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Email Marketing
Award Winners 2006
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Email Marketing Award Winner
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Best Automated Personalized Email (trigger-driven):
Gold
Hotel Indigo Pre-Stay Email


Brand/Client Side Team:
Erin Hake

Vendors/Agencies
Spunlogic

MarketingSherpa Summary - Why They Won:
Instead of a boring transactional reminder, Hotel Indigo sends this warmly branded note. In fact, we don't think we've ever seen transactional messaging (confirmation number, check-in date, etc.) handled with this kind of warm-fuzzy design. Absolutely wonderful! (And yes, the response rates were absolutely wonderful too.)

From Their Nomination Form:
Target Audience: Registered Guests of Hotel Indigo, the hotel industry's first lifestyle branded boutique hotel experience from InterContinental Hotels Group. Goal of Campaign: As the newest member of the InterContinental Hotels Group family, Hotel Indigo has changed the way travelers experience hotel stays. Each of the three locations of Hotel Indigo is uniquely focused on the customer experience through an environment suited to the guests' lifestyle. In the hotel, you'll find a spa-like experience around every corner with a brand built on the simplicity of nature. From the nautilus shell logo -- a symbol of perfect proportion and natural beauty -- to the deliberate design of the lobby chairs and guest room furnishings, the architectural concept creates a relaxing atmosphere of order and balance. Translating this experience to their email campaigns is what makes Hotel Indigo unique. Through the use of haikus, creative design and simplicity, Hotel Indigo is able to begin the guest experience before he or she even arrives at the hotel, giving them the feeling that this experience was tailored to their needs. To do this, Hotel Indigo took the standard hotel confirmation and turned it into a pre-stay email. The pre-stay email is sent 2-7 days before a guest is scheduled to check in to the hotel. This automated email is personalized based on which location the guest is arriving at and also what time of the week they are arriving. Each email extends the brand with the look and feel consistent of Hotel Indigo and of course, a haiku. Also, a key part of Hotel Indigo is 'inclusion.' This email begins to include the guest in the local community with information on local weather, events, attractions, airport information and traffic. The email is printable and also serves as a secondary registration confirmation with confirmation number, check in/check out date and time and number of rooms and nights. This campaign does something no other hotel does through a confirmation email - it creates an experience for travelers. It isn't just about the regurgitation of reservation details, it is about making the guest feel comfortable. Hotel Indigo has taken the frustration out of all of the things that leave travelers searching for information when they arrive (what to do, what is the weather, traffic, etc.) so that they can begin to enjoy the full Hotel Indigo experience when they walk in the door. Results have been astounding. On average: Deliverability, 91%; HTML Open Rate, 75%; Clickthrough, 72%. Not only have the metrics been impressive, but this has led to a surprisingly high number of online bookings as well.

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