Goals: Clearly state your marketing goals. What did you strive to achieve using this piece or program?
The Vieux Carré, (aka the French Quarter), is an 85-block area of New Orleans dating back to the early 1700s. The area's "zones" have shifted over the years, making it incredibly difficult to receive hotel permitting. A section within the Quarter, just along The Mississippi River and bustling N. Peters Street, was once the heart of The New Orleans sugar processing industry. A unique building sat there, on 1 Iberville Avenue, untouched since the late 1970s-- the former The Louisiana Sugar Refining Company. That is until the building's history was honored via the new, 83-room ONE11 Hotel which opened in its place in December, 2020. Transformed into the first new hotel allowed in the French Quarter since the 1960s, ONE11 is a dream realized. The local owner had been working toward a goal of opening since the early 1990s when he fell in love with the building and had a vision. 2020 was undoubtedly a year when dreams were challenged. Plans were put on hold, and just about everyone-- every, one-- said, "wait." But the vision took flight, supported by passion and the local tenacity and spirit that can only be found in a place like New Orleans. Compound the challenges brought on by the pandemic, a difficult political and social climate, and various climate issues in general (in Fall 2021 New Orleans suffered another, terrible hurricane season with Hurricane Ida, and all but shut down). As it turns out-- opening a hotel in The Big Easy, was in fact, not so easy...
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. (for example, click through rates or ad equivalency)
- A successful hotel opening on December 11, 2020, tying in historic elements of the Sugar Refinery history throughout the PR Program (e.g, Hotel "Sweets")
- Within the first 2 months of opening, a dedicated digital feature in Travel + Leisure which led to $50K in revenue in the first 8 weeks of being published. Hotel reporting, "the phones wouldn't stop ringing," and readers booked weddings, long weekend getaways, bridal + bachelor/bachelorette parties and more.
- Local and community support for the opening. Before the official ribbon cutting, hundreds of neighbors would pop by and ask a pleasant "how ya'll doin over here? We're almost there!" Support for the project from locals has been outstanding. They come to the bar during the week, sample cocktails with bar staff and give a go at the hotel's Batture Bistro & Bar's most popular recipes at home.
- Media coverage exceeded an audience of 200 million in the first year, with leading placements in Travel + Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, The Houston Chronicle, Architectural Digest, Forbes, The Boston Globe, The Telegraph (UK), DuJour, Inside Hook and more.
- Impressive local media coverage and support including NOLA.com, Louisiana Life, My New Orleans, Very Local and more.
- Mary Beth Romig of New Orleans CVB commenting, "This Hotel is so special-- and has played a key role in the city's bounce-back"
- Named in TIME Magazine's 100 Greatest Places Issue (July 2021)
- Upcoming coverage in: Garden & Gun, Southern Living, Hemispheres, Food & Wine, EATER and more
- A comprehensive group of regional and visiting writers, representing the aforementioned publications
Budget: Please include total budget vs. total actual cost. How much revenue has the piece or campaign generated and how does this compare to your goal? What was the return on investment?
Agency hours dedicated to securing the features and influencers were included in the monthly retainer fee. All influencers and media secured were within driving distance, so no additional fees were needed for transportation or flights. Based on monthly retainer, and coverage secured that led to generated bookings, the minimum return on investment for this initiative is 600%.
Entry Title
30+ Years in the Making: Opening a Hotel in the Big Easy in 2021 was in fact, Not So Easy
Division
Public Relations - NEW OPENING/LAUNCH