Hotel marketing ideas can come from the strangest places. For decades, the Michelin tire company promoted their products with the image of a baby sitting in the middle of one of their tires. This was seen as different and unusual, given that automobiles and automotive products are usually promoted on their performance: more speed, better handling, cool look, etc.
Michelin has used a baby in its marketing campaigns for decades
So how did Michelin’s baby-in-a-tire campaign become one of the most recognized tire marketing campaigns ever without even the hint of stereotypical automotive performance?
Emotion. The image of a little baby triggers the emotional response of protecting the vulnerable by making them safer, even in people who aren’t parents.
Emotional triggers, from ‘Kodak Moments’ to ‘Just Do it’, are a tried a true way to influence decision making in all media. On the web, they are even more effective because of the limited attention span of your online visitors.
How to Generate an Emotional Response in Travel Shoppers
Fortunately, it’s not as difficult as it might seem to trigger an emotional response with your hotel marketing ideas. Even the typical guest room and pool images that hotels use appeal to emotions.
The trick really becomes how to play an emotional ‘trump card’, one that generates a stronger emotional reaction, so your property sticks out from the rest. In the Michelin tire example, promoting the performance characteristics of a tire triggers an emotional response of status and appearance. But a baby in the tire simply trumps those emotions.
Storytelling Boosts Emotional Responses
In the hotel industry, storytelling can be your trump card. From making your message more memorable, to making your content more exciting and emotional, storytelling is what can drive more business through your website.
And it’s not as difficult as it may seem. The first step in integrating stories into your hotel marketing ideas.
