Opening of Kimpton’s Hotel Palomar Chicago
Situational Analysis:
Kimpton’s Hotel Palomar Chicago (Palomar) opened March 2010 as Kimpton’s fourth hotel in Chicago, and the first of only two major hotel openings in the city this year.
Message:
The 261-room art-themed hotel marks an evolution in the Windy City’s boutique scene with design by Orlando Diaz-Azcuy that focuses on Chicago and its artistic evolution, and customer care that Kimpton is known for.
Marketing Objectives:
Build buzz for the property during pre-opening and beyond.
Target Audience:
Business and leisure travelers located the Midwestern market, and direct-air cities such as New York.
Research, Planning and Implementation:
Q&C took part in brainstorming programming for the hotel before the property opened. Q&&C assisted in developing partnerships with Art Chicago; Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education (CAPE); as well as programs like Running with the Assistant Manager; and rate-driven packages like Hot Sexy City. Q&C strategically pitched the new Palomar to top-tier magazines and newspapers. Each pitch was carefully tailored to the publication and, in most cases, a specific section/column. The campaign was executed through e-mail, telephone and face-to-face meetings about Palomar’s unique offerings. Q&C was instrumental in planning the ribbon cutting, and secured media attendance from target outlets including camera crews from most of the major television stations, Michigan Ave., CS Brides, StyleChicago.com, Time Out Chicago, Men’s Book, Chicago Sun-Times and DailyCandy Chicago.
Results:
Prior to opening, the Palomar was covered in numerous places hitting our target audience including: Condé Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure, Michigan Avenue, TimeOut Chicago, The Chicago Tribune, The New York Times, Crain’s Chicago, CNN.com. Upon opening, the hotel was written up in Elle Décor, SHAPE, Milwaukee Home and Fine Living, CNT’s Truth.Travel Blog, Prevue Magazine to name a few. The message about this new property reached over 134,000,000 readers. In addition, the rate-driven package, Hot Sexy City, we promoted as part of the hotel opening media push, booked 351 room nights and over $57K in revenue within a week of Palomar’s opening.
Budget:
This campaign was funded only by Palomar’s monthly retainer to Quinn & Co. There were no other out-of-pocket expenses.
