Marriott's Bold Move into Targeted Advertising: The Launch and Challenges of the Marriott Media Network
In May 2022, Marriott International launched the Marriott Media Network, aiming to leverage its extensive customer data to offer targeted advertising opportunities to non-hotel marketers. This initiative would allow ads on various Marriott platforms, including its website, app, guest marketing messages, in-room TVs, and lobby digital screens.
Marriott's strategy relies on the data provided by guests through its loyalty program, ensuring personal information remains anonymized. This approach mirrors similar efforts by companies like United Airlines and Walmart to utilize customer data for personalized advertising.
Financial projections by experts like Humphrey Ho of Hylink Digital suggested significant revenue potential for Marriott from this venture. However, the execution faced a setback when Yahoo, its initial technology partner, shut down its relevant business. Marriott is now transitioning to Google as its media network partner.
Nicolette Harper, Marriott's Global Vice President of Media, emphasizes the importance of delivering valuable content to guests while enhancing their experience. Currently, ads are delivered on Wi-Fi portals and within hotel search results on Marriott.com, but expansion into more direct guest experiences is being considered cautiously to maintain a positive guest experience.
The implementation of such media networks is not straightforward. Marriott faces the choice between an easier, less lucrative path using Google AdWords or a more ambitious approach requiring significant investment in sales and specialized ad inventory targeting. Vetting advertisers and maintaining brand alignment are additional challenges.
From a personal observation standpoint, Marriott's rollout of this initiative has been slow, with limited exposure to ads outside of Marriott's own products. The ads displayed are not personalized based on Marriott's loyalty program data but are rather generic Google Ads.
Despite these challenges, Marriott remains optimistic about the potential of the Marriott Media Network to create a compelling experience for guests and generate significant revenue.
Main Takeaways
- Innovative Advertising Strategy: Marriott's launch of the Marriott Media Network represents an innovative attempt to monetize its customer data by offering targeted advertising opportunities on various digital platforms.
- Challenges in Implementation: The transition from Yahoo to Google as a technology partner and the complexities in creating a successful media network, including vetting advertisers and choosing between potentially lucrative but challenging paths, highlight the difficulties Marriott faces in executing this strategy effectively.
- Cautious Rollout and Future Potential: While the current implementation of the Marriott Media Network is limited and cautious, focusing mainly on generic ads, Marriott remains optimistic about its future potential to enhance guest experience and contribute significantly to the company's bottom line.
