2023 Winner
GoldBest in Experiential/Stunts - Budget Over $100,000
GoldBest in Sponsorships
BronzeBest in Travel and Tourism
Hilton
"Hilton on the Green"
FUSE Create
"Hilton on the Green"
FUSE Create
In 2019, Hilton Canada signed a multi-year agreement to become Golf Canada’s official hotel partner but then COVID hit. As a result, Hilton had to wait three years before they could officially launch their partnership at a live PGA event.
COVID dramatically affected the Canadian tourism industry with Hotel Occupancy Rates in Ontario nearly cut in half from 2019 to 2021, and Revenue per Available Room plummeted by – 59%. In addition, coming out of the pandemic, they knew from Frequent Traveler Data that nearly half of all frequent travelers (45%) wanted unique experiences when they travelled, and they knew one-of-a-kind experiences, with an exclusivity appeal, were on-the-rise on Airbnb.
Key Insight: After the height of the pandemic, people didn’t want to just go on vaca>on, they were looking for memorable experiences.
So, in June of 2022, when it finally came time to activate with Golf Canada at a live PGA event, the standard 10’ x 10’ promotional booth every sponsor received wasn’t going to be enough. It was critical for Hilton Canada to be top-of-mind as the first wave of Canadians started booking hotel stays again after a long and isolating hiatus. The agency needed to engage with this audience – or more aptly put, be engaging.
So, they set out to do just that, by demonstrating Hilton Canada’s extraordinary stay, one that would get talked about, drive wanderlust, leave a lasting impression on travel-starved golf enthusiasts, and be a first of its kind for Hilton and Golf Canada.
Big Idea: Leverage the Golf Canada partnership to demonstrate Hilton’s unparalleled stay by creating a unique, once-in-a-lifetime experience that would appeal to golf enthusiasts and Canadian travellers alike; build a one-of-a-kind, luxurious 200sq. pop-up hotel, that didn’t just show up at a PGA event, but popped-up on the course, literally.
Their 360-approach for the “Hilton on the Green” campaign began with an online contest to drive intrigue, excitement, and lead generation, promoted primarily through Hilton Canada and Golf Canada owned-channel digital ecosystems. The contest offered an experience money couldn’t buy for six lucky golf fans: an exclusive, overnight stay in a 200sqft pop-up hotel, just off the 3rd green at the RBC Canadian Open and at the 8th tee at the CP Women’s Open.
The pop-up featured amenities from all 18 Hilton luxury brands; Frette linens from Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Byredo Mojave Ghost bathroom amenities from Conrad Hotels & Resorts, and freshly baked DoubleTree cookies. The stay came with complimentary tournament passes, a personal concierge, golf cart, and gourmet meals, creating a truly unique hotel experience.
To start building engagement and authenticity, pre-event initiatives included partnering with 10 sport and travel influencers who offered a sneak peek of the hotel on the course. During the activation period, they amplified the experience via 1-on-1 relationships with North American broadcasters and publications, plus a world-wide PR release. To drive further engagement, they conquested golf and travel conversations and targeted Airbnb and VRBO sets to appeal to travellers with a propensity for unique stays. From there, they let earned impressions and organic interactions drive the campaign, to numbers Hilton Canada had never seen before.
“Hilton on the Green”, a first for Hilton, has become Hilton Canada’s most talked-about brand experience, ever. Never had an accessible luxury hotel room ever been dropped onto a live PGA event. Having invested $0 in event-related media, the licensed CDN broadcaster was kept busy trying to minimize their brand exposure, but they were impossible to avoid, and impossible not to talk about. Their pop-up hotel became an integral part of these two PGA events in Canada.
Golf Canada’s John Sibley, Chief Commercial Officer, said it best: “The pop-up hotel was among the most innovative partner activations Golf Canada has welcomed to their National Open Championships.” The campaign connected so strongly that Hilton achieved a significantly greater SOV than any other major hotel brand in North America during the campaign period.
In addition they were able to drive 0.5 Billion Media Impressions, 1.96 Million social engagements, more than 270 mediastories across eight countries including USA, France, Germany, Spain, China, Japan, India and Canada, 320+ social posts and 21.3K in organic social interactions. There was a 92% positive sentiment and a 140bps Increase in Canadian Travel Intender visits YOY
during the activation period.
There was an overall 138% increase YOY in online conversations with “Hilton” during the campaign period (more than 2x when compared to the previous two-months, +104%) and compared to pre-pandemic travel in 2019, online Conversations were up +96%.
There were no media buy costs and all costs associated with earned media, including PR had a budget of $10,000. All production and execution costs pertaining to the entry (if part of a larger program, such as the use of previously produced video, these costs must be included) were $340,000. Influencer/celebrity/talent costs (or the relevant portion of any long-term
endorsement deal) was $0.
COVID dramatically affected the Canadian tourism industry with Hotel Occupancy Rates in Ontario nearly cut in half from 2019 to 2021, and Revenue per Available Room plummeted by – 59%. In addition, coming out of the pandemic, they knew from Frequent Traveler Data that nearly half of all frequent travelers (45%) wanted unique experiences when they travelled, and they knew one-of-a-kind experiences, with an exclusivity appeal, were on-the-rise on Airbnb.
Key Insight: After the height of the pandemic, people didn’t want to just go on vaca>on, they were looking for memorable experiences.
So, in June of 2022, when it finally came time to activate with Golf Canada at a live PGA event, the standard 10’ x 10’ promotional booth every sponsor received wasn’t going to be enough. It was critical for Hilton Canada to be top-of-mind as the first wave of Canadians started booking hotel stays again after a long and isolating hiatus. The agency needed to engage with this audience – or more aptly put, be engaging.
So, they set out to do just that, by demonstrating Hilton Canada’s extraordinary stay, one that would get talked about, drive wanderlust, leave a lasting impression on travel-starved golf enthusiasts, and be a first of its kind for Hilton and Golf Canada.
Big Idea: Leverage the Golf Canada partnership to demonstrate Hilton’s unparalleled stay by creating a unique, once-in-a-lifetime experience that would appeal to golf enthusiasts and Canadian travellers alike; build a one-of-a-kind, luxurious 200sq. pop-up hotel, that didn’t just show up at a PGA event, but popped-up on the course, literally.
Their 360-approach for the “Hilton on the Green” campaign began with an online contest to drive intrigue, excitement, and lead generation, promoted primarily through Hilton Canada and Golf Canada owned-channel digital ecosystems. The contest offered an experience money couldn’t buy for six lucky golf fans: an exclusive, overnight stay in a 200sqft pop-up hotel, just off the 3rd green at the RBC Canadian Open and at the 8th tee at the CP Women’s Open.
The pop-up featured amenities from all 18 Hilton luxury brands; Frette linens from Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Byredo Mojave Ghost bathroom amenities from Conrad Hotels & Resorts, and freshly baked DoubleTree cookies. The stay came with complimentary tournament passes, a personal concierge, golf cart, and gourmet meals, creating a truly unique hotel experience.
To start building engagement and authenticity, pre-event initiatives included partnering with 10 sport and travel influencers who offered a sneak peek of the hotel on the course. During the activation period, they amplified the experience via 1-on-1 relationships with North American broadcasters and publications, plus a world-wide PR release. To drive further engagement, they conquested golf and travel conversations and targeted Airbnb and VRBO sets to appeal to travellers with a propensity for unique stays. From there, they let earned impressions and organic interactions drive the campaign, to numbers Hilton Canada had never seen before.
“Hilton on the Green”, a first for Hilton, has become Hilton Canada’s most talked-about brand experience, ever. Never had an accessible luxury hotel room ever been dropped onto a live PGA event. Having invested $0 in event-related media, the licensed CDN broadcaster was kept busy trying to minimize their brand exposure, but they were impossible to avoid, and impossible not to talk about. Their pop-up hotel became an integral part of these two PGA events in Canada.
Golf Canada’s John Sibley, Chief Commercial Officer, said it best: “The pop-up hotel was among the most innovative partner activations Golf Canada has welcomed to their National Open Championships.” The campaign connected so strongly that Hilton achieved a significantly greater SOV than any other major hotel brand in North America during the campaign period.
In addition they were able to drive 0.5 Billion Media Impressions, 1.96 Million social engagements, more than 270 mediastories across eight countries including USA, France, Germany, Spain, China, Japan, India and Canada, 320+ social posts and 21.3K in organic social interactions. There was a 92% positive sentiment and a 140bps Increase in Canadian Travel Intender visits YOY
during the activation period.
There was an overall 138% increase YOY in online conversations with “Hilton” during the campaign period (more than 2x when compared to the previous two-months, +104%) and compared to pre-pandemic travel in 2019, online Conversations were up +96%.
There were no media buy costs and all costs associated with earned media, including PR had a budget of $10,000. All production and execution costs pertaining to the entry (if part of a larger program, such as the use of previously produced video, these costs must be included) were $340,000. Influencer/celebrity/talent costs (or the relevant portion of any long-term
endorsement deal) was $0.
Credits
Executive Creative Director: Steve MillerCreative Director: Patrice Pollack
Art Director: Patrick Carter
Copywriter: Sam Rudykoff
Group Account Director: Zach Wright
Account Director: Ashley Sommerville
Director of Production: Anthony Mayes
Production Manager: Amanda Fusco
Integrated Producer: Terra Stephen
Production Coordinator: Raphaele Sohier
Account Director: Caeleb Quinn
Production Partner: Artam Design Inc.
Public Relations: Vanessa Francone
Social: Jacquie Kostuk, Nicole Eum
Additional Support
Video: Stephen Weir
Photography: Jake Killorn, Bryan Ulrich
Production Design: Marta Urbanowicz
Creative Support: Darren Marranca, Becky May