Hilton Puts Marketing Focus Back on Hotels With New Brand Platform
Hilton Worldwide made two marketing moves on Monday. It formally launched an international marketing campaign that highlights a reliable lodging experience as an antidote to the unpredictability of travel today. In a longer-lasting move, the hotel giant also committed to anchoring its marketing to a catchphrase — “for the stay” — indefinitely.
“Campaigns may get swapped out or refreshed, but ‘Hilton — For the Stay’ is kind of what you would tattoo on the building or put on the back of a business card,” said Mark Weinstein, chief marketing officer.
The first corresponding campaign includes light-hearted ads featuring travelers, such as ordinary harried parents, facing the stresses of travel, such as traveling with children. The ads may prove well-timed in this season of highly publicized tales of flight disruption.
“Serendipitously, this story may resonate more than ever,” Weinstein said. “But to be clear, we’re not trying to be mean-spirited. What’s important is to remind people, ‘It’s worth it.’ Even if you arrived at your trip a day later than planned or faced other obstacles along the way, once you get there, it’s worth it.”
The newest video ads include extended scenes at properties showcasing their charms.
“What’s missing in most hotel advertising is the hotel,” Weinstein said. “Most hotel companies — and Hilton has been guilty of this, too — have run campaigns that advertise the destination and its beautiful sunsets or beaches rather than the hotel itself.”
