief background on the project and why you feel it fits the definition of innovation, what the breakout implications are and how it was an industry disruptor.
Sources of Innovation: Did the innovative project result from chance, from research, from inspiration from outside the industry, or from some other source?
Goals and Objectives: What were the goals of the innovative project, and were they met? Were they tied to a business plan? A larger campaign? Or to get specific result (such as views, shares, influencer engagement, or bookings)? And what obstacles did you encounter in the execution of the project and how did you overcome them?
Situational Analysis
A major part of Best Western® Hotels & Resorts’ evolution has been the emergence of hip, unique new brands under the Best Western corporate umbrella – including launching its first U.S. location of its vibrant and stylish boutique hotel concept, Vib®. Vib is a critical piece of today’s Best Western, a new brand concept designed specifically for the upscale hotel segment, which fills a valuable niche in today’s competitive market.
In Summer 2018, Best Western Hotels & Resorts prepared to launch the first-ever U.S. location of its vibrant and stylish boutique hotel concept, Vib, in Springfield, Missouri. Leading up to the grand opening, the company’s communications and PR teams outlined a strategy that would leverage this exciting moment in time in several ways, creating buzz, driving business and generating widespread interest around the brand.
Research, planning, and implementation:
What market research was conducted prior to planning the piece/campaign?
Describe how you planned and produced the creative assets with the mobile canvas in mind.
Message:
What is the key messages intended for the piece/ campaign?
What differentiates your piece/campaign in the marketplace?
What helped you breakthrough on mobile?
Results:
What original goals did you achieve and how?
How did you measure the effectiveness of the piece or campaign?
Entrants should provide quantifiable metrics tied to real business results (eg brand lift, leads, or bookings generated).
Results:
How did you measure the effectiveness of your efforts and what direct and tangible results did you achieve? Please be as specific as possible and share the full impact of your efforts in CSR. Understandably, maintenance is another major part of CSR. If you have continued to actively and consistently work on your CSR process; please add those actions to your results description.
Leadership:
To keep your CSR efforts thriving, you need momentum and passion, which has to come from the top. Please list the individual in a leadership role responsible for the project and how would you characterize their commitment to promoting corporate social responsibility in the travel and tourism industry?