Knights Inn, Villager Rev Up Marketing In 2002

DALLAS— During its annual brand conference being held here at the Hyatt Regency, Knights Franchise Systems revved up its engines for 2002 with a racing-themed general session promoting the brand’s new sponsorship of this year’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Following suit, Villager Franchise Systems took the stage to announce its new marketing efforts. President/CEO Anthony Falor kicked off this morning’s event by comparing the brand’s franchisees to a NASCAR pit crew. Falor stated that just like pit crews that back race car drivers, “each Knights Inn member has a singular focus but must work together as a crew… to ensure we finish first [in the budget segment].” In order for the brand to speed ahead, Knights Inn’s marketing team has put together a series of new promotions to boost revenue. Lori Smith, Knights Inn director of marketing, reported that the brand has launched a season-long sponsorship of the #16 Chevy entry with Xpress Motorsports and driver Mike Bliss in the 2002 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. This season, the Knights Inn logo will appear on Bliss’s truck, uniform, and crew uniforms “a few hundred times” as his top-ranked vehicle circles the race track. In addition, Bliss’s crew has agreed to stay at Knights Inn properties located near races. Smith noted that this brand sponsorship should “offer terrific exposure for Knights Inn,” particularly to the growing number of a NASCAR viewers who perfectly match the brand’s guest demographic in terms of age and gender. To leverage its NASCAR relationship, Knights Inn has launched a summer promotion, titled “Rev It Up,” that will award one sweepstakes winner with roundtrip airfare, hotel accommodations, car rental and tickets to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race in Miami this November. Smith noted that hotels will soon get new collateral and distribution materials to sell the new sweepstakes to each of its guests. In addition, Knights Inn is boosting its number of radio spots on the Midnight Truckers Radio Network, with 520, 60-second spots to be featured on the network in the next few months. The brand is also supporting this important demographic by becoming the only hotel company to sponsor the Million Mile Club, which honors truckers with low accident rates. Both Knights Inn and Villager have also re-launched their websites with a new look and simplified interface. The revamped Knightsinn.com and Villager.com sites now feature fresh graphics, a refined booking engine, and new hotel content. They will also soon feature air and car rental components due to the brands’ affiliation and link to Cendant Corp.’s new travel portal, Trip.com. Meanwhile, Villager is launching its own new marketing initiatives targeted to the brand’s primary demographic: males about 48 years old making approximately $51,000 in blue collar professions that also enjoy sports and outdoor activities, according to Brenda Eddy, director marketing. To reach these guests, Villager is launching a series of cable television commercials on SPEED, a 24-hour race car channel; OLN, the outdoor living network; and ESPN News and ESPN Classics. Radio spots will also air on CBS Westwood One’s coverage of Monday Night Football, and on American Airlines Sky Radio. In addition, print ads will soon be appearing in USA Today, Southwest Airlines’ Spirit Magazine, and US Airlines’ Attache. The brand is also aligning with Cendant’s real estate division to better target customers in the midst of corporate relocations and in need of temporary housing, said Eddy.