Hampton Inn Bows 3D Ad In Movie Theaters

by Steve McClellan, Jul 6, 2012, 4:50 PM

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Hampton Inn is taking its “Feel the Hamptonality” campaign to movie theater screens this summer in time for the peak travel season. In a first for the hotel category, the Hampton chain is using 3D ads in films starting with the new 3D “Spiderman” movie, which bowed Tuesday to record box-office numbers.

“We really try to reach our audience in new and unexpected ways,” said Anna Harris, director of brand marketing for Hampton Inn, which is part of Hilton Worldwide.

Hampton’s 3D cinema campaign, orchestrated by media shop OMD’s Los Angeles office, will hit 6,000 screens via National CineMedia’s ad network this summer and fall. It is expected to generate a minimum 5 million impressions, said Kyle Zvacek, group director, strategy at OMD. “But given the numbers we’ve seen so far for “Spiderman” we think we’ll surpass that,” Zvacek added. 

Other movies that the Hampton 3D campaign is targeting include “Hotel Transylvania,” which hits screens in September, and Tim Burton’s “Frankenweenie,” which debuts the following month.

Those films should deliver the Hampton Inn target of families, 25-54 travelers and Millennials, seen as an “emerging traveler group,” said Zvacek. 

“TV takes a little bit of a dive [in the ratings] in the summer and we believe this is a great way to enhance the campaign,” which also features national cable network ads and online and social media elements, said Harris. The Hampton Inn Facebook page references the ad and encourages fans to see the movie.

For the now, the client has converted one TV ad from its recently launched “Hamptonality” campaign. It’s the so-called “Leisure” that promotes a fun family weekend getaway. Others may follow, per Harris. “We did some slight re-editing and made it a little stronger and compelling” for the 3D audience, Harris said. “It draws you in and you feel like you’re going through the actual journey process as you watch.”

While some advertisers spend hundreds of thousands of dollars or more to produce cinema-specific ads for theaters, converting a 2D TV ads to 3D can cost under $50,000, which is a cost-effective way for a challenger brand like Hampton Inn to use the cinema ad platform. According to Kantar Media, the hotel chain spent $30 million last year on ads.

Just how effective will the Hampton Inn cinema campaign be?  A custom research study, commissioned by NCM, will measure ad recall, likeability and future purchase intent, as well as comparative perception of the 3D spots versus the national 2D television campaign.

“We think there will be more engagement” via the 3D ads, Harris asserted. “The nature of 3D,” she added, brings an enhanced aspect to messaging that better enables the viewer to “experience the essence of the hotel during that journey.” 

 

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