Choice Hotels International has tapped 72andSunny New York as its new creative agency and London-based Dentsu X as its new digital media agency in a bid to take its consumer marketing to “the next level,” the hotel company announced Tuesday.
Global firm Dentsu X will develop and implement a media strategy for Choice for the remainder of 2024, leveraging the hotel company’s largest marketing campaign to date, “A Stay for Any You,” which launched in January. Meanwhile, 72andSunny will begin researching and developing Choice’s 2025 marketing campaign.
The agency picks enable Choice to adapt to “the ever-changing consumer landscape,” according to Noha Abdalla, Choice's chief marketing officer. Abdalla shared with Hotel Dive insights on Choice’s hotel marketing strategy for the remainder of the year and into 2025 — and how the company plans to enhance its loyalty program.
New agency partnerships
Dentsu X and 72andSunny will work together with Choice's in-house marketing team and longtime agency Havas Media to provide “a fresh take on [Choice’s] advertising and digital strategy,” Abdalla said in a statement.
Dentsu X will focus on Choice’s media strategy for the remainder of the year, with plans to expand further into traditional TV and online ads, social media, podcasts and other media channels. The agency will build on the company’s “A Stay for Any You” campaign, leveraging customer data obtained by Choice.
Abdalla told Hotel Dive that Choice has seen increased awareness and consideration for brands highlighted in the campaign since its launch. The hotel company has also found that the campaign’s star, Keegan-Michael Key, has “very high likability scores,” she added.
A lot of the conversations that Choice is having with Dentsu X about future strategy is centered around “optimizing the channel mix and making sure that we're continuing to test and learn from what channels are working best with the target personas,” Abdalla said.
Target audiences and preferred channels
Choice is specifically targeting upscale, midscale and extended stay guests, Abdalla noted.
During the first half of 2024, Choice expanded its extended stay portfolio and made a concerted push in upscale through brand expansion and increased marketing focus. And among its target audience, a mix of media channels have resonated.
“We continue to see great performance in the social channels,” Abdalla added. “Instagram performs pretty well for us, as does TikTok and Facebook. And on the B2B side, we are more focused on platforms like LinkedIn.”
For the remainder of the year, Choice will lean into social media channels as well as connected TV, Abdalla said. Havas will continue to lead media planning and buying for TV, while Dentsu X will do Choice’s digital media buying.
In early 2025, the company will launch a new marketing campaign — specific details of which Abdalla declined to share. Choice is working with 72andSunny to prepare for the campaign, which will aim to differentiate Choice’s 22 brands and drive repeat guests.
Loyalty play
Also next year, Choice will be “sharing the evolution and relaunch of our Choice Privileges program,” Abdalla said.
The enhanced loyalty program is something Choice is “really excited about as we add more experiential parts to the program and try to connect more emotionally with consumers, so they continue to come back,” Abdalla added, noting that growing loyalty is a key objective of Choice’s marketing strategy.
As of February, Choice lagged several of its competitors in terms of loyalty members. Choice’s public bid to acquire peer Wyndham Hotels & Resorts — made in October 2023 and ended in March — was a move to grow its loyalty capabilities, hotel experts speculated.
Choice Chief Segment and International Operations Officer Raul Ramirez previously told Hotel Dive that loyalty helps propel Choice’s global and enterprise strategy forward.
Abdalla echoed similar sentiments: “Ultimately, if we can drive more [Choice Privileges] sign ups and more engagement with the program, more people using their points within the program and finding value in the program, that's going to drive more repeat bookings and more business for our hotels.”
