Promo - February 2008 - (Page 39)

HOTEL SAMPLING ly are placed on bedside tables and pillows or in bathrooms. Others are handed out at check-in. In most cases, individual properties decide to start a sampling program— not the chain. “The Holiday Inn guest you’re reaching in Orlando, FL is completely different from the guest you’re reaching at LaGuardia Airport in New York,” Martin notes. Hotel properties often work with agencies representing a network of brands to forge sampling deals. In some cases, brands call hotels directly to gauge interest. Samples usually are given to lodging outlets for free. “You have to give the hosts options,” says Rhonda Kugelman, founder of Promo Partners Inc. “You want to make it easy for them to do, but also give your clients what they want.” Hotel sampling works well not only for new products like EBoost, but also for brand extensions such as a new look or flavor. and fuzzy thing hotels can do.” Take 70 Park Avenue Hotel, a New York property owned by the Kimpton Hotel and Restaurant Group. It recently offered samples of Dreamerz, a sleep beverage, to VIPs and members of the firm’s loyalty program, Kimpton In Touch, as part of turn-down service (preparing hotel rooms for bedtime). Procter & Gamble is heading back to springbreak venues to hand out samples of Secret Platinum Kuku Coco Butter antiperspirant/ deodorant. marketing director. Hotel sampling is a priority since the drinks are sold online and have limited store distribution. Promo Partners is handling the sampling program. “Sampling is a critical part of what we do,” Otto says. “If I’m able to work with hotels to turn it into a sales account, that’s an added benefit.” As a result, she adds, online sales have doubled month after month. HITTING THE TARGET Freebies aren’t exclusive to boutique hotels. Companies are teaming up with midlevel hotels, bed and breakfasts, and resorts. “It depends on who the target is,” Kugelman says. “If you want a couple, a bed and breakfast or cool boutique hotel would work. If you want a family or business traveler, then we would steer toward a Best Western or Howard Johnson.” Continued on page 40 GOOD IMPRESSIONS Hotels benefit, too. What’s in it for them? “Sampling creates added value for customers,” says Jon Lesser, president of Zag Marketing. “It’s sort of a warm “This worked with our positioning of having a wellness item for guests,” says Ericka Nelson, the hotel’s general manager. “It’s a great way to give guests something additional they may not have seen elsewhere.” Dreamerz plans to distribute nearly 200,000 samples this year, and is devoting 30% of its budget to that activity, according to Heidi Otto, the brand’s IN THE GAME Not every sample comes in small packages. Wyndham Hotels and Resorts has partnered with VTech Electronics North America to sample VTech educational gaming systems in more than 3,000 rooms in the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. People who book a suite at Wyndham through March 31 can try one of two VTech setups: the V.Smile TV learning system for kids age 3 and older or the V.Flash home “edutainment” system for children 6 years old and up. “It brings an added value experience to the hotel,” says Kevin Rupert, Wyndham’s vice president of marketing and strategy. The chain introduced the offer last fall as part of an ongoing effort to build partnerships with firms that match its target audience, families with young children. With the program Wyndham hopes to increase hotel stays and loyalty, while VTech looks to raise awareness and generate future sales. Wyndham is promoting the offer on its Web site. In return, VTech marketed the chain via inserts packed with its products during Christmas, through newsletters and on its Web site. Rupert points out that no money exchanged hands as part of the deal. Hotels offer a unique environment for companies to find a captive audience. “It truly is one of those partnerships that’s mutually beneficial,” Rupert says. “We provide an opportunity to interact with people and have them experience a product where [the item is] not competing for [their] attention with other products in the room.”—Amy Johannes Promo / WWW.PROMOMAGAZINE.COM / February 2008 39 http://www.promomagazine.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Promo - February 2008

Promo - February 2008 Contents Editor's Note Reality TV Products Rebound - Soon? The Real World Young But Not Stupid Social Tease Health Quencher How Effective? Big Game in Big Easy Commentary Mailbox Marketing Q&A: Coke's Kruse Control Gift-Card Monte Room Service The Agency Center Resource Center Can't Beat Loyalty Index of Advertisers

Promo - February 2008

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