BRAND: ibis hotels. CAMPAIGN: ibis Snuggling Bunnies. LAUNCH: 3 June 2013

Transcription

1 WORLDWIDE HOSPITALITY AWARDS 2013 BRAND: ibis hotels CAMPAIGN: ibis Snuggling Bunnies LAUNCH: 3 June 2013

2 CAMPAIGN TEAM ADVERTISING AGENCY MEDIA AGENCY SOCIAL MEDIA AGENCY

3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY SUMMARY: Ibis hotels required a cost-effective campaign that would increase their brand awareness and engagement and achieve cut-through in a cluttered UK hospitality market, as well as being relevant in other markets such as the Netherlands and Belgium. The strategy adopted was to produce an online video with high talk- and shareability in order to generate noise and ensure content reached a wide audience, all on a tight budget. METHOD: B2C online campaign TARGET AUDIENCE: C1C2DE Adults 25+ travelling domestically for Business & Leisure Targeting should go beyond travel and reach influencers

4 BACKGROUND LOW BUDGET HIGH IMPACT: In the UK, ibis hotels suffer from low brand awareness compared to the competition, who are more visible and have significantly larger marketing budgets. As such the requirement for the campaign was to find a powerfully disruptive way to boost ibis brand awareness, engagement and consideration. CUT THROUGH THE NOISE: The internet is crowded with content and the online film / viral is an increasingly popular tactic for brands to attract attention outside of mainstream media and engage with consumers directly through social media channels. Content has to be surprising, engaging, and genuinely entertaining to cutthrough the web s churning and often transient content.

5 OBJECTIVES OVERALL CAMPAIGN OBJECTIVE: to increase brand awareness, engagement, and consideration for ibis hotels in the UK, as well as in the Netherlands and Belgium. VIDEO TARGET: - Generate PR coverage - Generate video views - Generate social media actions (e.g. likes, shares, comments) to boost brand affinity - Promote the Sweet Bed by ibis and spread the word that the chain boasts the most comfortable bed ever by the means of this extremely shareable, compelling content

6 STRATEGY SWEET BED : The hook was the new Sweet Bed by ibis a bed specifically designed for the guest s ultimate comfort, and a differentiator in the three markets. Previous above-the-line advertising had introduced the bed, and the online campaign was designed to build on this activity. Following market research and insight an online video was strategically selected as the most disruptive format within a low media spend to convey the emotional benefits of the new bed. The creative concept for the video was key to ensuring it gained cut-through in a cluttered market and was engaging in a way that would make people want to talk about and share our content. The content needed to focus on the ibis hotels point of difference: the Sweet Bed by ibis, and have an outtake of comfort, while creating an emotional link with the brand establishing ibis hotels and the Sweet Bed by ibis as the place to go for a comfortable, restful night s sleep.

7 STRATEGY Some of the most visible and wellviewed videos on the web feature cute animals, and they also drive organic sharing and interactions. Cute animals also trigger connotations of comfort linking directly back to the brand strategy. Bunnies are internet favourites. They are soft, cuddly and seek out the comfiest, loveliest spot to make their bed and fall asleep ideal candidates to demonstrate the comfort of the new beds in a cute and engaging way.

8 CREATIVE IDEA The viral film, entitled ibis Snuggling Bunnies, captures the magic as ibis play host to their cutest, comfiest guests yet.

9 CREATIVE IDEA Filmed on location over two days in the ibis London Blackfriars, over 30 bunnies were allowed to roam free in a top floor hotel room. The film captures the bunnies as they seek out the comfiest place to sleep - the Sweet Bed by ibis. In the film a fluffy nose interrupts a shaft of light at the door, then one after another the bunnies enter the room, one even pausing for a yawn. Fluffy bunnies, small and large, make their way to the bed, hopping up a stack of books and from behind the pillows. Whiskers twitch as they explore before gathering in a sleepy heap.

10 CREATIVE IDEA An ibis Snuggling Bunnies Behind-the- Scenes video was also produced to extend and maximize the impact of the campaign and the sharing of ibis content for consumers and fans.

11 MEDIA APPROACH Both videos were uploaded to the ibis YouTube channel so that views could be consolidated. SEEDING AIM: to reach the target audience outside of the traditional travel environments, to interrupt their online consumption habits with the new ibis video creative. Therefore the media plan focused on entertainment, lifestyle and sport environments. The approach broadened the target audience and used seeding channels that encouraged social interactions. Social media was used to amplify the effect of the video seeding campaign and drive engagement with the content.

12 MEDIA APPROACH SOCIAL MEDIA: The social media strategy sought to amplify the campaign on ibis social media channels. The ibis Facebook page (facebook.com/ibis), was bunnified by updating the cover picture, creating a custom tab dedicated to the campaign including the videos (hosted on Youtube) and regular bunny campaign specific posts. Paid activity focused on promoted page posts targeting fans, prospects, competitor fans, and those interested in pets, cute animals, viral videos and travel.

13 MEDIA APPROACH PROMOTION: The video was also promoted via press releases to trade and consumer media, who received information under embargo prior to the launch, as well as on ibis-owned channels such as ibis.com and e-communications, and within hotels. 6-week communication campaign activity summary: - Paid media (video seeding and Facebook) - PR - Social media (YouTube, Facebook, Google+) - In-hotel communication - Owned channels (e.g. website, e-communications)

14 CAMPAIGN FACTS CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT: 1 month LAUNCH: 3 June 2013 SEEDING TIMINGS: 5 June 17 July 2013 CAMPAIGN DURATION: Ongoing online. TOTAL BUDGET: 277k SCOPE: UK, Netherlands and Belgium VIDEO LINKS: Ibis Snuggling Bunnies Ibis Snuggling Bunnies Behind the Scenes

15 CAMPAIGN EXTENSION Due to the positive customer feedback and overwhelming success of the viral, ibis Snuggling Bunnies was adopted for the ibis Summer tactical campaign: - 10 and 30 second versions aired on television between 28 th June 4 th August - Online display ads were created based on the viral campaign - Bunnies featured on reception screens, were integrated into company signature and on websites, and the ibis Snuggling Bunnies viral played in hotel lift screens

16 YOUTUBE VIEWS RESULTS 1,974,917 TOTAL VIEWS WORLDWIDE IBIS SNUGGLING BUNNIES FILM 1,299,166 VIEWS UK+NLD+BEL 675,751 VIEWS REST OF WORLD 126,178 TOTAL VIEWS WORLDWIDE IBIS SNUGGLING BUNNIES BEHIND-THE-SCENES FILM 100% ORGANIC VIEWS 2,101,095 TOTAL VIEWS WORLDWIDE IBIS FILM VIEWS COMBINED Result statistics from 28 th August 2013

17 YOUTUBE / FACEBOOK KEY STATS 2,995 TOTAL LIKES 1st most viewed video in UK travel ( ) 2nd most shared video in the UK ( ) 298 UK Facebook shares 1,685 new UK ibis FB followers (during June 13)

18 PR KEY RESULTS: 40+ UK MEDIA ARTICLES THE YEAR S MOST SHAMELESSLY CUSTEST AD OF 2013 ADORABLE COMMERICAL Daily Mail Online AdWeek AD OF THE DAY Drum Magazine AD OF THE MONTH Marketing Magazine READERS FAVOURITE Drum Magazine Online PICK OF THE WEEK Campaign Magazine Online

19 PR COVERAGE EXAMPLES

20 BEST AD EVER POP STAR LEONA LEWIS TWEET

21 IBIS SNUGGLING BUNNIES THANK YOU