Hilton Puts Marketing Focus Back on Hotels With New Brand Platform
Photo Caption: One of Hilton's video ads launched in July 2022. Source: Hilton Worldwide.
Skift Take
Hilton risked falling out of the cultural conversation as newer brands like Airbnb made a lot of noise. So the company has responded with new marketing tactics. One of them is putting hotel stays, rather than beaches or sunsets, upfront in its ads. Another tactic is to mock rentals.
Hilton Worldwide made two marketing moves on Monday. It formally launched an international marketing campaign that highlights a reliable lodging experience as an antidote to the unpredictability of travel today. In a longer-lasting move, the hotel giant also committed to anchoring its marketing to a catchphrase — "for the stay" — indefinitely.
"Campaigns may get swapped out or refreshed, but 'Hilton — For the Stay' is kind of what you would tattoo on the building or put on the back of a business card," said Mark Weinstein, chief marketing officer.
The first corresponding campaign includes light-hearted ads featuring travelers, such as ordinary harried parents, facing the stresses of travel, such as traveling with children. The ads may prove well-timed in this season of highly publicized tales of flight disruption.
"Serendipitously, this story may resonate more than ever," Weinstein said. "But to be clear, we're not trying to be mean-spirited. What's important is to remind people, 'It's worth it.' Even if you arrived at your t
