Infomercial as Movie Trailer
Video is great for storytelling but most businesses are not utilizing its full potential, many are not using it correctly.
Businesses in all sectors have a very limited view of the power of live action film over marketing videos. In hospitality, hotels and tourism marketers are mostly content with simple animated voiced-over slideshows and show and tell videos.
Typical Hospitality Infomercial Video/Slideshow
The current approach is to showcase the property, features and benefits in a pedantic-stylized way. They all say pretty much the same thing about: place and property, amenities and benefits.
Example: “Look at my Amazing Elegant Hotel and the lovely setting; dine in the oceanfront 5-star gourmet restaurants or laze about at the pool. Your stay in our comfortable, all equipped rooms will be one of extreme pampering…” and on and on. All the same old story.
Make Movies That Sell Your Brand
How about turning this on its head? Rather than showcasing your property like everyone else does, consider something completely different. How about making a movie trailer with your property as the background? When the skateboarder slides down the balcony, you want everyone to say: “WOW! What a balcony!” This is the idea behind Morgan Spurlock’s film, “The Greatest Movie Ever Sold”.
The Greatest Movie Ever Sold
Oscar®-nominated filmmaker, Morgan Spurlock, takes us on a journey through product placement, marketing and advertising that is about filmmaking for the poseur of selling products. It’s a soft sell – the main feature is the film but it is sponsored by a company – and that is brand placement.
Woody Allen Destination Movies
Look at Woody Allen movies like “Barcelona”. They are stories that feature and sell the destination. A movie that will make you want to travel to a special place.
Booking, Yeah! – Standing Apart
Adding humor and a light touch, this tongue-in-cheek trailer is enticing and powerful. It is a branding commercial that sells an idea as much as the place. It shouts FUN!
It started in 2013 with their launch into the USA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Be7yI5lLzf0
• Films directed by the award-winning filmmaker collective, Traktor. Founded in Sweden, now based in Los Angeles.
• Rehearsed and shot over a week in actual Booking.com accommodations in various places.
• Starring 16 lead actors (and approximately 50 extras).
• Media buying by Wieden+Kennedy New York
“Booking, Yeah!” It’s over the top for many. But we can also think laterally and think “movie” rather than “property, place and features”. Showcasing a hotel room, a bed and people eating is not storytelling.
Simple Storytelling Movies Now
This is a very simple movie trailer that leads to a blog on Sam Lord’s Castle. The blog is about Sam Lord – The Man and The Icon. It refers to the ghost of Sam Lord’s Castle.
The ship and the pirate walking into the mist give you a creepy feeling of the ghost we conjure up. They are both royalty free stock videos.
More Advanced Techniques
In “Two Bellmen Two”, we see the destination and the hotel as the backdrop to a fun short video of the antics of 2 bellmen.
Conventional Hotel & Tourism Video
Final Word
This is an insight into a movement to improve the quality and entertainment value of video in Marketing Hotels and Tourism. Both forms of marketing will coexist in the future.
Tourism marketing needs to hone its message in all entertainment, infomercials and brand promotions. Website Design, Marketing, Digital Media and Video are all part of strategic thinking that must put the message first.
Design Thinking in Website & Digital Media Strategy Process
By Ian R. Clayton in Destination and Tourism Marketing
16 pages – Available in Paperback and Digital Format from MagCloud
AllCast Marketing 