• The New York Times, Wednesday, January 2, 2008 11:45 AM

Phil Mickelson, who is ranked second to Tiger Woods on the PGA Tour, will be featured in a Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts campaign that plays up the brand's status as a convention destination. Crowne Plaza already uses the tagline "The Place to Meet." Its latest promotion will have Mickelson holding meetings with people from around the country who are vying to appear with him in one of six national television spots.

The center of the promotion is a Web site--ameetingwithphil.com--where fans can submit a story or video in one of six categories: people who look like Mickelson; spectators who have been hit by one of his golf balls; people who consider themselves his biggest fans; those who have advice for his golf game; amateurs who think they could be the next Phil Mickelson; and fellow lefties whose "hand has taken them to greatness."

The chain--which has nearly 300 hotels in 51 countries--is building on research that shows that 70% of its guests are male and that they typically stay at Crowne Plaza on business. They are also golf devotees, says Gina LaBarre, Crowne Plaza's vice president for brand management. She's learned that golf is "like a drug" for people who play it, and that's "a connection we want to cement."

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