Following the trend of marketers becoming publishers, Marriott International is launching a global creative and content marketing studio to handle internal work for its portfolio of 18 travel-related brands.

“We view this as the opportunity to be the world’s largest producer of travel-related content,” said David Beebe, Marriott’s vp of creative, content marketing and global marketing. The former Disney-ABC Television executive and producer will lead the new initiative.

As the largest hotel chain in the world, Marriott aims to leverage its expertise on travel, according to Beebe. Similar to the approach that Red Bull and GoPro take with action sports, Marriott wants to own the travel entertainment space—and, in turn, gain the recognition as a trusted source for all travel needs.

“You’re most likely to remember something if a friend recommends it,” Beebe said. “We want to take that same approach as a brand through building engaging content communities through social platforms.”

The in-house division will have three parts: content development, which will be the personal creative agency; production, or the entertainment division responsible for video content ranging from Web clips to TV shows; and distribution, a real-time marketing group that will monitor social media to ensure immediate interaction with trending topics. Marriott will continue to work with external agencies and other production companies as needed.

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