HOTEL LE SOLEIL CAMPAIGN

THE NEW ‘SPIRIT OF LE SOLEIL’
A Boutique Suite Hotel in Downtown Vancouver reinvents itself

Hotel Le Soleil in Downtown Vancouver is inviting today's travel connoisseur to discover ‘The Spirit of Le Soleil’ with a dramatic campaign that sets new bench marks for advertising in the hotel industry . Walking along busy Hornby Street you could easily pass by Hotel Le Soleil without realizing you were anywhere near a hotel. The entrance is just a few windows wide but inside the lobby doors you find Grande Luxe appointments. Designed by Jose-Luis de Araujo with the Savoy in London, the Crillion in Paris and Kimpton’s Hotel Monaco in mind, the personality of Hotel Le Soleil is reflective of the sun - bright, shiny, radiant and hot. It is sophisticated and sexy, romantic and rich.

To launch the Spirit of Le Soleil to the high end traveler, Hotel Le Soleil’s commercial airs on Bravo, Showcase Diva,CBC, and Rob TV over the next seven months. This dramatic commercial uses a Sun Mask to portray the ‘spirit of le soleil’, poetry to romance and entice and Beethoven’s Fur Elise sound track to set the mood. Hotel Le Soleil, Vancouver, (www.lesoleilhotel.com) has launched a national multi media advertising campaign on television, in newspapers and online to build brand awareness for this luxury boutique hotel in the highly competitive hotel market of Downtown Vancouver.

BACKGROUND

Hotel Le Soleil opened in March 1999 under the Sheraton flag in Vancouver BC Canada.

'Great Hotels and Resorts Magazine' called it " among the most polished and romantic hotels of the millennium" and rated it top 50 in the world in 2000 and 2001. The hotel received the Connoisseur Award in 2000 and 2001 for being among the top 100 hotels in the world. It received the conde naste traveler award for being among the top 50 hotels in north America.

In 2002 it shed the Sheraton tag to go as a private brand with the name Hotel Le Soleil.

Very quickly the hotel realized that whatever brand recognition had been associated with it's name was associated with the previous Sheraton label.

Nearly 5 years after it opened its doors brand awareness of Hotel Le Soleil is still lacking-even in its home market.

ADVERTISING OBJECTIVES

:: To create unaided awareness of Hotel Le Soleil in the luxury boutique hotel segment
:: To associate prestige with the name Hotel Le Soleil
:: To rise above the competition
:: To open doors for the sales force
:: Ultimately generate guest bookings

3 P's OF THE CREATIVE STRATEGY USED IN THE CAMPAIGN

:: Positioning: Award winning; 4 diamond luxury boutique hotel
:: Personality: Sophisticated & Sexy; Rich & Romantic; Reflective of the Sun
:: Target Public: Upper segment; travel connoisseur; at work and play

FOUR CREATIVE DEVICES USED IN THE EXECUTION OF THE CAMPAIGN

:: We used the Sun Mask to portray sexy sophistication and as the icon for the spirit of
    le soleil
:: We used Poetry as a creative device to project romance
:: The colours used in the films are reflective of the sun
:: The soundtrack is Beethoven's Fur Elise - which denotes a life style reflective of our
    target public

The single most powerful element for the Le Soleil campaign is the Sun. It is the motif used in the name, logo, and every important element of the decor - the sun is the icon for the brand hotel le soleil.

THE MEDIA STRATEGY FOCUSES ON

:: Utilizing media that enhances brand image through association
:: Generating immediate awareness among niche groups to generate bookings
:: Focusing on markets where impact is achievable

THE MEDIA VEHICLES TO CARRY THE BRAND MESSAGE ARE

:: Television: Bravo, Showcase Diva, ROB TV, CBC Vancouver
:: National Newspapers
:: Online marketing

THE RESULTS

Our job was to advertise their 119-room boutique accommodation as one of Vancouver’s most luxurious hotels. Through solid research and experienced strategic thinking, we micro-targeted niche groups with a high-profile, national, broadcast and print campaign that achieved high message frequency among luxury hotel users. Visits to the Le Soleil website jumped by 305 per cent in the first month of promotion and surged to more than 452 per cent in the second. The result was a 36 per cent increase in revenue projections and an increase of 84 per cent over the previous year.