The Challenge
Holiday Inn Express is IHG’s fastest growing hotel brand. It has continued to expand in Australia since its launch in 2016.
Within three years, Pro-invest Group developed and launched four hotels – Sydney Macquarie Park and Brisbane and then Adelaide and Newcastle, which communikate et al executed.
The opening of the flagship property, Holiday Inn Express Melbourne Southbank, saw the hotel group take on the competitive Melbourne accommodation market. With this decision came a need for a strong integrated marketing strategy.
We needed to:
- Cut through the competition.
- Position Holiday Inn Express as the best mid-range price point offering in the Melbourne CBD/Southbank area.
- Educate and inform the Melbourne and broader market about the brand, with fun at the heart of activities.
- Leverage the unique magic of Melbourne.
- Raise awareness during the pre-launch and launch period with business and leisure travellers – driving enquiry and bookings early in the campaign.
Our Approach
The ‘simple, smart travel’ brand was showcased for the first time to a Melbourne audience through a combination of:
- events
- online publication partnerships
- social media campaigns
- videography
- digital billboards (including a live feed from the activation)
- publicity
Our team developed the campaign tagline “Less boring, more exploring”. This alludes to the endless opportunities to explore what Melbourne has to offer and also incorporates the brand premise of ‘simple, smart travel’ – we give you what you need so you can spend more time on what’s important to you!
The campaign included a public activation, held in Queensbridge Square in the Southbank precinct. We had a greenscreen photobooth which allowed people to select their favourite Melbourne event, grab some props and get snapping! The photos were then printed out, sent via text and broadcast on a digital billboard in the Melbourne CBD.
There were also free iced coffees, snacks and a live DJ, creating a fun atmosphere for everyone to enjoy while relaxing in the styled event space.
Other elements of our campaign included:
- Planning and managing the official launch party for hotel partners, dignitaries and media, hosted in the hotel itself.
- Coordinating a partnership with Broadsheet Media, including editorial placements and website advertisements.
- Coordinating a week-long campaign on a prominent Melbourne CBD billboard, including live stream of images from the activation.
- Creating Facebook and Instagram pages, building a following on both platforms and running ads to promote the opening.
- Coordinating a social media competition, with an accommodation package as the prize.
- Creating and filming marketing videos for various platforms.
- Running a publicity campaign to both industry and local mainstream media outlets.
- Managing influencer stays and content.
The Outcome
These activities resulted in a very effective opening campaign, with the hotel enjoying strong visibility in the market and experiencing strong bookings throughout its opening period.
The greenscreen booth was an absolute hit at the public activation, with:
- 200 photos taken
- 550 photos shared on social media, printed or sent via text
- 24,676 individuals seeing at least 1 social media post with a photo
- 107,500 individuals (approximate) viewing the digital billboard
The social media campaign was also a great success, leaving Holiday Inn Express Melbourne Southbank with powerful marketing assets. Some key stats include:
- 674 Facebook page likes generated from the time the page was created to the official launch party.
- The social media competition attracted 579 entries and reached 15,629 individuals.
- The social media ads reached 525,184 individuals in the lead up to the hotel’s opening.
When commenting on the campaign, the client noted “we absolutely smashed it out of the park” and “we should all be really proud of the activation and the amount of positive traction we received.”
