NEW YORK— Homewood Suites by Hilton unveiled its newest on-line marketing initiative at the International Hotel/Motel & Restaurant Show here, comprising a new real-time Marketing Tool Kit designed to facilitate advertising efforts among the brand’s 117 (currently open) properties. Set up as a user-friendly on-line Hilton extranet interface consisting of information/content and builder components, the site features a marketing overview of the brand’s target audiences as well as media strategies, in addition to details on other available internal brand-marketing programs. Outlining the five-step ad-building process, Homewood Suites VP – Brand Marketing Calvin Stovall maintained: “This initiative can’t help but drive [localized]advertising efforts… making good use of Internet capabilities on a cost-effective basis.” Walking through the process, it was pointed out the first screen accessed calls for the particular (print media) ad category and publication type, followed thereafter by prompts leading to appropriate visuals and headline selection. Then the process allows the user to punch in the name of the publication (so the pre-loaded system can search for the correct ad-size requirements. Step four entails choosing the pre-written body copy for the ad, which can be altered/edited as needed by the local hotelier, particular in terms of information concerning rates and terms. Following this portion of the procedure, hotel-location information is then inserted and the finished ad product is sent to Homewood for final approval— a process Stovall claimed has been shaved to (usually) just an hour or two instead of days. As the Homewood Suites executive allowed: “I would be happy to see 50% of our properties taking advantage of this new, easy-to-use procedure to place advertising.” And to make this prospect even more appealing, Stovall noted that — through the end of the year— there is no charge attached to using this on-line service… and even after that, the cost is a minimal $30 per ad. Moreover, Homewood hoteliers can similarly take advantage of the company’s “matching funds” program (covering about 40% of a particular location’s marketing expense), thereby making the overall process that much more cost-effective.—Michael Billig
