Marketing Objectives:
Clearly state your marketing goals.
What did your company strive to achieve using this piece or program?
Primary objectives were to:
• Communicate the partnership between BWHR and AutoClerk will enable BWHR to drive unique benefits to its hotels, enhancing its competencies in an increasingly complex distribution landscape, driving benefits to its hotels with faster and more reliable connectivity;
• Position BWHR as a trusted leader in global hospitality by highlighting BWHR’s growth – particularly with technological advancements; and
• Secure exposure within the industry specifically focused on the acquisition, attracting the interest of new, independent hotel owners, shifting perception of the brand.
Target Audience:
Who was/is the target audience?
Characterize the composition, size, and location of your target audience.
The target audience for this particular campaign and story was industry professionals, including existing BWHR owners as well as hospitality executives who own, manage, or finance hotels, as well as the managers and employees who oversee the operations of hotels worldwide.
Research, Planning, and Implementation:
What market research was conducted prior to planning the piece/campaign?
The BWHR PR team researched the demographics of key hotel trade media outlets, ultimately identifying Hospitality Technology, a leading publication in the hotel and technology industry, as the ideal target outlet for an exclusive story covering BWHR’s acquisition of AutoClerk, the company’s latest milestone toward simplifying the distribution process for its hotels.
The agency identified Editor-in-Chief Dorothy Creamer, who oversees and produces online content, and pitched the announcement under embargo. The team shared an embargoed press release and secured an advance interview with BWHR’s President and Chief Executive Officer, and Senior Vice President and Chief Digital Officer, positioning the AutoClerk acquisition as a major step forward in BWHR’s broad distribution strategy. From there, the team arranged all the press materials the editor needed and helped craft the messaging for the story, which ran August 22, the same day that BWHR issued their press release over the wire.
Message:
What is the key message intended for the piece/campaign?
What differentiates your piece/campaign in the marketplace?
Key messages surrounding the acquisition of AutoClerk included:
• Best Western Hotels & Resorts announced a major step forward in its broad distribution strategy with the acquisition of AutoClerk, Inc., a premier hotel property management system company.
• The products and solutions offered by AutoClerk will only grow stronger with BWHR’s backing.
• AutoClerk is joining a vibrant and growing global hospitality powerhouse represented by one of the travel industry’s most recognizable brands.
• Best Western Hotels & Resorts remains ahead of the competition in an ever-changing environment, consistently introducing innovative technology initiatives.
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.
As a result of the team’s media strategy to offer an exclusive interview, Hospitality Technology (HT) produced an “HT Exclusive” featuring BWHR’s acquisition of AutoClerk, quoting President and CEO David Kong and SVP and CDO Greg Adams throughout. Message pull-through was a success, providing an in-depth overview of BWHR’s distribution strategy, what the ownership of AutoClerk will entail for BWHR and its benefits.
The piece mentions, “Kong views distribution as a core competency for the business and explains that the purchase of AutoClerk was the missing piece to complement BWHR's proprietary central reservation systems (CRS).”
The story reached 446,037 UMVs – 100% of whom are in the target audience – with an ad value of $4,136.99. In addition, BWHR’s PR team secured a second piece with the outlet – a print cover story featuring BWHR & taking a deeper dive into their tech strategy, slated to run in the Dec. ‘19 print issue. That story will reach 16K+ with an ad value of over $7K.
Entry Title
HospitalityTech.com; Best Western Hotels & Resorts Acquires AutoClerk
Category
FEATURE PLACEMENT ONLINE - Trade Media