Situational Analysis
COVID-19 swiftly and significantly impacted the hospitality industry, as well as marketing and advertising across industries in nearly all media. Omni Hotels & Resorts temporarily closed 44 hotels within its portfolio of 51. To recover successfully, Omni diligently worked on a plan that would guide and support marketing efforts for the brand and individual properties as they reopened.
At a time when media messaging across all industries was homogenous — stoic, sentimental, and filled with “unprecedented” and “uncertain times” — Omni Hotels & Resorts broke through the sea of sameness with a messaging campaign that acknowledged world events while still encouraging optimism and travel.
Concept
At a time when the world was told every day to stay apart, we asked, “What if that’s only a part of the story? What if the whole story is to stay a part of what matters most?”
• To leisure guests, we encouraged them to Stay A Part Of Community, Safety and Hope
• To associates, we encouraged them to Stay A Part Of Hello, Welcome and Smiles
• To group and business guests, we encouraged them to Stay A Part Of Leadership, Progress and Conversation
• To leisure guests, we encouraged them to Stay A Part Of Community, Safety and Hope
• To associates, we encouraged them to Stay A Part Of Hello, Welcome and Smiles
• To group and business guests, we encouraged them to Stay A Part Of Leadership, Progress and Conversation
Crafted as a modular structure, the campaign was designed for flexibility through interchangeable nouns in each headline, providing the recognizability of a consistent campaign while also customizing the highlighted phrase to the local community, such as:
• Jacksonville: Stay A Part Of DUUUVAL
• Barton Creek | Austin: Stay A Part Of Hill Country
• William Penn | Pittsburgh: Stay A Part Of Yinz
• The Grove Park Inn | Asheville: Stay A Part Of Wellness
• Hilton Head: Stay A Part Of Sea Spray
• Jacksonville: Stay A Part Of DUUUVAL
• Barton Creek | Austin: Stay A Part Of Hill Country
• William Penn | Pittsburgh: Stay A Part Of Yinz
• The Grove Park Inn | Asheville: Stay A Part Of Wellness
• Hilton Head: Stay A Part Of Sea Spray
A fully-integrated campaign, the messaging came to life across paid, owned, and earned media channels, as well as on-property.
Goals
Through the Stay A Part Of campaign, our main goal was to maintain awareness of the brand and build positive consumer sentiment with a focus on leisure travel.
We defined success in the following ways using a SMART goal:
S – Drive awareness, reassure guests that it’s safe to travel and cultivate positive brand sentiment to drive interest upon reopening.
M – Each tactic was measured per relevant metrics, including:
• Paid Media: $3.85 ROAS
• Owned Media – Email: 20% Open Rate and 10% CTO Rate
• Owned Media – Organic Social:
– Combined 1.3M Impressions across Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
– Combined 43K Engagements across Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
– .12% CTR on Facebook, 4.5% Engagement Rates on Instagram and LinkedIn
• Earned Media – Pitching: 200 placements and/or 200M impressions
• Paid Media: $3.85 ROAS
• Owned Media – Email: 20% Open Rate and 10% CTO Rate
• Owned Media – Organic Social:
– Combined 1.3M Impressions across Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
– Combined 43K Engagements across Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
– .12% CTR on Facebook, 4.5% Engagement Rates on Instagram and LinkedIn
• Earned Media – Pitching: 200 placements and/or 200M impressions
A – Investing limited resources in areas with the greatest opportunity, we focused attention on properties in areas of the country that were open while highlighting wide open spaces for safe and comfortable stays.
R – By crafting a message rooted in the language of the pandemic and delivering it with media that met users where they were, we married truth with timeliness.
T – Our results have been measured from the launch of the campaign on May 4 through October 30. Per the continued relevancy of the messaging and success across all metrics, Omni extended the campaign through EOY.
Results and Impact
PAID MEDIA | Awareness, consideration and conversion tactics including paid social, programmatic display, native advertising, OOH, and partnerships:
• 104.4M Impressions
• 4.38 ROAS (Benchmark: 3.85)
• 104.4M Impressions
• 4.38 ROAS (Benchmark: 3.85)
OWNED MEDIA
• 9.3M Unique Opens
• 20% Open Rate (Benchmark: 20%)
• 14% CTO Rate (Benchmark: 10%)
Organic Social | Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
• 1.44M Impressions (Benchmark 1.3M)
• 75.9K Engagements (Benchmark 43K)
• .37% CTR (Benchmark: 0.12%) on Facebook, 5.01% and 7.44% Engagement Rates (Benchmark: 4.5%) on Instagram and LinkedIn
• 1.44M Impressions (Benchmark 1.3M)
• 75.9K Engagements (Benchmark 43K)
• .37% CTR (Benchmark: 0.12%) on Facebook, 5.01% and 7.44% Engagement Rates (Benchmark: 4.5%) on Instagram and LinkedIn
OmniHotels.com
• 880.1K Pageviews on “Stay A Part Of”-related content
– 88% on “SAPO Travel” offer
– 6% on other SAPO offers
– 6% on SAPO Campaign landing pages
• The “SAPO Travel” offer page assisted in more than 15% of all OH.com revenue generated during this period
• 880.1K Pageviews on “Stay A Part Of”-related content
– 88% on “SAPO Travel” offer
– 6% on other SAPO offers
– 6% on SAPO Campaign landing pages
• The “SAPO Travel” offer page assisted in more than 15% of all OH.com revenue generated during this period
EARNED MEDIA
• In total, we achieved 237 placements for 255M impressions, exceeding our goal by 37 placements and 55M impressions.
• In total, we achieved 237 placements for 255M impressions, exceeding our goal by 37 placements and 55M impressions.
• A press release detailing how Omni planned to Stay A Part of Hospitality and Safety as hotels reopened across the country earned 143 placements for 84 million impressions, including coverage in top-tier national media outlets with a large travel audiences like The New York Times, USA Today, Business Insider, Skift and The Points Guy.
• An additional 94 placements for 171 million impressions were earned through distribution of a localized press release in each market with a reopening hotel
While not key goals for this campaign, other highlights include:
• Condé Nast Traveler Video Crown Units captured an average Attention Quality of 52.86% — 69% above their benchmark of 31.1%
• Condé Nast Traveler Video Crown Units captured an average Attention Quality of 52.86% — 69% above their benchmark of 31.1%
• The Travel + Leisure native post garnered an engagement rate of 12.43% — 9x the publication’s benchmark of 1.2%
• The Travel + Leisure pre-roll video performed with a .47% CTR — 3x the benchmark of .16%
