New European Hotel Brand, citizenM , Launches With Integrated Online Campaign Powered By Web 2.0 And Achieves Immediate Results
Award-winning E-site Marketing partners with Dutch hotel group and creates an innovative Internet Marketing campaign yielding a high ROI
BETHESDA, Maryland 07 November – E-site Marketing, the Sabre Holdings premier internet marketing company specializing in online business solutions exclusively for the hospitality industry, recently helped launch an innovative new hotel brand in Europe by applying the latest in Web 2.0 technology and marketing. citizenM (www.citizenm.com), a Dutch hotel group, takes its name from the idea of the mobile citizen and promises “affordable luxury” for travelers on the go so it seemed only appropriate that they would take advantage of the latest trends in online marketing to launch their brand. E-site Marketing’s expertise in applying Web 2.0 best practices to the hospitality industry proved to be a perfect fit and the success of the initial campaign could immediately be measured: within days of the launch both websites (E-site Marketing launched both a brand website and a hotel website for citizenM’s first property in Amsterdam) were ranked on the first pages of the search engines for not only the brand terms but also for more specific destination search terms; and after just two weeks the websites received over 20,000 visitor sessions. This was all achieved without spending any money for paid online media.
Felix Laboy, President and CEO of E-site Marketing explained, “The information architecture of these sites, including many new Web 2.0 technologies and tools, allowed citizenM to realize search engine rankings in the first week that would normally have taken months with more traditional information architecture. A lot has been written lately about Web 2.0, but the success of this practical application provides some actual proof of its high ROI.”
In addition to the simultaneous launch of the brand and property websites, online marketing activities included an online viral campaign leveraging multiple travel blogs, social networks and photo and video sharing sites like Flickr™ and YouTube. The citizenM sites are built around dynamic consumer generated content in the form of a “community” where “citizens” can share their recommendations, travel tips and discoveries as they travel the globe. Other features of the websites include: customizable maps and directions leveraging MSN, the ability to create personal RSS feeds and a profile for citizens to manage their travel preferences.
“citizenM is not your ordinary hotel chain and we wanted to make sure that message was communicated right from the start. We knew we needed to find a hotel marketing company with the expertise in non-traditional marketing methods and E-site Marketing has proven to be the ideal partner,” said Michael Levie, CEO of the citizenM hotel group. “The Web 2.0 strategy that E-site implemented not only supports our brand concept for this hotel chain but allowed us to reach thousands of our targeted customers right away through our primary distribution channel. We are thrilled with the early results of E-site’s efforts and the return on investment that they are providing.”
“We have been impressed with the team at citizenM and their clear marketing direction. They understand their audience and have been open to new ways to effectively communicate their message,” added Laboy. “The approach the E-site Marketing team has taken is extremely cost effective and enables citizenM to deliver on its promise of ‘affordable luxury for the people.‘ We look forward to continued success with citizenM as they grow.”
Headquartered in Amsterdam, citizenM's founders include professionals from both the hospitality and fashion industry. Together with an experienced management team, citizenM is preparing itself for a rapid European expansion.
citizenM hotels are opening 2 properties in 2008, with plans to open 20 properties throughout Europe in its first phase of roll-out.
Carol Levitt
Director, Marketing & Communications
Sabre
