• by Karl Greenberg , March 18, 2008

Hilton Garden Inn, a global, mid-priced hotel brand, is launching its first TV effort in many moons and its largest media buy to date. The effort is part of "Tomorrow's a Big Day," a brand campaign that HGI launched last summer to pitch the hotel as home away from home for those preparing for a big day.

Santa Ana, Calif.-based DGWB Advertising and Communications handles. L.A.-based Swafford & Company Advertising also worked on the campaign.

The new TV spot - in 15- and 30-second iterations - will target business and leisure consumers in media like CNN, Discovery, Fox Sports, HDL News, E!, National Geographic Channel, Hotel Networks and Metro Networks.

The ad shows a series of guests making themselves at home - preparing for a wedding, for a business meeting - by using guest-room office areas, relaxing in saunas, working out, eating in. Ads promote the chain as a hotel conducive to sleep, good food, work environments, health and fitness.

There are also two 30-second radio spots that broke nationally on Monday on Westwood One's "Dennis Miller Show," ESPN's "Mike & Mike in the Morning" and Premiere's "The Bob & Tom Show."

The HGI Web site was also upgraded to comprise "Big Day" landing pages, and the company has boosted its online efforts with buys on AOL Media Networks, MapQuest, Golf Digest, Trip Advisor, Drive PM and Unicast Video Network.

The new leg of the campaign, the first cable broadcast effort for HGI since 2004, augments the current print and interactive effort in titles like USA Today, Inc., Golf Digest and Fast Company. Online ads for the campaign have run on sites like Oprah.com, ESPN.com, Forbes.com and hiltongardeninn.com. The latter hosts a series of 15-second video vignettes.

Jim Cone, VP/marketing at HGI, says the creative, unusual focus on real people instead of solely on amenities reflects consumer insight.

"We spent a lot of time with consumers starting early last summer, speaking with them about business travel and leisure travel; what they like and dislike and what Hilton Garden Inn meant to them," he says, adding that the spot was inspired by what customers said. "Something we heard loud and clear is people love HGI because they feel they are at home. They aren't afraid to sit and relax; we wanted that to come across."

He says the scope of the campaign reflects the chain's growing footprint. The company recently opened its 358th hotel worldwide, and will expand into Costa Rico, India, China and the UK.

The company recently opened hotels in Poland and Russia. "We are opening around 70 properties over the next year both in the U.S. and internationally, so we are truly becoming a global brand." He says the company has 338 hotels domestically.

"In the U.S., we finally have coast-to-coast distribution; it's our opportunity to grow the awareness of our brand. While we have heard from customers that Hilton Garden Inn is a 'best-kept secret', our goal is not to be a best-kept secret."