PRINT, BRANDING

I came to New York City in April of 1999. A year and a half later, I was the Junior Copywriter, (now promoted to Copywriter) who had cracked a new brand campaign for Westin Hotels, and helped Starwood CEO Barry Sternlicht and his marketing team gain the support of franchisee partners all across the country, with presentation after presentation of the campaign and its facets.

Our team had bested a few other agencies in what had been a months-long endeavor, so the Westin and Hilton brands were to stay at DDB. (I helped save the account!) What Barry Sternlicht had been looking for, was a campaign that would allow him to to tout a number of “innovations” Westin was introducing at the time.

The idea I put forth was to eschew the oh-so-prevalent smiling vacationers in room, lobby or pool photography, in place of another innovation: Inviting guests as one would a friend; dropping the customary ‘Book now!’ type of language, in favor of simply saying ‘R.S.V.P.’ A tagline and call-to-action, wrapped up in four iconic letters.

We invited guests in an unexpected way, to experience each of the innovations Barry Sternlicht was bringing to market. Did this campaign win anything at Cannes? No. Was it Step One for him on the road to becoming known for these innovations? Here’s what Wikipedia says:

From 1995 through early 2005, Sternlicht was Chairman and CEO of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., a company he founded in 1995. Sternlicht has been credited as a dynamic and innovative hotel leader, creating new products and programs with immediate global appeal. He has been named the King of Hotels, creating W Hotels, perhaps the world’s most successful “boutique” brand. Some of his other innovations include the creation of Westin’s “Heavenly Bed,” “Heavenly Bath,” “Westin Workout,” and Starwood Preferred Guest, the world’s first frequent traveler program with “no blackouts.”

Today, Westin still represents its features and benefits abstractly, like we did with the engraved icons atop each invitation in our campaign.