Sheraton Puerto Rico recently launched a Halloween themed interactive promotion, which focused on the disappearance of a fictitious and somewhat frustrating guest, Mr. Antonio De Vill.

Participants would visit the hotel’s Facebook page and assume the role of detectives by watching a series of videos that gave viewers all the clues they needed to solve Mr. De Vill’s disappearance.

After watching the videos, contestants would submit their vote accusing the character they thought was the culprit. The participants who correctly identified the kidnapper would enter a random drawing for a chance to win a 3-night stay at the hotel.

“We wanted to break away from the traditional Halloween promotions by creating a fun, unique and engaging contest that would get the public’s attention,” said Jeremy Marquard, Director of Sales & Marketing for the Sheraton Puerto Rico Hotel & Casino. “The story gave us a chance to showcase the hotel’s beautiful design; thus, making it a ten minute infomercial that people would watch over and over again. Furthermore, all of the characters in the videos were played by hotel employees, which presented us with a one-of-a-kind internal PR opportunity to engage employees in the hotel’s advertising. In the end, we want people to establish an emotional connection between the Sheraton and its audience, and this sort of promotion does just that.”