Given the amount of media coverage about how Americans are leaving too many vacation days on the table, Westin has chosen to launch an integrated advertising campaign that reinforces the way Westin delivers better vacation days through wellness, allowing guests to get the most out of the little time they do take away from work.
The “You Need Better Vacation Days” campaign highlights the brand’s portfolio of resorts and underscores its commitment to guests’ well-being when traveling for leisure. To launch this campaign, Westin created the “Out of Office Generator” by working with McSweeney’s, creator of a daily humor website, to develop a digital tool that will make custom, tongue-in-cheek automatic responses not only for an outbox, but also for social media channels. By answering a few questions—Business or pleasure? Family or friends? Who to contact in your absence?—guests will be presented with a selection of messages from which to choose.
“Americans are taking fewer and fewer vacation days. So Westin has doubled its investment in the brand’s resorts campaign this year to remind guests that vacation days are only as good as you make them, and at Westin, guests leave feeling better than they did when they arrived,” said Bob Jacobs, vice president, brand management, Westin Hotels & Resorts. “Launching with the Out of Office Generator will hopefully put vacation back in the minds of travelers and be responsible for a few laughs along the way.”
With an investment of more than $4 million in print and digital advertising over the next 12 months, the new campaign captures ski and sun resort destinations and the moments that reconnect guests when they stay at Westin Hotels & Resorts; for instance, paddle boarding near The Westin Maui Resort & Spa, Ka’anapali, skiing slope side at The Westin Snowmass Resort or hiking over beach dunes adjacent to The Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa. These print vignettes will also come to life as 15 second videos on Westin’s social media platforms as well as on Delta flights throughout the country.
The campaign launches in October issues of national publications, including bon appetit, Condé Nast Traveler, Departures, and United Airlines’ Hemispheres Magazine and will continue next year in magazines, such as Travel + Leisure, Golf Digest, and SKI, among others. The brand’s digital ad buy will include Flipboard, TripAdvisor and Fodors.com.
