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 indsay Lohan has changed in it. Visitors have tried to buy it. Long lines of attendees have waited to get in for a sneak peek. And, most importantly, developers, enthralled by its whimsical, sleek design, have submitted applications to build the hotels it promotes.
What’s all the hoopla about? A vintage 22-foot Airstream travel trailer, dubbed aloft a-go-go, custom-designed inside and out to represent the design premise of aloft hotels, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc.’s latest offering in the select-service category.
The edgy, retro-inspired aloft brand, which corporate officials claim “carries the DNA” of its upscale sister brand W Hotels, is expected to debut in 2007. Starwood hopes aloft will grow to 500 properties worldwide by 2012. It’s an ambitious goal to be sure, but with a-go-go in its arsenal, Starwood is already well on its way to achieving it.
Since a-go-go began tooling around the country last January to promote the hotel, the road warrior has accomplishaed every objective Starwood set for it. The “mobile activity center” has generated scads of publicity for the brand (including mentions in Brandweek magazine and several hospitality-industry publications, both in print and online), helped to educate internal Starwood management about brand positioning (thanks to its appearances at several company events), and convinced developers to sign contracts to build the hotel. While Starwood hoped the tour would generate 60 or so contract applications by the end of 2006, the results have been even better than expected: More than 20 active agreements have been signed, and more than 100 are in the pipeline.
 HIGH-CONCEPT DESIGN = COMPETITIVE EDGE
According to Starwood, the intent of the new brand is to break through the “clutter of conformity” inherent to the select-service hotel category, which includes competitors such as Hilton Garden Inn and Courtyard by Marriott. It will do that, company officials say, by offering consumers loft-like accommodations and the opportunity to experience high-service, stylish design, accessible technology, and a “hip, urban attitude” — all at an affordable price.
According to best-selling author Daniel Pink, aloft’s focus couldn’t be more timely. In his book, “A Whole New Mind: Moving from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age” (Riverhead Hardcover, 2005), Pink argues that three As — Asia, automation, and abundance — are giving rise to a new “Conceptual Age,” in which the vaunted knowledge workers of the dot-com era will cede ground to a new wave of design-minded right-brainers.
In this new era, Pink says, design — something both aloft and a-go-go feature in spades — will be hot … very hot. “Companies have competed traditionally on price or quality, or some combination of the two,” Pink says. “But today, decent quality and reasonable price have become merely table stakes in the business game — the entry ticket for being allowed into the marketplace. Once companies satisfy those requirements, they are left to compete less on functional or financial qualities and more on ineffable qualities such as whimsy, beauty, and meaning.”
Judging from the early success of aloft a-go-go; the resurgence of design-focused heritage brands such as Harley Davidson and Airstream; and the runaway popularity of stores such as Crate & Barrel and Target, which make aestheticism accessible to the everyman, Pink’s “Conceptual Age” may have arrived.
 POP KITSCH
When Starwood first approached Dallas-based Freeman Co. to help create the aloft events, it knew it wanted to do a mobile campaign. “We needed to find a way to bring the whole feel of our product to our audience, without actually recreating it,” says Tracy Scarlato, aloft’s director of marketing.
What a-go-go would look like, however, remained to be determined. But when Tom Yurkin, vice president of creative at Freeman, presented the Airstream concept, there was no question it was the perfect choice. “To use an Airstream made so much sense to us,” Scarlato says. “It’s cheeky and sassy, and it fits the brand so well.”
That’s exactly the response Yurkin was hoping for. “We wanted to evoke the feeling of nostalgia for life on the road: fun and whimsical, yet reliable, high-quality, and purely American,” he says. “Airstream did that in so many ways.”
Most important, Yurkin says, the Airstream was completely on-brand with aloft, which is determined to break the mold by offering style, quality, and something different at an affordable price. And with its landscaped outdoor spaces and vibrant lounge scene — all of which emphasize sociability — the brand also represents a sense of camaraderie and adventure found in the classic American spirit of life on the road.
Some 75 years ago, another upstart brand — Airstream — attempted the same thing when it launched its sleek line of bullet-shaped travel trailers. Just as Airstream emphasized design, quality, and innovation to reinvigorate an RV industry defined by cut-rate sameness, Starwood hopes to reinvigorate its own industry with aloft.
There were also practical reasons for using an Airstream. Because the a-go-go would travel to an array of events, it needed to appeal to a variety of audiences. The exhibit also had to be self-contained (“like a suitcase,” Yurkin says) and versatile enough to adapt to many kinds of venues. Finally, a-go-go needed to provide flexibility to host fun, informal social gatherings, while also providing adequate meeting space and technology for investor presentations. |
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Aloft A-GO-GO
Strategy: Create a design-centered mobile tour to market a new hotel chain.
Tactics: Customize a trendy Airstream trailer to teach developers about aloft.
Results: Thousands of visits; more than 20 active developer agreements with more than 100 in the pipeline. |
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Rated W
Borrowing elements from its sister brand, the hipster heaven W Hotels chain, aloft a-go-go brings youthful cool to the usually staid world of hotel marketing. |
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 Top Model
While not as leggy as the fashion-week crowd who once toured the trailer, the scale model of an aloft property is just as beautiful to prospective developers. |
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 Traveling Essentials
Wireless internet and MP3 docking stations are as essential to travelers today as soap. Aloft a-go-go, like its namesake hotel, features both. |
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 Blue Period
Aloft blueprints and renderings give a-go-go visitors a look at the properties’ floor plans. |
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 Flat-Out Fabulous
Like the hotel rooms themselves, two large, flat-panel LCD monitors bring a sleek contrast to the retro-inspired interior furnishings. |
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 INSIDE AN ICON
Pulled by a 2006 Jeep Commander, which was fitted with after-market wood paneling to aesthetically connect it to Airstream’s touring heritage, the a-go-go is customized from fender to fender to emulate the aloft look and feel. The machine-age trailer’s interior includes the same retro-inspired but decidedly modern furniture, and customized fabrics, laminates, and cork surfaces that will soon adorn aloft guest rooms. The a-go-go also features enough high-tech gadgetry to impress even the most world-weary travelers: wireless Internet access, an MP3 docking station, and two gargantuan flat-panel LCD monitors. Also included are all of the calming and sensory elements of aloft’s sister brand, W Hotels, such as fresh flowers, votive candles, wheat grass, and fresh-fruit bowls.
Event attendees not only get an immediate vibe for what the aloft brand is all about, they can also meet with aloft staff in two distinct meeting areas, each of which features an LCD flat-panel monitor capable of displaying a variety of promotional presentations. On-brand memorabilia, full-size blueprints of an aloft property, and a to-scale 3-D model of a sample hotel are also featured in the interior.
As a final touch, sitting atop the 3-D model is a miniature Airstream trailer — an exact replica of the a-go-go — that contains a tiny jump drive featuring aloft promotional materials, floor plans, statistics, and “everything else one would need when contemplating an investment in a property,” Yurkin says.
Outside the a-go-go is a wide-open space that’s adaptable to virtually any venue. And while the exterior can be easily modified for any audience, the theme is typically reminiscent of a kitschy outdoor lawn party — replete with Astroturf, lawn chairs, a grill, ersatz sunflowers, a “welcome” mat, and a stuffed dog and treat dispenser, which are meant to stress the fact that aloft will welcome pets on its property, Scarlato says. Finally, branded street signs such as “Yield to fun at aloft,” “aloft ahead” and “Route 66” guide visitors to the a-go-go site.
 ON THE ROAD
What makes the a-go-go such a potent marketing tool? First, it’s unique, Scarlato says, especially in the hotel segment, where most companies stick to the tried and true when introducing a new brand by either creating a model room within an existing hotel or, if they do hit the road, erecting a standard booth at an industry trade event. According to James Woods, vice president of select-service product development at Starwood, aloft looked outside its industry to consumer brands and other companies, such as alternative air-carrier JetBlue Airways, that offer “traditional products in a unique way” for fresh, new ideas.
“At conferences, everyone has a booth, it’s an all-out, square-footage war, and there’s not a lot to really talk about,” Woods says. “But when you put the a-go-go in front of a convention center, in a parking lot or in front of a hotel, it’s an easy sort of thing to walk up to and start talking about. They’ll say, ‘I’m a retail developer and I have six malls in four different states and I’ve got a lot that this would be great for.’”
The a-go-go is also unique, notes Woods, in terms of where it travels. While most hotel companies debut products in this early phase of development at industry conferences alone, Starwood took a different route by dividing the campaign into two parts: industry conferences and consumer events.
The aloft team slated the Airstream to appear in some predictable places, such as the American Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS) in Los Angeles and the Atlanta Hotel Investment Conference, but it also rolled out the a-go-go at consumer events, including film festivals, sporting events, awards shows, and even New York Fashion Week, where the a-go-go made a pit stop last February.
Turns out, the campaign’s dual focus on consumers and developers was a smart move. When the a-go-go appeared at Fashion Week, the Airstream’s exterior was set up to create a VIP lounge and “urban oasis/lawn party” for the who’s who in pop culture today — namely, fashion editors, stylists, designers, and celebrities. As further enticement, aloft brought in custom-jewelry and swimsuit designers who fashioned their one-of-a-kind wares on-site.
“We worked hard to explain (to conference organizers) what we were trying to do, and how the a-go-go could be a marketing tool not only for us, but also for them,” Woods says. One result: at Fashion Week, the a-go-go was prominently sited in the heart of the event’s VIP section.
The strategy worked, ultimately generating the kind of publicity most marketers would kill for. Teen queen Lindsay Lohan used the a-go-go to change for her sashay down the catwalk. “Entertainment Tonight” did interviews with both Lohan and the Black Eyed Peas with the a-go-go in the background. |
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| Partial listing of business-to-business appearances |
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Atlanta
Atlanta Hotel Investment Conference; Corporate visit
Austin, Fall River, MA
Corporate visit
Chicago, Denver,
St. Louis
Midwest Expo Events
Dallas
Meeting Professionals International Education Conference |
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Lake Buena Vista, FL
Starwood Partner Summit
Las Vegas
International Council of Shopping Centers Spring Convention
Los Angeles
American Lodging Investment Conference; Travel & Leisure Conference
Montreal
Starwood Hotels client event/trade show
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New York
Fashion Week; Hotel
Investment Conference
Orlando
American Society of Travel Agents trade show
Phoenix
Phoenix Lodging Conference
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San Diego
World Conference
Toronto
Starwood Hotels client event/trade show; Canadian Hotel Investment Conference |
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 THE LITTLE AIRSTREAM THAT COULD
Finally, there’s a certain mystique about the a-go-go that captures people’s imaginations in a way that’s exciting, fun, and most important, on-brand with what aloft is trying to accomplish, Scarlato says. “The response from everyone is, ‘Oh my gosh. I have always wanted an Airstream.’ We drive it up and everything about it — even the Jeep that pulls it — is just so darn cute. People approach us about buying the a-go-go all the time. It’s a tremendous buzz-builder.”
The Airstream is so busy crisscrossing the country that Starwood is considering adding additional a-go-gos to its fleet. “We’re fielding a lot of requests from developers asking us to bring the a-go-go to groundbreakings” and other events, such as city approval meetings, Woods says.
The a-go-go strikes a chord with investors, too. “People invest in all sorts of things that are going to make money, but when you allow them to invest in things that are also going to give them something to talk about and be proud of, then you’re planting a double whammy,” Yurkin says. “It’s much nicer to invest in something that awakens your imagination and feels really vital.”
That was Starwood’s intent with the a-go-go from the get-go, according to Woods. “We didn’t want to treat developers differently than anyone else who comes by,” he says. “We wanted to avoid making a hard sales pitch or bombarding developers with information. Instead, we view it as a mobile meeting place that’s evocative of the brand and that’s meant to be fun. It’s a conversation-starter, and if a conversation happens to turn into a meeting about a specific development, then great.”
Nevertheless, such impromptu conversations have translated into real bottom-line results for the company. “At our first development event with the a-go-go — ALIS in Los Angeles — we were planning on getting maybe a handful of franchise applications,” Scarlato says. Instead, the company is on track to exceed its 2006 applications projection by more than 66 percent.
That’s especially significant because of the low cost of the event. Aloft’s initial investment was only $310,000 to staff the campaign and acquire and design the a-go-go Airstream and Jeep, in addition to approximately $5,000-$8,000 per event for marketing, promotion, and production costs.
“The a-go-go has been a great success and great exposure for our brand,” Woods says. “We have gotten more mileage out of it — no pun intended — than anything we have ever done before.” e |
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| SARAH BOEHLE IS A FREELANCE WRITER IN GRAND FORKS, ND |
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