Marketers and brands are all chasing the elusive fountain of youth that is the millennial generation. The latest brand to specifically target the buzzed-about demographic is Hampton Hotels.
In order to attract a younger customer base to stay at its hotels, Hampton Hotels, with the help of agency Mistress and production company Fake Love, created a social media campaign and TV spot that features millennials who have strong online presences. Hampton Hotels invited a group of 10 millennial social media types to stay for a weekend at various Hampton Hotels locations. The idea was to have these influencers honestly document their experience via social media channels like Twitter and Instagram, using the hashtag #hamptonality, in order to spread the word to their followers and friends. Mistress used the content generated to create the 30-second spots.
According to Damien Eley, co-founding partner at Mistress, the key campaign insight is that millennials, more than any other generation, “make big decisions based on what their peers have already recommended or are talking about.” According to Bazaarvoice, 84 percent of millennials report that user-generated content (like reviews and social media comments) has some influence on their purchases.
“A lot of brands co-opt social media channels, but we were really trying to be honest,” said Eley. “We wanted people to just talk about their travel experience, and we wanted people to hear the brand message as organically as possible.”
The group of influencers who participated include people like Foster Huntington of popular blogs The Burning House and A Restless Transplant (he has over 4,300 Twitter followers, over 380,000 Instagram followers); travel and food blogger Kristina Luna (she has over 10,000 Twitter followers); and extreme traveler Rob Lloyd of Stop Having a Boring Life (he has over 100,00 Twitter followers).
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Hampton Hotels isn’t the only hotel brand focusing on the millennial market. Marriott International recently announced efforts to tailor its hotels to millennials’ tastes through new designs, amenities and a focus on sustainability, according to PSFK.
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