The tale of two seasons and two Marriot promotions

I love summer almost as much as I detest winter.

But more than either season, I adore simple messages that capture the attention and hearts of their intended target audiences. That’s what we set out to create when we began work on the Marriott eChannel’s Summer Promotion and the Marriott Winter Holiday Promotion.

Summertime and the living is easy

Like the first days of June, the eChannel’s Summer Promotion was a breeze. The target audience was clearly defined: families planning on taking a vacation by car. In short, the target was people intent on gassing up the minivan, strapping the kids in the backseat and setting out on an old-fashioned road trip.

Speaking of vans, the vehicles for this promotion were also obvious. The campaign would consist of a series of banner ads appearing on Orbitz, Travelocity and Expedia. Each banner linked to one landing page hosted by Travelocity.

Finally, the objective was clearly mapped out for all to see. We were tasked with making the audience view Marriott hotels as a preferred final vacation destination. We didn’t want them to think of Marriott as just a place to stay for the night while traveling across state or across country. We wanted them to look forward to all of the amenities available at all Marriott brands: pools, restaurants, spas, relaxation, family fun. We wanted to create a sense of anticipation in the audience equal to the audience’s anticipation of the arrival of warm weather, bright sunshine and a break from the routine of work and school.

That’s all we wanted.

What we got was a concept built around the quintessential American road trip phrase and a question that has been repeated from backseats since the highway system made it possible for nearly every man, woman and child to crisscross this nation at 55 mph – 75 in some parts of Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nebraska, Nevada (you get the point).

We got the “Are We There Yet?” campaign.

Like a good roadside billboard, it dazzled without being a distraction. The use of Flash animation to produce the banner ads’ pop-up voice bubbles was at the core of the communication. But its real appeal may have been in its ability to reassure our audience. That came in the form of a promise that after a long wait, be it in the form or a car ride or through a grueling winter, there is always a Marriott at the end of the day waiting to welcome each reader and visitor.

Winter wonderland

The Marriott Winter Holiday Promotion was an entirely different story. Like the change from summer to fall to winter, this promotion grew in scope and severity over a period of months.

Originally it involved only one offer for one single worldwide audience – albeit an offer that would be translated into seven languages. The promotion eventually expanded to include three separate offers promoting the services of eight Marriott brands – all on a single landing page. The three offers were:

• Pure Magic – This was the promotion’s most high-end hotel offer. It provided special packages to anyone interested in escaping the rush of the holiday season and getting away to rest and relax at a Marriott, JW Marriott, Renaissance or Courtyard hotel.
• Together Time – This offer was for families traveling to visit relatives during the holidays. The only catch is that the relatives didn’t have room to put the travelers up for the night. I guess you could say there was no room at the inn. Consequently, this promotion offered travelers space at a Residence Inn, SpringHill Suites, TownePlace Suites or Fairfield Inn.
• AAA Double Discount – The third and final offer was a co-promotion with AAA and provided travelers with a 10% discount on weekend rates at Fairfield Inns.

As you might imagine, promoting three offers on one landing page was the biggest challenge. Our solution was to develop an overarching holiday/winter theme that could address the various audiences and offers. That led to the following positioning statement: No matter what the holidays mean to you, whether it’s an opportunity to luxuriate, rejuvenate or celebrate, you can do it at Marriott by taking advantage of one of our three special offers.

The result is an attractive and emotive Flash execution that dominates the top third of the landing page. Following the animation, each offer was assigned its own column. This made it possible for the reader to clearly distinguish between the multiple offers and to realize that they were being presented with a choice of travel options from Marriott.

Finally, because the promotion period ran from November through January, we were able to periodically update the message – slightly changing the content and images as the consumer focus shifted from preparing for the holidays to recovering from the holidays. This was a critical factor in extending the shelf life and appeal of the message.

Ricky Munks

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The eCommerce User Experience team at Marriott International includes information architects, graphic designers, content strategists, quality assurance professionals, content managers, and user researchers. Together, we meet the needs of customers as they increasingly use Marriott.com to plan their trips and book their rooms.