Stephanie Fierman - Marketing Observations Grown Daily

Stephanie Fierman Talks About What Westin’s Ads “Feel Like”

Wednesday August 27th 2008, 2:55 am
Filed under: ad agency,advertising,branding,customer service,environmentalism,luxury

Westin’s current ad campaign promotes its hotels as veritable oases of renewal and inspiration. On everything from TV to print to outdoor, the ads beacon with beautiful imagery and the line “This is how it should feel.”

Since I stayed at a Westin recently – and the bathroom was dirty – the only thing I’m feeling is slightly annoyed and a little skeevy.

The latest execution I noticed is a print execution in Fortune. It’s a full-color ad showing nothing but rows of what looks like lettuce, growing in ripe, red soil, bathed in sunlight. Tell me again why my hotel stay is supposed to feel like rows of lettuce?

ChiefMarketer chose “Breathe” as the best 15-second TV promo because (the site was trying to be nice and) it’s the only one that comes anywhere close to presenting a consumer benefit. A soft-focus swirl transforms into the word “Breathe” on-screen, after which a text line informs the viewer that Westin is the first major hotel chain to go smoke-free. That is a long, long way from the way harangued travelers actually want to ”feel” which, for many, would be closer to hoping that the batteries in the TV remote work, the wireless Internet access is easy to use and the bedspread has been washed since the last Presidential election.

Part of my overall philosophy is that a brand must do what it is supposed to do, and do it well, before a consumer can give it emotional permission to venture into untested waters. If ”core” doesn’t come before ”quirky,” the latter will be met with indifference, at best, and frustration or even disgust, at worst.

Prior to the “This is how it should feel” mantra, Westin focused on the Heavenly Bed - remember that? It is actually a pretty great bed and – unlike lettuce - this message delivered on one of the core expectations of every hotel guest: a good night’s sleep.
Westin Starwood Heavenly Bed