Hyatt Continues Rolling With Curium For Online Reality Series
- by Tameka Kee , August 30, 2007
Hosted at www.HyattAdventureChallenge.com, the Webisodes follow five families as they compete in activities like kayak races, scavenger hunts and jungle safaris during a two-week stint across three US Hyatt Resorts locations.
Viewers can vote on which families work best together, with the winning family (and one randomly chosen voter) receiving 50 free nights to use at any Global Hyatt hotel or resort. The first of the six episodes debuted Aug. 18, with the final two going live next week. Winners will be announced on Sept. 28.
Curium Studios, a division of Calgary-based interactive agency Critical Mass, worked with the Hyatt Resorts team to build a high level of user interaction into the campaign.
In April and May, for example, families were invited to send in audition videos for a chance to star in the series. The two companies then worked together to narrow down the entrants, ensuring that the finalist families were able to withstand the pressures of constant filming.
Filming took place at Hyatt Resorts in Hawaii, New Mexico, and Nevada, and wrapped in July.
"Like many other brands, Hyatt wanted to leverage the participatory energy that's frequently attached to sites like YouTube," said Jim Forni, vice president and executive producer, Curium Studios, "but in a thoughtful manner that would integrate the brand without completely turning it over."
The company sought to reinforce Hyatt Resorts' image as a family adventure brand (not just a business travel chain), and will measure the campaign's ROI in terms of increased time spent with the brand via both the Webisodes site and other Hyatt Web properties, increase in the number of trips booked with included activities and increased bookings overall.
Forni added that the key to the series was "nudging consumers further down the vacation purchase funnel without making it into a series of Hyatt commercials."
