Challenge: In the heart of Times Square is the Westin New York; one of the crown jewels in the hotel franchise’s collection. The prestigious hotel has won numerous awards and is consistently on the cutting edge of trends in the hotel industry. Business at this location has always been steady, but the Westin New York wanted to benefit from using a promotional product. In the past, they didn’t quite understand the benefits of a promotional product, but the marketing team decided that now was the time to dip into the promo marketplace. With this product the hotel wanted to accomplish three distinct requirements; first, they wanted to thank customers for choosing Westin, they wanted to introduce a new service being offered, and then finally to offer a coupon.

Solution: Ultimately, the product selected was the 1 oz. candy bag with a custom header card. The front of the header card would have a full color photo of the exterior of the Westin New York, while the opposite side would list all of the unique, guest services offered by the Westin, along with a coupon for Bar 10, which is the hotel’s signature spot for drinks and light fare. Inside the candy bag would be Swedish Fish. After Westin received the shipment of product bags, they decided internally to place the bags on the pillows of new guests for weekends in September, traditionally one of the slower months for the hotel.

Result: The results far exceeded anything that the Westin could have wished. With their 800 plus guest rooms, this was a large order and a potential disaster if not done correctly, but the promo product team selected an item that struck a nerve with the hotel’s visitors. The clients clearly enjoyed the treat and made it known to the hotel staff at checkout. During the month of the promotion, some of the hotel’s often overlooked, but distinctive guest service options, such as the Broadway ticket desk and the travel concierge, were utilized more frequently. Lastly, more than 30% of the September guests redeemed the coupon for a “buy one, get one appetizer free” discount at Bar 10. The promotion was a success in that it accomplished everything that the Westin New York had hoped it would.

Case study provided by Admints & Zagabor, a partner of Lipic’s.

Candy Bag With Header Card