Lighting the way with omnichannel marketing
Marriott has built their reputation as the premier brand in hospitality through authentic and personalized relationships with its customers. Here's how they got there.
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Marriott's goal is to drive "loyalty beyond reason" on a global scale, connecting the local experience and stay with the reach of their 30+ brands. For a company of that size, executing omnichannel marketing with consistent communication is tough enough as is. Add a global pandemic to the mix, and things get even tougher.
Watch the video to see Chris Norton, senior vice president, marketing channels and optimization at Marriott talk through how the hospitality giant works with Epsilon to grow customer relationships through thick and thin.
Getting the message out
When the pandemic hit, Marriott had to rethink guest communications. It was critical to efficiently (and empathetically) share updates of evolving health and safety measures with guests while staying consistent with their omnichannel messaging. Communications for HVMI are one strong example of how Marriott used the power of AI-driven email to successfully drive loyalty beyond reason and connect with their guests as individuals to increase bookings.
Exploring new territory
Instead of the cross-border, business or air travel messages they would typically serve, Marriott shifted their messaging to:
- Build confidence among travelers by highlighting new safety and cleanliness protocols
- Attract the leisure traveler, particularly those often not Marriott loyalists
- Drive awareness for availability of homes and villas as private options
- Highlight in-country or drive-market destinations
Pivoting to the leisure traveler
Even as recovery began, business travel was much slower to resume than leisure travel. To reach the leisure audience, they created a program to drive brand awareness and bookings for their luxury private home rental brand, Homes & Villas by Marriott International (HMVI). First, Epsilon curated collections of properties and handpicked destinations based on the individual. Then, using Epsilon PeopleCloud Messaging and its powerful AI engine, Marriott served personalized email communications explaining the benefits and safety of choosing HVMI over other rental options.
Increasing brand recognition through creative
The team was able to build out a flexible, mobile-optimized email architecture for HVMI (as most of their bookings are done on mobile). This allowed them to create visually compelling, brand-compliant messages easily and at scale.
“As a marketing team, it often feels as if you’re walking down a very dark and overgrown path through the wilderness. And it can feel lonely. For us, Epsilon is a partner that is holding a bright lantern and showing us the way to go.”
Chris Norton, Senior Vice President, Marketing Channels and Optimization at Marriott
Transforming connections to inspire more cheers