IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) on Wednesday announced the next evolution of its Holiday Inn Express brand’s Stay Smart campaign to run exclusively on digital channels, a first for the brand. This year’s campaign includes collaborations with comedian and author Jim Gaffigan, comedy video website Funny Or Die, and Funny Or Die’s Oddball Comedy & Curiosity Festival, all of which help bring how smart it feels to stay in a Holiday Inn Express hotel to life in a humorous way.
“The Holiday Inn Express brand believes humor and smart-wit are synonymous, so we see our collaboration with Funny Or Die as the perfect vehicle for the brand to continue to engage with consumers,” said Jennifer Gribble, vice president, Holiday Inn Express brand, Americas, IHG. “We also wanted to team-up with a well-known comedian whose style of comedy would resonate with our guests, and could help deliver the Stay Smart message in an amusing and engaging way, which is why Jim Gaffigan was the ideal fit for the brand.”
Jim Gaffigan, who is one of the featured comedians on the Oddball Comedy Festival tour, collaborated with the Holiday Inn Express brand to create new, original content, which plays up the next evolution of the Stay Smart campaign tagline – “Did anyone stay at a Holiday Inn Express hotel last night?” Gaffigan’s videos will debut on Funny Or Die, the award-winning top destination for comedy on the web, reaching millions of viewers, as well as on the Holiday Inn Express brand’s digital channels including YouTube, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
The Holiday Inn Express brand is also working with digital sites, including Buzzfeed, Wired, Pandora and Spotify to launch new Stay Smart content, as well as a series of video shorts debuting across the brand’s social media channels. Each video features a comedic scenario where the protagonist – from an astronaut to a trapeze artist – gets into a situation where they need to solve a problem, and ask the question, “Did anyone stay at a Holiday Inn Express hotel last night?” to get the help they need that only a Holiday Inn Express guest could offer.
At all 20 Oddball Festival shows, the Holiday Inn Express brand will provide festival attendees with free on-site experiences which invite consumers to be part of the Stay Smart campaign and experience the brand in a unique way. “Express Check-In” allows attendees to bypass the long check-in lines, relax in a Holiday Inn Express branded area pre-show and have a chance to upgrade their ticket via “Express Instant Seat Upgrade.”
Attendees can follow @OddballFest on Twitter to get details for each show. “Room With a View” lets four lucky fans in each market experience the laughs up close, with front-row viewing, plush Holiday Inn Express branded seats, free food and drinks and VIP access. Fans can enter for a chance to win “Room With a View” tickets by visiting OddballFest.com.