Best Dealer, Salesforce or Business-to-Business Campaign
Agency: Upshot
Campaign: Light the Way
Client: Hilton Worldwide
The 14th International Hotel Investment Forum (IHIF) in Berlin brought together more than 1,600 executives from 62 countries. Hilton Worldwide didn’t want to blend in at the IHIF. They wanted to create an exciting and memorable experience for potential investors and developers that would get people talking and thinking about the brand as the first choice for development without using a hard sales technique.
On March 7th, 2011, Hilton hosted the IHIF’s opening night reception (in the newly renovated Berlin Hilton) to ‘light the way’ for potential investors and developers.
Attendees were greeted in the atrium by an illuminated sphere that hung nearly 200 feet above them. The glowing globe—14 feet in diameter—was visible from two floors and showcased Hilton’s global presence. The sphere generated a lot of buzz as small specks of light brightened every time someone checked into a Hilton. Larger streaks of light featured pertinent Hilton facts and achievements.
In the main ballroom, attendees were surrounded by animations of light and warmth that projected across 3,360 sq. ft. of wall space. The space constantly and subtly transformed from scenes of night sky to cultural celebrations of light from places like Germany, India and China. This created a serene and calming mood and reinforced Hilton’s mission of ‘filling the earth with the light and warmth of hospitality’.
Skylines and famous landmarks from around the world strengthened the idea of Hilton’s global footprint. Light the Way translations appeared throughout the evening, giving the space a worldly feel and sparking conversation.
Chefs from various Hilton hotels presented custom specials from Barcelona, Paris, Frankfurt and Berlin. Ten food stations were staged as edible artwork. Tables were displayed with fruits and vegetables, ice blocks chilling ice cream and sorbets and meats sliced to order. Expert bartenders were brought in from Prague and Vienna, while an electronic string quartet from London performed.
The Light the Way event drove the highest rate of inquiry for new hotels in the history of Hilton’s participation in the IHIF. Hilton Worldwide is now on track to open 1,000 new hotels in the next five years and to sign more deals in Europe than any other hotel company.
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