Marketing Objectives:
Clearly state your marketing goals.
What did your company strive to achieve using this piece or program?Best Western and its PR team wanted to find a way to showcase Best Western’s evolution – including a major focus on its technology initiatives, complementing its consumer-focused brand refresh – within the hotel industry. The objectives for this push were to: • Position Senior Vice President and Chief Digital Officer Greg Adams as the catalyst behind the iconic brand’s technology advances, and as a leader in the hospitality industry at large; and • Garner visibility across the industry for Adams’ efforts and the company’s evolution, educating the industry on the ways Best Western is innovating from the inside out.

Target Audience:
Who was/is the target audience?
Characterize the composition, size, and location of your target audience.The target audience for this media relations push was hospitality industry professionals – including leaders within the space, Best Western competitors and owners/members who read the trade press to stay abreast of what’s happening in the industry.

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.The Best Western PR team set out to strategically position Chief Digital Officer Greg Adams as a thought leader in the industry, highlighting his leadership within technology and innovation. The team crafted a creative pitch to emphasize Adams’ background and expertise, including a focus on how he works with Best Western to continue propelling the company forward. The team reached out directly to an editor at Hotel Management, a leading publication in the hotel industry, offering an exclusive one-on-one interview.

Message:
What is the key message intended for the piece/campaign?
What differentiates your piece/campaign in the marketplace?The message of emphasis with this story was that Best Western® Hotels & Resorts Senior Vice President and Chief Digital Officer Greg Adams is a leader who has made a massive contribution to the company’s success and is helping put the company on a path to innovation, helping shape technology within the industry overall.

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.Best Western’s pitch and outreach to Hotel Management paid off, with a full-page feature in the magazine’s June 2018 print issue, including a call-out on the cover. The messaging of the story was the exact messaging the team envisioned, highlighting Adams as a thought leader with impressive insight into how hotels can remain successful as technology continues to evolve. The story reached 45,461 print readers and 79,920 unique monthly visitors online.

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?

URL #1:http://www.hotelmanagementdigital.com/publication/?i=498957&view=contentsBrowser#{%22issue_id%22:%22501957%22,%22page%22:6}

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DivisionPublic Relations

Sub-categoryPR Single Item

CategoryFEATURE PLACEMENT PRINT - Trade Publication

Entry TitleHotel Management Greg Adams Feature

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?

Classification

Situational AnalysisSince its highly recognized brand refresh, Best Western has continued reinventing itself to attract today’s travelers. One of the key pillars of the company’s ongoing evolution is technology. With a refined online presence, an award-winning virtual reality staff training program and a new mobile engagement platform, Best Western has consistently improved and enhanced its technology platforms to positively shape the experience of both owners/members and travelers. Best Western has not only kept up with the changing face of technology within the lodging sector – it has shaken things up as a first-mover, embracing emerging technologies and adapting them in ways that make a profound impact on owners and travelers. As a result of the company’s commitment to innovation, it has earned countless accolades - culminating with a top spot on Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies list (AR/VR category) in 2017. At the helm of this effort is the company’s SVP and Chief Digital Officer Greg Adams.

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?