‘We’re a Media Company Now’: Inside Marriott’s Incredible Money-Making Content Studio
Destination (or Place) branding and marketing is emerging as a critical activity for companies, governments, countries, regions, and cities.
This includes hotel chains, tourist experiences, activity brands, and even restaurants.
Joe Lazauskas writes that the venerable Marriott group is now thinking like a media company.
“We are a media company now,”
When you walk into the ground floor of Marriott’s headquarters, it fittingly looks like the lobby of a modern hotel - chic white lounges, cozy pods, even a friendly receptionist. But then you notice nine flashing screens encased in glass walls, like a TV control room teleported from Hollywood to Bethesda, Maryland.
Inside the control room - dubbed “M Live” - three media veterans are tasked with seeing just how much a hotel brand could capitalize on the fast-changing digital landscape.
“We are a media company now”
We are a media company now, said David Beebe, Marriott’s Emmy-winning vice president of global creative.
Two years earlier, Marriott hired Karin Timpone from the Walt Disney Company, where she had launched successful digital products like WATCH ABC, to connect Marriott to the “next generation of travelers.” In June 2014, Beebe, also working for Disney, joined Timpone. By September 2014, Marriott had launched a global content studio.
Beebe and Timpone worked fast. By early 2015, Marriott had created:
- A successful TV show, The Navigator Live.
- A hit short film, The Two Bellmen.
- A personalized online travel magazine.
- Forays into virtual reality with Oculus Rift.
These projects generated immediate success:
- High engagement metrics.
- Millions in direct revenue.
- Content licensing deals.
Soon, Marriott expanded its in-house staff, bringing in Matthew Glick from CBS as senior director of the Creative + Content Global Marketing Group and Marc Graser, formerly of Variety, as editorial director.
Read the rest of the article here.
Key Takeaways
- Destination brands need to start thinking like media companies.
- Images, video, and customer experiences need to be gathered and shared.
- The need to tell great stories.
- Partner with content creators to develop compelling content.
- Develop an internal culture for storytelling.
See how Brandkit helps marketers manage Destination Branding content.
Curated from the Contently blog.
‘We’re a Media Company Now’: Inside Marriott’s Incredible Money-Making Content Studio
Destination (or Place) branding and marketing is emerging as a critical activity for all sorts of companies, governments, countries, Regions and Cities. This includes Hotel chains, Tourist Experiences, Activity brands, and even Restaurants. Mariott Hotels as an example now calls itself a “Media Company”.
