Sheraton Says Let`s Spend the Night Together
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—May 6, 2003—There`s a new spin at Sheraton Hotels and its parent company, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:HOT), today launched a $10 million print and television advertising campaign designed to spotlight the many upgrades to the global hotel giant.
Created by Deutsch Inc., the campaign features a re-mix of the Rolling Stones` classic, “Let`s Spend the Night Together,” and calls out to the guest that “Sheraton Has a New Spin.” Sheraton`s first return to television in more than seven years, the campaign features four television spots (“Epic” :60, “Jubilation” :30, “Broken String” :15 and “Lights Out” :15) as well as print, radio and online ads that highlight Sheraton`s new room design, Sweet Sleeper Bed(sm), and innovative commitment to guest service - The Sheraton Service Promise.
Sheraton`s New Spin: More than 150 bands vied to re-mix the Stone`s classic “Let`s Spend the Night Together” and star in the new commercials filmed in a style reminiscent of the energetic, free-spirited rock n` roll romp typical of the 60s. Sheraton`s inspiring new mantra has been re-mixed by Convoy, a San Diego garage band with a distinct sound and lo-fi approach. Not only did the five member band get to act out their dreams of fame and fortune for the cameras, but when re-recording “Let`s Spend the Night Together,” they worked with noted producer Rob Schnapf of Advanced Alternative Media, who has produced platinum projects for Moby, Foo Fighters, Beck and The Vines.
Sheraton Crest a Classic: In both the print and broadcast ads, the new campaign prominently features the Sheraton “S” crest, which had an unaided recall of 93% in recent research, almost 40 points more than Sheraton`s competitors.
“Sheraton is a classic brand, as iconic as Coca Cola in many parts of the world, and it made sense for us to marry Sheraton with one of the most classic Rock and Roll songs in history,” said Robert Cotter, Chief Operating Officer for Starwood Hotels & Resorts. “The Sheraton brand is in the midst of a massive upgrade of its design, service and product, and now is the time to aggressively, and we think uniquely, capture people`s attention and give them a reason to try us again.”
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“Our campaign uses a fresh, cinematic approach that weds Sheraton with a quintessential rock n` roll vibe,” said Kathy Delaney, Managing Partner, Executive Creative Director at Deutsch, Inc. “Sheraton is a great classic brand and `Let`s Spend the Night Together` is clearly a piece of music history that resonates well with all audiences, but the marriage works because it was created with a keen sense and cognitive desire to carefully preserve the spirit and classic appeal of both.”
Network and Cable Play:
As part of an aggressive media plan, Sheraton`s new campaign makes its debut in heavy network cable programming on CNN, Fox News, ESPN and Oxygen as well as presence on ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox. And, in keeping with the musical genre, Sheraton`s new commercial can also be seen on VH-1. For those who want to checkout the commercial on the web, there is an interactive component of the campaign that includes streaming video of the TV launch on MSN.com and Yahoo.com. The :60 second commercial spot entitled “Epic” will have a global audience, as the hotel giant plans to play the commercial on its in-room channel network in all properties around the world.
Spend the Night and See for Yourself:
Since 1998, more than $1 billion has been invested in upgrading the Sheraton brand, primarily in renovations. In addition, Sheraton is rolling out luxurious new beds, a great new room design and toughening up brand standards throughout the United States. And just last year, the brand made headlines with the introduction of the The Sheraton Service Promise, which promises if you`re not satisfied, just tell us and we`ll take care of it.
Here is how the Sheraton Service Promise works: if a guest should happen to have a problem during their stay, they need only tell a hotel associate and they`ll immediately take steps to correct the problem. Plus, the guest will automatically receive compensation for their problem - an extra step to ensure the guest is satisfied. Since the introduction of The Sheraton Service Promise guest satisfaction scores have reached the highest in the brands history, guest complaints have declined and fewer problems are being reported.
“We have struck a chord with our travelers, and promise to build upon our commitment to service with a pledge to provide comfort, ease of travel and style with our new room design and Sheraton Sweet Sleeper bed,” says Norman MacLeod, Executive Vice President of Operations for Sheraton.
Sheraton`s new ad campaign is part of the hotel giant`s overall strategy to position the brand as the leader in the upscale hotel market.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with more than 750 properties in more than 80 countries and 105,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. With internationally renowned brands, Starwood is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels and resorts including: St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, Sheraton, Westin, Four Points by Sheraton, W brands, as well as Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts. For more information, please visit www.starwood.com
Deutsch Inc. is a full-service integrated marketing and communications company. Part of the Interpublic Group of Companies (IPG), Deutsch works with blue-chip clients including Mitsubishi Motors of North America, DIRECTV, Coors, Revlon, Snapple, Novartis, Bank of America, MCI, and Tommy Hilfiger. Deutsch offers clients an array of services including advertising, direct marketing (directDeutsch), Interactive (iDeutsch), design (designDeutsch) and public relations, promotions, and events (Deutsch PR Promo Plus). Deutsch has offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Toronto.
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