Case Studies

Client Objective/Research

• As the City of Houston prepared to open the city-owned hotel, the Hilton Corporation, contracted by the city to operate the hotel, selected Ward Creative Communications to develop and implement an effective, traffic-driving media relations program.


• The agency quickly researched industry trends, hotel design features, economic impact, media awareness of the project, political issues, and interesting facts and figures to determine effective media strategies to introduce the hotel to not only Houstonians, but to meeting planners from across the country, regional tourists and the hotel industry itself.

Planning

• Ward began work at a furious pace in September 2003 to garner media attention and ultimately potential hotel guests before the December 4th opening.


• Research revealed that locals and media, including some local media, did not realize the city owned the property. Additionally, there was concern that the high-end finishes throughout the property might invite criticism that the city had overspent on the construction.


• The Ward team determined that a feature story based on an interview with Houston Convention Center Hotel Corporation Chairman and former Mayor Bob Lanier would communicate the city’s ownership and its prudent budget management that allowed the hotel to be designed to compete with convention hotels in other cities, as well as five-star hotels – at a cost comparable to the average convention hotel construction cost. We emphasized that the city had delivered a citizen-owned hotel designed to steal business from other cities, and bring jobs and income home to Houstonians.


• The team also met with hotel executives regularly to determine when construction milestones, equipment delivery dates and other significant events would occur, which turned out to be daily, even hourly, with almost no predictability or certainty. The agency worked as beat reporters to develop and deliver targeted real-time media pitches around those events.

Implementation

• With over 1,200 construction workers working 24-7 on the hotel for the prior year, scheduling media tours was difficult due to work interruptions and safety issues. But a local media “hard hat” tour in October resulted in multiple media hits including the four major network affiliates.


• Daily media efforts continued throughout the final phases of construction as milestones were identified including a 1,000-job fair at the George R. Brown Convention Center, equipment test dates for such machines as the hotel’s state-of-the-art laundry system, a toilet test conducted by University of Houston Conrad Hilton students that we billed as a “Royal Flush” and Super Bowl preparations since the hotel was the NFL host hotel.


• Press kit materials were updated, pitches were drafted and an intensive three-month media follow-up began.

Evaluation

• As a result of the intense media contact and press material distribution, the Hilton Americas-Houston received more than 18 television placements, eight print placements, nine radio placements, and six online placements between October 6 and December 31.


• Additionally, the agency was able to secure a feature story and the cover of Meeting South, although the trade magazine’s two-month lead time prevented publication until 2004.


• The Early Advantage program, designed to provide the staff with experience prior to Super Bowl by offering Houstonians reduced rates, sold out within days of the grand opening. In fact, demand was so strong that hotel staff worked round the clock to furnish and make up hundreds of additional rooms that were not expected to be called into service for many weeks after the official opening.


• In December, 53,000 room nights were booked versus the goal of 18,000. Of the 300,000 total room nights booked by December 20th, 56 percent of them represented new business to Houston.


• The hotel’s New Year’s Eve promotion was highly successful, totaling 560 room nights, close to 50 percent occupancy, and the restaurants were sold out. The catering manager reported that the flood of inquiries for ballroom events and meetings, often walk-ins to his office, had nearly created an operational crisis because no one could have anticipated the level of demand PR would create.


• The excitement generated by the hotel owned by the citizens and the massive media coverage was contagious, even to the media who continued to credit the hotel at every opportunity. In fact, the hotel received over 55 mentions from December 6 through January 6, 2004 primarily discussing the mayoral elections and Bill White’s Inaugural Ball, which was held at the hotel. By Super Bowl, that number had risen to more than 500 television mentions alone.