Marketing - Promotion Assignment - Essay Example

Promotion Assignment The effectiveness of luxury hotels to sustain leadership in their respective niches in the hospitality sector depends significantly on the innovativeness and creative strategies applied in advertising and promotions campaign. In the light of external economic factors that besieged various countries worldwide, management of luxury hotels think of appropriate strategies to lure guests to continue patronizing their services. One hotel, the Starwood Hotels and Resorts, has used this promotional byline to catch the attention of frequent luxury travellers and either return to their hotel or capture the interest of a new set of clientele: “Life is a collection of experiences.

Let us be your guide.” (Levere par. 2). In this regard, the current essay would evaluate the promotional campaign’s effectiveness using the following elements: target market, source and date of publication, purpose, message content, message execution style, layout and design, and personal suggestions. Source: Levere Target Market: The target market is clearly for luxury travellers, who are affluent, coming from the high-income bracket, with ages ranging from early 40s to late 50s and whose purpose for travelling could be diverse, from purely leisure and relaxation to business; and could be accompanied by family members (spouse and children) or alone.

This type of market looks forward to enjoying the comforts of a sophisticated hotel in all its grandeur, posh amenities and the comforts of relishing a magnificent view. Source and Date of Publication: The promotional advertisement is reportedly advertised “in the May issue of The Financial Times’ “How to Spend It” magazine and in the July issue of Departures. The ads will run this fall in both publications, and this fall and winter in Conde Nast Traveller UK, Forbes Life, Robb Report, Bentley Magazine and Luxury Travel Advisor, a trade publication” (Levere par. 14). Further it was also disclosed that “banner versions of the advertising will run on the Web site of the Five Star Alliance, an online travel agency specializing in luxury hotels, and on the tablet version of the 40th anniversary edition of Travel & Leisure” (Levere par. 15). Purpose: The purpose of the ad is to use emotional appeal to entice luxury travellers to visit their chain of luxury hotels.

As averred, “the new Luxury Collection campaign is ‘about the personal touches that make a hotel great, the elements that resonate and inspire you’” (Levere par. 13). Message Content: The message content falls into enticing the emotional appeal of the target market. Message Execution Style: As previously noted, the slogan used for this ad is: “Life is a collection of experiences. Let us be your guide.” (Levere par. 2). The focus is to emphasize the hotel’s expertise in guiding the traveller to enhance life’s experiences through the services that the hotel offers.

As previous guests or frequent travellers, the message intends to create nostalgic appeal by reflecting on cherished memories created during the guests’ previous stay. For new travellers, the message intends to relay that there is nothing to worry as the technical expertise of the hotel would enable them to provide a remarkable experience that they would consider as memorable for the rest of their lives. Layout and Design: The layout and design is generally sophisticated which caters to the luxury travellers.

The use of latent and matte colors of gray as the background is consistent with the target market’s age ranges. The choice of featured photographs “of still-life vignettes that contain framed snapshots of a variety of Luxury Collection hotels, plus travel souvenirs, all displayed on a credenza” (Levere par. 2) are also catered to the taste of its clientele. Personal Suggestions: Overall, one gauges the ad as predominantly effective and good as it contained all the necessary and crucial ingredients (sources, content, style, layout and design for the selected target market, with clear focus of purpose in mind).

However, despite its overall good assessment, the ad could still be improved in terms of layout and design. Using a predominantly gray background could be sophisticated in style but is not attractive enough to lure younger luxury travellers. More vibrant colors could be added either through the background or in one of the travel souvenirs displayed on the credenza. A colorful bunch of wild flowers could be included in one of the picture frames to add life to the dry lay-out; or a sunny background with colors of the rainbow could be fitted also in one of the framed photographs for illumination and to add life to the promotional ad.

The current essay has effectively evaluated the promotional ad of the Starwood Hotels and Resorts using their Luxury Collection campaign. Using the crucial elements such as the target market, source and date of publication, purpose, message content, message execution style, and layout and design, one’s personal suggestions were given to improve on the promotional ad to make it more effective and successful in achieving its defined goal. Work Cited Levere, Jane L. "A Subtle Emotional Appeal to Luxury Travelers.

" The New York Times 28 August 2011: B3.