The next evolution of hospitality marketing is here – at Hilton.
We get it. You’re looking for something new, something that pushes your boundaries and gives you the creative space to grow alongside an evolving consumer market. We were too. Which is why we've launched our first global brand platform, “Hilton. For the Stay.”, placing our hotels front and center in our campaigns to remind consumers that It Matters Where You Stay. We think you deserve to work with a company that lets you explore your creative voice and reimagine the way we market our brands. From open positions in Media Strategy and Planning, Digital Media, Marketing Operations, Content Platforms, and so much more, your something new is waiting for you at Hilton.It Matters Where You Stay
At the heart of our new campaign are the Team Members who brought it to life. To go behind the scenes, we sat down with Amy Martin Ziegenfuss, SVP Global Enterprise and Brand Marketing, and Daniel Reynolds, VP and Global Head of Content Marketing and Digital Strategy, and shined a spotlight on the teams who are responsible for shaking up the future of hospitality marketing.What is the inspiration behind “Hilton. For the Stay.”?
Amy: “As we thought about how to differentiate Hilton and our brands for the next 100 years, we realized that we needed to change our approach. Hospitality marketing is a sea of sameness, with all brands talking about the destination, and not the hotel stay itself. When we talked to customers, we learned that the hotel stay is critical – it can make or break a trip. That led us to a breakthrough idea – in everything we do, Hilton will stand for and elevate THE STAY. It’s what our company and our amazing Team Members have always been focused on – inspired by our founder Conrad Hilton’s vision to “fill the earth with the light and warmth of hospitality”. So it’s right that Hilton should celebrate and own the stay.
Building from that idea, the Global Enterprise Marketing team developed a global brand platform: “Hilton. For the Stay” and a groundbreaking new advertising campaign to remind people that “It Matters Where You Stay.” The campaign uses humor to push against some of the common but unspoken pitfalls of travel, boldly poking fun at what can go wrong when booking or on a trip.”
Amy previews our new brand platform with Team Members in McLean, VA.
What types of marketers are integral to bringing a platform and campaign like this to life?
Amy: “This takes a broad cross-functional team of marketers to conceive, plan and execute. The types of marketers involved include brand marketers, media strategists, social media experts, content marketers, creatives, copywriters, art directors and campaign managers (from our internal Creative Studio), channel specialists including owned and paid channels, email marketers, loyalty experts, destination marketers and external communications specialists.
As you can tell, it takes a marketing village! And of course, we partner with some of the top agencies in the world as well, including TBWA\Chiat Day New York, Dentsu, and Coyne PR.”
Hilton was recently announced as an early sponsor of Creative Ladder, a non-profit focused on making creative careers accessible for all – especially those in underrepresented groups. As we continue investing in career paths for aspiring creatives, what sets working in Marketing at Hilton apart from other companies?
Amy: “We are deeply committed to creating fulfilling career paths for marketers, with a special focus on developing marketing talent from diverse backgrounds that makes our work stronger and better enables us to connect with communities around the world. That’s why we’re thrilled to be a sponsor of Creative Ladder, as that is their focus and mission.
We also have a strong partnership with our internal DEI team to ensure that our marketing has accurate and inclusive representation, and that we’re buying diverse and inclusive media. We have partnerships with SeeHer and other organizations that keep us at the forefront of the thinking in this space.
Beyond that, working in Marketing & Loyalty at Hilton is exciting because we are transforming how marketing can drive growth for the business. We are reimagining our approach to marketing to ensure it’s future-focused. We work with world-class agencies, vendors, and partners, we grow and hire top talent, we’re rethinking what loyalty means, we’re developing a best-in-class Martech stack (Marketing Technology Stack) and we’re breaking new ground for marketing in our category with our new disruptive brand platform and by being brand-led and customer-centric.
If you had to pick one, which “It Matters Where You Stay” campaign ad is your favorite?
Amy: “That’s like asking me to choose a favorite child! I love them all, but I think the spot we call “Haunted” is very strong because it’s so breakthrough. It starts off a bit like a horror film (which is attention-grabbing), as we poke fun at what can go wrong when booking a vacation rental. The spot follows a family showing up to a hilariously creepy property that wasn’t exactly as advertised, complete with creaking doors and creepy dolls.
Beyond that, I also love the ads we’ve done on social, digital and film with dogs to highlight our pet-friendly options. And I would be remiss not to mention that we have featured the incomparable Paris Hilton in some of our spots and social, and she has delivered something special with her trademark sparkle and cheeky humor.”
Daniel: “There is a lot to love in our launch creative. One of my favorites so far is a TikTok where we jumped into a trending conversation about home shares. It pokes a bit of good-spirited fun at the lengthy list of rules you need to follow when renting from a host.
