2010 BRONZE

TRAVEL, TOURISM & DESTINATION

'SMART.'

HOTELS.COM, HOTELS.COM

Vic Walia, Sr. Director of Brand Marketing

Y&R CHICAGO

Mike Hill, VP, Account Director
Ken Erke, EVP, Chief Creative Officer
Angela Whitby, VP, Planning Director
Evan Thompson, Copywriter
Richard Fischer, Art Director
Sonya Grewal, VP, Creative Director
Pamela Narins, SVP, Director of Planning
Jennie Averbook, Brand Planner

TARGETCAST

Stacy Higbee, VP, Group Account Director

We were tasked with driving sales in a declining, homogenous category filled with silly, gimmicky advertising. We stood out by being Smart, a key driver of differentiation and one that was underleveraged in the category. With a never-before-seen loyalty program, a call center that actually wants to help (unlike competitors), and a claymated, charismatic character, we developed a unique campaign that showed up everywhere travel was top-of-mind. The results - We increased traffic by 26%, transactions by 36%, and grew market share, loyalty, preference, awareness and appeal. Smart? So smart.