blogwell san francisco case study: intercontinental hotels group, presented by nick ayres
DESCRIPTION
In his BlogWell presentation, InterContinental Hotels Group's Senior Manager, Social Media, Nick Ayres, shares how they used online communities to jumpstart their global social media program.TRANSCRIPT
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Inside Out How Private Communities Catalyzed Our Social Media Efforts
Nick AyresManager, Social Marketing
InterContinental Hotels Group@nickjayres
June 20, 2011
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Who is InterContinental Hotels Group?
• IHG is the largest hotel company in the world by number of rooms with the first and largest guest loyalty program in the hotel industry
Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hibuenapark/4682155727/sizes/z/in/photostream/
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If you don’t know us from Sugarhill Gang…
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You probably know us from @aplusk
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The fine print slide
• 9 brands
– “Normal” mix of stakeholders (Marketing, PR/Comm, HR, Legal, CRO, etc.)
• Operating in over 100 countries and territories
– Multiple regions bring more stakeholders
• With over 4,400 hotels
– Mix of franchise, managed and owned
• And 650,000 guest rooms
– Plus meeting spaces, restaurants, pools and social spaces
• Totaling 130,000,000 guests every year
– Who all expect and deserve a seamless, exceptional experience
• Bonus: All operating in a rapidly changing and evolving ecosystem
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Hold on, what did you just say?
Source: http://www.themusicwithinus.com/2010/05/03/enough-is-enough-transforming-overwhelm-into-effortless-action/
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Important questions needed to be addressed
• Higher order
– How can we understand our customers’ mindsets to help grow our loyalty program and share of wallet?
– How do we increase the effectiveness of our marketing comms and promotions?
– How do we transform the way we build relationships with our key customers?
• And just below the surface
– What exactly is “social media” and why should we care?
– What are people saying about us, and can we control it?
– Is there really that much “stuff” for our guests to talk about?
– Will people want to talk to us? What if we don’t like what they say?
– How will we measure this?
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Our starting point: private online communities
• Invitation-only space representing various segments of our loyalty program and our hotel brands
• Approach– Feedback (talking to us about us) and discovery (listening to our guests talk about
themselves)– Mix of tactical and strategic activities
• Benefits– Honest conversation– Ongoing dialogue– Speedy answers– Fresh insights– Cost efficiency
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ENGAGEMENT!Which is what exactly? And again, how do we measure it?
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Engagement = actionable insights=100 research activities
=100 member generated activities
Total research activities = 3,362 | Total member generated activities = 7,037
Examples:
• Changed to the way we welcome and recognize guests
• Expanded point earnings opportunities
• Created a member referral program
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Digression: Stock Photography
#FAIL
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Photo by: M. Wald, Platinum memberTaken at the InterContinental Tahiti
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Engagement = guest-generated marketing collateral
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Engagement = guest-generated content
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Engagement = more effective promotions
Example #1: Gut check and tweak
• Details: Needed to create a promotion against a tight deadline and with specific directives already in place from senior executives
• Action: Tested the promo and incentives in the community and received fast turnaround PLUS a new twist to the offer based on community feedback (Double Points)
• Payoff: Most elite members registered for double points PLUS significant incremental revenue
Example #2: Seed campaigns
• Details: Triple Points Offer
• Action: Seeded in the private community with an opportunity to send to friends and family
• Payoff: Large volume of registrations and room nights PLUS strong ROI
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Engagement = new product development
Example #1: Priority Club Select Visa Card • Details: In 2009, IHG and Chase embarked on a
mission to create a new credit card for PCR members that would be the first card out of the wallet
• Action: Embarked on a 12-month process of exploration, ideation, development and testing of product features and marketing strategy optimization
• Payoff: Launched the new card in June 2010 with extremely positive results. One example:
– The initial email marketing campaign delivered an 80% increase in new accounts vs. the previous email campaign (which featured the legacy product)
Example #2: iPhone and Mobile Apps• Details: Members were frequently discussing the
need for a PCR mobile app
• Action: Recognized unmet consumer needs and began to build, test and modify based on member conversations
• Payoff: Significantly surpassed both revenue and download expectations
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ENGAGEMENT!Answers to those nagging questions.
Perhaps most importantly: In many ways, our private communities closely mirror the more “scary” social web, putting us two steps ahead.
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Four quick takeaways
• Don’t believe the hype… in a vacuum
• Be strategic but be flexible and responsive
• Focus on answering the questions that matter most to your business
• Start somewhere not somewheres
Photo by: D. Kelleher Royal Ambassador in Vernazza, Italy
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