Sheraton Hotels Launches $20 million Marketing Campaign

In a bold move, Sheraton Hotels & Resorts has launched a new $20 million dollar, multi-media marketing campaign created to highlight the brand’s $6 billion revitalization effort.  The “Rediscover Sheraton” campaign encourages travelers to take a new look at Sheraton, which features an enhanced guest experience following a three-year, global brand overhaul. This is the first new marketing campaign to debut for Sheraton in two years.

The “Rediscover Sheraton” campaign showcases key elements of the $6 billion enhancement, including 300 new lobbies, 70,000 new guestrooms, 100,000 new beds and the brand’s unique wired lobby lounge called the Link@Sheraton experienced with Microsoft.

A key insight that directed the creative vision for the campaign is the growing trend of travelers seamlessly blending business and leisure - also known as “bleisure”- and the demand for socially-driven designed spaces and amenities.  As part of the brand’s overhaul, every aspect of the new Sheraton guest experience was designed to promote social interaction and bring people together, Sheraton says.

 

The Link@Sheraton at the Sheraton Downtown Phoenix shown

The campaign depicts this through headlines and imagery that blur the lines of business and leisure and unite seemingly disparate concepts to capture attention, build intrigue and encourage consumers to reconsider the brand.  “Who brings business suits and bathing suits together?” is paired with an image of a conference room table that’s been seamlessly connected to the image of a business executive lounging poolside with a laptop. Other headlines include “Who brings power walks and power talks together?” and “Who brings bottom lines and bottom ups together?”

The multi-million campaign marks the first Sheraton campaign to be designed in-house by the company’s global brand design team, led by Phil McAveety, chief brand officer for Starwood.  “Rediscover Sheraton” will launch across a multimedia platform that integrates consumer, trade and online and Sheraton will focus a significant portion of its buy on non-traditional media. 

“The focus on non-traditional media marks an exciting new direction for Sheraton,” said McAveety. “What sets this campaign apart is the fully integrated, multi-platform approach and how the work uses non-traditional media to convey the new Sheraton experience.  Every brand touch-point of the campaign is strategically aligned, across all executions including print, online, mobile, promotional and experiential event activities.”

The campaign will run on key websites, including NYTimes.com, Kayak.com, BizJournals.com and CNN.com.  Print ads will run in USA Today and other key business and travel titles.

Sheraton reports it  is completing a three-year, multi-billion global brand overhaul that encompasses more than $4 billion in new hotels, renovations and signature brand initiatives in North America and another $2 billion in new hotels overseas.  Highlights include:

*    70,000 new or newly renovated guestrooms— 50,000 in North America alone
*    More than 300 new lobbies featuring the brand’s innovative Link@Sheraton experienced with Microsoft
*    More than 100,000 brand new Sheraton Sweet Sleeper all-white, high thread count beds in 211 hotels and 83,000 guestrooms worldwide
*    98 renovated properties, nearly half of Sheraton’s North American portfolio, including high profile gateway properties like the Sheraton Denver, Sheraton Boston, Sheraton Seattle Hotel & Towers and Sheraton Montreal and Sheraton Waikiki.
*    Sheraton has opened more than 60 new hotels worldwide since 2007 including new flagships such as the Sheraton Puerto Rico Convention Center Hotel & Casino and the Sheraton Phoenix Convention Center Hotel.

Sheraton has more than 400 hotels in 75 countries around the world. It is owned by and is the largest and most global brand of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with 966 properties in more than 100 countries and 145,000 employees at its owned and managed properties.

Starwood Hotels is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels, resorts and residences with the following internationally renowned brands: St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, W, Westin, Le Méridien, Sheraton, Four Points by Sheraton, and the recently launched Aloft and Element.

Starwood Hotels also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts. Visit www.starwoodhotels.com.