This multiple award-winning mobile app launch case study shows how Beeby Clark+Meyler helped launch the Marriott Mobile App and drive app downloads in a highly competitive travel marketing environment by employing paid, owned, and earned media assets across a wide variety of consumer touch points.
Challenge
- Stand out in an already crowded marketing space to excite our target: business and leisure travelers, 25 to 65 – a tech-savvy but time strapped target
- Figure out a way to leverage the ubiquitous smartphone itself as our secret marketing weapon
Goal: Drive 500K downloads within the first three months
Solution
Surround the traveler with a plea from his smartphone
- Concept: the smartphone, like the smartphone traveler, is overworked and needs a vacation
- The smartphone “pitches” the traveler on the benefits of getting the new free Marriott mobile app…and getting them both a vacation
- The theme was carried across all media – mobile, print, social, display, and hotel properties, and employed paid, owned, and earned assets
- QR and SMS messaging was placed on ads, including boarding passes, hotel room keys, and Facebook ads (an industry first)
Results
- First day of the campaign – reached #1 travel app on iTunes
- First travel app to break the Top 5 free apps overall in iTunes (#4)
- 500K downloads within the first three months
- Over 80K QR and SMS codes scanned or texted for downloads
- Marriott becomes 3rd largest m-commerce sales site of all time
- Innovative use of QR and SMS on Marriott’s owned collateral became top performers in terms of volume
- ‘Excellence in Connected Marketing Top Prize’ – ClickZ
- ‘Best Use of Mobile Marketing’ – ClickZ
- ‘Best Direct Response Campaign’ – Digiday
- ‘Best Hotel & Lodging Integrated Ad Campaign’ – IAC
- Silver Award for Marriott Mobile App Launch – Mobile Advertising category – IAB