Choice Hotels CMO on travel trends, branding and a new campaign with Keegan-Michael Key

Choice Hotels knows that every traveler is traveling for a different reason—whether for business or pleasure and everything in between. The hospitality company, which owns 22 different brands including Comfort, Quality Inn and the recently acquired Radisson Hotels Americas, is tackling the plethora of personas involved with travel in its current campaign, which stars Keegan-Michael Key. Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, check us out on Spotify and hear us on Stitcher. This is our RSS feed. Tell a friend! “We had done research around what drives consumers’ decision making as it relates to where to stay, which hotel to stay with and the insight that we got from that is that there is this kind of different you every time you go to travel,” said Noha Abdalla, chief marketing officer at Choice Hotels International, speaking on the latest episode of Ad Age's Marketer’s Brief podcast. “Depending on what that trip occasion is, I might need a different brand in the location that I’m going to.” She added that Choice has a hotel at every price point to meet such travel needs. In the campaign, which Abdalla said is getting “great feedback,” Key takes viewers through different traveler personas, including “a free hot breakfast hero,” “a business big leaguer” and “the ultimate pool float inflater.” Ads are running on linear and connected TV, social media and podcasts, Abdalla said. McKinney handled the campaign, which began earlier this year. Also read: Behind the growing trend of creators on CTV Catering to individual travel needs is becoming a common theme in marketing as travel brands try to maintain enthusiasm for hospitality four years after the pandemic began. Earlier this month, for example, Booking.com ran a Super Bowl spot with Tina Fey. In the ad, Fey touts all the different “Tina Feys” she could be with the variety of offerings from the booking brand. On the podcast, Abdalla also talks about how Choice is integrating more technology and innovation into its operations and marketing. In addition, she discusses the company’s planned openings of several upscale hotels. She also discusses popular travel trends such as road trips and increased travel by retirees, as well as how Choice’s 4,000 hotels near interstate highways can be marketed to entice such customers. “Our goal is to make sure that no matter what stay occasion or location that our consumers have, we have a brand in the location that they want at the price point that they want,” Abdalla said.

Choice Hotels CMO on travel trends, branding and a new campaign with Keegan-Michael Key

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