Tru by Hilton

Challenge

Tru by Hilton is Hilton Worldwide’s newest brand – a fresh, contemporary midscale hotel ready to compete in the crowded hotels market. In advance of Tru’s January 2016 launch, it engaged Padilla to help achieve aggressive development goals through an awareness-building campaign targeting current and potential hotel developers. In just over a year, it’s already transforming the industry’s midscale category.

Insight

To develop the new hotel concept, Hilton conducted market research and consumer testing. Findings pointed to a market gap in affordable, midscale hotels. Insights from Hilton hotel owners, its initial market, confirmed the need.

Idea

Hilton began developing a hotel prototype that would appeal to spirited and tech-savvy travelers, which could include a communal lobby with designated areas for lounging, working, eating or playing. The result: a unique experience unlike anything on the market. To realize the new concept, Hilton applied fresh thinking to hotel development, too. They offered lower upfront investment costs, easy maintenance, integrated operations and marketing support to attract new franchise owners.

Solution

Padilla created a LinkedIn company page for Tru by Hilton: an overlooked but powerful business platform, and an efficient way to amplify brand awareness in the hotel community. Our campaign – “Engineered by You” – told of the brand’s genesis in a relatable way and shared the experiences of current hotel owners. Tru by Hilton’s LinkedIn page went live in May 2016, and we began posting fresh content daily, from owner testimonials and hotel groundbreaking stories to guest tips and management insights.

Results

Since its launch, the Tru by Hilton LinkedIn company page drove more than 3,400 website visits and nearly 3,000 interactions, gained 1,025 followers, exceeding goal of 1,000 well before the end of 2016; and earned an average engagement rate of 1.8 percent against the industry average of .54 percent.