Project scope
Creative Strategy, Localization, Content creation, Transcreation, Copywriting, Graphic Design, Advertising, Production
Paradigm helps IHG Hotels & Resorts group get its messages out
In the autumn of 2022, ads for IHG’s Guest How You Guest global marketing campaign began appearing in some very prominent places in Japan.
Millions of people saw them. They appeared on Yamanote Line trains, on digital billboards in Shinjuku and at Tokyo Station, on digital posters in the Osaka–Umeda concourse, in Japan Airlines’ in-flight videos (on both domestic and international routes), as well as at a number of other locations with significant foot traffic.
To help roll out this eye-catching marketing campaign, the global hotel group asked Paradigm for help. We were responsible for the localization, Japanese copywriting, and asset creation.
In addition to the out-of-home (OOH) ads, we produced paid social media advertisements on channels such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and LINE.
Through this campaign, we helped IHG get in the faces and in the feeds of people across the country.
“Their teams have a deep understanding of our brands’ guidelines and creative platforms, which allows them to create localized initiatives that impact our campaigns and complement our brands’ global presence.”
Getting close
Our relationship with IHG began in 2018. That was when we won a competitive pitch to develop a website for the InterContinental brand’s first property in Kyushu: the ANA InterContinental Beppu Resort & Spa.
After delivering this important project the following year, we were asked to write, design, and develop a website for another IHG brand, Hotel Indigo, which was opening its first hotel in Japan. So, we created the site for Hotel Indigo Hakone Gora. And we were asked to apply the hotel’s newly updated brand identity and tone of voice guidelines.
Also in 2019, we began to support IHG with a few of its promotional campaigns in Japan. This included its Rugby World Cup campaign, which highlighted IHG hotels across the country where rugby matches were being played. We suggested content ideas, created digital banners, and wrote several promotional newsletters that were sent out during the event.
Over the years, we’ve gained a strong understanding of the IHG brand, its business, and its customers’ needs. We’ve also developed a close, trusting relationship with the IHG team.
“Paradigm consistently brings our campaigns to life in exciting ways,” says Campbell Troy, senior manager of campaign management for Japan, Australasia, and the Pacific at IHG. “Their teams have a deep understanding of our brands’ guidelines and creative platforms. This allows them to create localized initiatives that impact our campaigns and complement our brands’ global presence.”
Getting everything done
In the fall of 2021, the team at IHG asked us to help with its annual autumn campaign for Japan. And since then, we have helped IHG with all its promotional campaigns in Japan. These have included the Guest How You Guest global marketing campaign as well as work for individual IHG brands, such as Kimpton, Crowne Plaza, and Holiday Inn Express.
In addition to seasonal promotions, Paradigm does a wide variety of work for IHG. We create campaign-specific landing pages. We write Japanese and English content for IHG’s electronic direct mail (eDM) marketing, which is sent out to its database of One Rewards members. And we produce marketing campaigns for special offers and new hotel openings.
IHG asks us to come up with each promotional campaign concept and look. In addition, we do Japanese copywriting and we produce all the assets for the campaigns. The ads we create appear on IHG websites and various digital channels. These include Facebook, Instagram, and LINE, as well as news sites, such as SmartNews.
“At IHG, we work in a fast-paced, dynamic environment. So, we need agency support that we can trust to deliver quality work consistently and on time — and when we need action on rush jobs,” states Troy. “When we have requests that are a little outside the box, Paradigm will always consider the issue and try to solve it. The team has demonstrated again and again that they are here to support IHG for the long term with their proactive stance in client management.”
Getting in more faces
As Paradigm’s relationship with IHG continues to grow, we are now starting to help the firm take its messages to other markets in Asia as well as Oceania.
We can’t wait to get in more people’s faces.
