2019 Brand Experience & Activation

THE SOCIAL MEDIA SITTER

TitleTHE SOCIAL MEDIA SITTER
BrandIBIS/ACCORHOTELS SWITERLAND SA
Product/ServiceHOTEL
Category A04. Travel, Leisure, Retail, Restaurants & Fast Food Chains
Entrant IBIS/ACCOR HOTELS SWITERLAND Zurich, SWITZERLAND
Idea Creation JUNG VON MATT/LIMMAT Zürich, SWITZERLAND
PR JUNG VON MATT/LIMMAT Zürich, SWITZERLAND
Production CZAR FILM ZüRICH, SWITZERLAND
Production 2 JINGLE JUNGLE Zürich, SWITZERLAND
Additional Company KINGFLUENCERS Zurich, SWITZERLAND
Credits
Name Company Position
Dennis Lueck Jung von Matt/Limmat Chief Creative Officer
Cyrill Hauser Jung von Matt/Limmat Chief Client Officer
Rob Hartmann Jung von Matt/Limmat Creative Director
Matthias Fürst Jung von Matt/Limmat Art Director
Anna Leudolph Jung von Matt/Limmat Senior Texter
Frederik Dreier Jung von Matt/Limmat Texter
Noemi Russenberger Jung von Matt/Limmat Graphic Designer
Emmanuel Denier Jung von Matt/Limmat Screendesigner
Michel Nellen Jung von Matt/Limmat PR Consultant & Project Manager
Christina Wellnhofer Jung von Matt/Limmat Content Strategist
Christian Koop Jung von Matt/Limmat Digital Production Director
Fabrizio Rutishauser Jung von Matt/services Desktop Publishing
Valérie Eckard Jung von Matt/Limmat PR Consultant & Project Manager
Pepe Kägi Jung von Matt/services Desktop Publishing

Why is this work relevant for Brand Experience & Activation?

Delivering a new brand experience and activating the target group for the product are the central focus of this idea. A new digital detox service, the social media sitter, was created to give young people a fresh experience of vacationing without excess cell phone usage. This new product was also used to activate the target group via agenda setting, banner campaigns, and social media efforts by the campaign´s influencers.

background

In many cities, ibis hotels provide affordable accommodation options that offer excellent value for money, making them the perfect choice for young people on a budget. Nevertheless, ibis hotels were no longer on the radar of their young target group. The time had come to change this and make ibis popular with its young target group again. How could we reach them? With a solution to a problem they all have of course! Instagram kills their vacations. Every moment has to be photographed and shared with their community on Instagram. This is a scientifically proven cause of stress.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

ibis was aiming to help its young target group address this very problem when it launched its digital detox service “The Social Media Sitter”. The 16 most popular influencers in Switzerland took over hotel guests’ Instagram profiles and posted on their behalf during their stay. This allowed guests to enjoy a relaxing city break free of digital stress.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

With the challenge of cracking this almost unattainable target group, the strategy was not to launch a campaign, but to solve a real problem facing gen z and millennials. Developing a service based on true insight was crucial in this piece of work.

Describe the execution (30% of vote)

Phase 1: Service promoted via: – Media work: PR story pitching and a media release publicize the launch of the new digital detox service. – Influencer marketing: influencers announce their new roles as social media sitters on behalf of ibis and take over guests’ Instagram profiles. – Social ads: Promotion using banner and social media campaigns linking to the “The Social Media Sitter” booking platform. Phase 2: Bookable trial phase for the “Social Media Sitter” service: – Public relations: due to the high social relevance of issues such as digital detox, the media interest in the service spread fast via influencers and social media and the campaign traveled around the world. – Involvement of AccorHotels’ own communication channels to further promote the service. – Influencer marketing: the 16 social media sitters produce additional content about the service, thus generating further reach thanks to the authentic and target group-relevant content.

List the results (30% of vote)

– “The Social Media Sitter” garnered enormous media attention with more than a billion contacts worldwide AND over 14 million contacts in Switzerland (this campaign reached each member of the swiss population twice over). – More than 1.5 million mentions in travel blogs and on social media channels. – Earned media worth CHF 11 million. – By involving influencers, over 200,000 relevant contacts were achieved within the target group (engagement rate of 4.79%). – During the campaign, room bookings rose by 528% within the target group and by 15.1% in general.