The Ask (SCAD and MELT)
IHG is launching a new brand of midscale hotels to reach the modern traveler. avid hotels are changing the hotel industry as we know it. IHG CEO, Elie Maalouf, described avid as “championing the everyday traveler at an everyday price.” The first hotel is opening in Oklahoma City in Fall 2018, and other locations will follow around the country in 2019. The brand wants to create national awareness surrounding the launch of the hotels. This includes a 360 campaign and an experiential activation. They need to choose two events in spring 2019 relevant to the target audience to launch the experiential activation.
experiential campaign
for avid hotels
Sneak peek at some of our activations
Check out the whole campaign below
The Ask (SCAD and MELT)
IHG is launching a new brand of midscale hotels to reach the modern traveler. avid hotels are changing the hotel industry as we know it. IHG CEO, Elie Maalouf, described avid as “championing the everyday traveler at an everyday price.” The first hotel is opening in Oklahoma City in Fall 2018, and other locations will follow around the country in 2019. The brand wants to create national awareness surrounding the launch of the hotels. This includes a 360 campaign and an experiential activation. They need to choose two events in spring 2019 relevant to the target audience to launch the experiential activation.
Company Overview
Avid Hotels are a new brand of IHG – changing the hotel industry as we know it. Avid is passionate about a great night’s sleep, determined to provide modern, comfortable design and focused on finding the perfect balance between quality and price. Welcome to the future of everyday travel, where the essentials are done right, every time.
The Team
In the Fall of 2018 our class (M.A Advertising students, SCAD) partnered with a creative agency Melt, in Atlanta.
This was a 10 week long group project. Our class worked according to skill sets. I headed the 'Avid Traveler' idea team, I worked as a strategist, video producer and was also part of the art direction team for the overall campaign. I was also a part of the presentation team when pitching to the Agency and Client.
X
Key competitors
Insights based on our Target Audience
Target Buckets
Our Target Audience was Millennials and we created 3 Target Buckets for the same.
Organising Idea
Based on our competitor analysis, Target Audience study we create an organising idea - Champion New Experiences.
We Broke that down..
Big Idea
FREE TO BE AVID
With avid, the possibilities are limitless. We aim to empowerour customers by giving them the consistent freedom to be passionate about their experiences.
Avid becomes interactive.
It’s the freedom to fill in the blank; to be uniquely you.
To not be bound by Avid’s walls but to use Avid as a jumping off point
We had 3 big activations:
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The Avid Music Goer
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The Avid Sports Fanatic
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The Avid Traveler
Activations
The Avid Music Goer
The Avid Sports Fanatic
The Avid Traveler
THE AVID MUSIC GOER
A world connected by rhythm is a world where life is extraordinary. Live to your own beat, sing your own song—Avid is your blank page, your empty stage, your zero-gravity.
Our research led us to the following
Customer Journey
Our customer first sees Avid on travel websites and social media. Here we follow her on the journey she takes. It begins when she reached Avid and is greeted with a music festival welcome bag which includes goodies like portable charging pack which she will definitely need at the festival, a bus to takes her and her friends to the event.
While at the event Avid has multiple stations such as a shuttle bus that would take Avid customers to and from the hotel, the free charging pack, doors designed by local artists, the VR experience, and a bounce hotel.
The journey ends with follow up emails and interaction through social and digital platforms.
Media Mix
The activation for The Avid Music Goer consists of three phases for each activation: Excite,
Engage, and Connect.
The Excite phase focuses on Social and digital platforms like instagram and popular travel websites.
The Engage phase has 5 touchpoints where the consumer would interact with Avid and that is a shuttle bus that would take Avid customers to and from the hotel, the free charging pack, doors designed by local artists, the VR experience,
and a bounce hotel.
The Connect phase focuses on keeping in touch with the consumer, making sure they had a good experience and re posting their instagram stories and other social media mentions. This is done via social and digital platforms.
View phases for The Avid Music Goer Activations below
An example of what our VR experience at the Music Festival would look like. Click to view
THE AVID SPORTS FANATIC
It’s never just about the game. It’s about the adventure, the suspense, the championship, the camaraderie. So go ahead, be an Avid sports fanatic—because here, you’re free to stay in the zone. But most importantly: you’re free to be an avid winner.
Our research led us to the following
Customer Journey
We focused on getting our customer in contact with Avid via a tailgate tour. This customer journey incorporates all the various touchpoints that will be featured at the sporting event like interactive screens, the winning catch photo booth, monitors and seats for tailgating, refreshments, and free bathrooms for the customers.
We would keep in touch with them through social and digital platforms.
Media Mix
View phases for The Avid Sports Fanatic (College Pick 'Em Games) Activations below
The activation for Avid Sports Fanatic consists of three phases for each activation: Excite, Engage, and Connect.
The Excite phase focuses on Social and digital platforms out of home advertising, brand ambassadors, consumer generated content, branded facilities, and the college pick 'em competition.
The Engage phase has 5 touchpoints where the consumer would interact with Avid and that is
the sporting event like interactive screens, the winning catch photo booth, monitors and seats for tailgating, refreshments, and free bathrooms for the customers.
We would keep in touch with them through social media platforms by posting during the event.
The Connect phase focuses on keeping in touch with the consumer, making sure they had a good experience and re posting their instagram stories and other social media mentions. This is done via social and digital platforms.
THE AVID TRAVELER
A truly authentic travel experience can feel like the ultimate freedom. It connects us, transcends our differences. Even though everyone walks a different path, we’re all exploring the same map. The Avid Community is a world created by travelers, for travelers—so each traveler has the freedom to experience their own unique journey. Because real adventures don’t come from guidebooks.
Customer Journey
Our customer first sees Avid on travel websites and social media platforms such as instagram and youtube ads. We partnered with Southwest airlines so when the customer books his/her flight ticket they see an avid ad promoting the Avid App at the bottom of their e-ticket.
We developed an app and this journey shows how the consumer would use the app right from checking in, getting local recommendations and using avid scooters to travel throughout the city. The app works in combination with a map using augmented reality to provide the avid traveler with best suited local recommendations. They would then earn Avid points that they could redeem the next time they stay at an Avid hotel. This would create a community of Avid travelers.
Media Mix
The activation for The Avid Traveler consists of three phases for each activation: Excite, Engage, and Connect.
The Excite phase focuses on Social and digital platforms like instagram and popular travel websites.
The Engage phase consists of an an app we developed and this journey shows how the consumer would use the app right from checking in, getting local recommendations and using avid scooters to travel throughout the city. The app works in combination with a map using augmented reality to provide the avid traveler with best suited local recommendations. They would then earn
Avid points that they could redeem the next time they stay at an Avid hotel. This would create a community of Avid travelers. Additionally we had out of home marketing like bus stops and lamp post flags around the city.
The Connect phase focuses on keeping in touch with the consumer, making sure they had a good experience and re posting their instagram stories and other social media mentions. This is done via social and digital platforms.
View phases for The Avid Traveler Activations below