Magical ad campaign: Transforming transportation hubs into places of renewal
In our busy metro lives, we hardly find time
for relaxation...always rushing for one thing
or the other. Imagine, if we suddenly found
ourselves in the midst of serene greens
or tranquil waterfalls or say deep sea...
no it’s not a dream, but the reality that
commuters all through United States
recently felt. Westin’s $30mm experiential
campaign uses non-traditional methods to
bring a feeling of renewal to commuters in
major transit hubs.
Recently, Westin Hotels &
Resorts has transformed
some of the United States’
most hectic transportation hubs
into “places of renewal.” Westin’s
$30 million campaign uses
experiential mediums, including
3-D and Bluetooth billboards,
image-shifting lenticulars and submedia
(ads that appear to move
on the train tunnel walls, much
like a giant flip book), that bring
to life the brand’s ongoing
concept of personal renewal.
Rolling out in major cities,
including Chicago, Boston, Atlanta
and San Francisco, the campaign
reaches New York City when
every possible medium touch
point in Grand Central Station is
carefully choreographed brand
immersion experience. One of
many executions includes the
interiors of three Grand Central/
Times Square shuttle trains
completely wrapped with
360-degree imagery of a lush rain
forest, tropical scuba dive or a
soothing sauna leading to an
icy lakeshore.
The new out-of-home
executions, created by Deutsch
New York and implemented by
MediaVest, are an evolution of
Westin’s groundbreaking “This is
How it Should Feel” marketing
and engagement effort. The 2007
ad buy includes print, radio,
online, and multiplatform
elements.
“The use of non-traditional media
marks an exciting new direction
for Westin. What better way to
convey the Westin Renewal
experience than to literally
surround consumers with positive
experiential messages in subways
and airports and on highways,
where they are most stressed and
yearning for an escape? This
message is particularly resonant
with business travellers, who can
appreciate the juxtaposition
between the most stressful
moments of the day and the
most renewing,” said Sue Brush,
senior vice president, Westin
Hotels & Resort.
Deliberately devoid of room
shots, fluffy beds, sunsets and
other typical hotel amenities, this
campaign turned traditional
hotel advertising on its head.
The ads instead conveys
what guests would feel at a
Westin-a rejuvenating, personal
experience, free from the stresses
of travel and everyday life.
The campaign’s clever use of
imagery and “environmental
messaging” literally and
figuratively turns everyday
negatives into positives,
transforming the mundane
commute into an unexpected
oasis. A busy escalator, for
example, is transformed into a
rushing tropical waterfall, while
airport signage creates a mental
link between negatives like the
frustration of delays and positives
like the exhilaration of surfers
lined up waiting for the perfect
wave. In New York, an interactive
Bluetooth billboard invites
passersby to download a
soothing, original Westin ringtone
because “renewal is calling.” The
billboard was created, thanks to
the overwhelming number of
people who inquired about the
song featured in last year’s
15-second TV spots. In response,
Westin went back to the studio
to record the full track.
The campaign’s large-scale use of
360-degree media and
environmental messaging is a
breakthrough for the hotel
industry, integrating an impressive
range of non-traditional mediums
to engage consumers at multiple
touch points.
Spread out over five markets,
with more than 270 different
visuals and 2,754 media
placements, the campaign
includes sub-media - using the
motion of the trains, images lining
the tunnel walls act like a giant
flipbook; lenticulars - these
unique pieces of media are a
perfect fit for providing a
transformative experience to
commuters; column wraps -
landscape photos will be spread
across several columns
throughout Grand Central
Station, New York; airport -
environmental messaging and
contextual ads speaking directly
to travellers to help them relax,
pause and de-stress; larger-thanlife
billboards - Westin is also relensing
billboards, with unique
three-dimensional billboards
spread out over five major US
cities; and in-train signage -
commuters no longer associate
“delays” with waiting for a train.
Instead, as the image suggests,
Westin will evoke the feeling of
floating on a surfboard, waiting
for the perfect wave to roll in.
