Chart Topper

By Staff -- HOTELS Magazine, 9/1/2006

The Hard Rock Hotel San Diego, this Southern California city’s first branded condo-hotel, proved to be a smash hit. Hard Rock completely sold out the 300-unit first phase of this 420-room property in just one day, making it the largest project release in the city’s history. Struan McKenzie, senior director, strategic development, Hard Rock Hotels & Resorts, explains what it takes to make a record breaker:

We began with a charette to define the opportunity and target market, sharing our brand’s heritage and positioning. We also presented the brand identity guidelines and assisted in the development of the marketing initiatives to reach the defined target audience.

We then worked closely with the property on the design of all aspects of the project; ranging from product development to marketing strategies, including collateral materials, Web design, and e-commerce strategies.

We ensured the design of the condo sales office reflected the energy, sophistication and technological savvy of the project.

We executed our full range of online marketing support—home page presence, dedicated e-mail messaging, and event invitation emails. Hardrock.com offers prime placement opportunities for brand initiatives, with more than 1.1 million visits per month. It is natural to leverage the loyalty program and online registration database, as this group represents our greatest fans.

The first large-scale event for the community was the condo sales launch party. The event was celebrity driven, a true VIP experience, generating the “MUST BE” list to be on. This created the emotional draw to the project and solidified the buzz through the local, regional and national press. The event focused on the creating a celebrity buzz around the project, tweaking the emotional side of the purchasing decision. We supported the event with the following:

• Direction on the development of the “movers and shakers” list, press list and celebrity list

• The party was hosted by Ashlee Simpson and Carmen Electra and attending artists included Macy Gray, Velvot Revolver, members of Yellowcard and Good Charlotte

• Our national PR firm, Dan Klores Communications, supported the effort by garnering national press, direction on the lists, development of talking points for the celebrities, as well as providing operational/red carpet support at the event

• Our brand PR agency, Coyne, ensured proper messaging and support with its key contacts

• Online support for the event included awareness banner ads and e-mail blasts to the database

• The Black Eyed Peas partnered with the project on a suite acquisition and design, positioning them as owners in the press. They were a perfect partnership based on their wide appeal across many demographics, which closely aligned along our brand’s target psychographics. The exposure of this partnership in the press and on the Internet (Web site and e-mail blast to potential owners) supported the buying decision for the owners. This, too, was publicized through our national and brand PR agencies and with online support

Condo sales selection day was extremely energetic. Unlike any other contract/selection event, we built off the unique power of the brand to create an experience for the owners that supported the lifestyle aspirations of the VIP owners. The selection day was followed by a VIP owners event, where they had the opportunity to mingle and interact with their neighbors the Black Eyed Peas, Josh Duhmal, and Mark and Samantha Ronson

Post survey of the owners’ buying decision showed the investment in the brand and the ability to own a piece of Hard Rock as key to the purchase decision. Leads generated from Hardrock.com produced the greatest number of owners’ contracts.

Ongoing support includes:

• Providing ongoing press direction to ensure the buzz around the project is maintained, as well as preparing the property for the opening of the hotel product and generating awareness and buzz in the eyes of their targeted hotel consumers

• Maintaining owner enthusiasm around the project, as we continue with VIP access to events/concerts as well as early distribution of our new product lines to sustain interest