Marriott, the global hotel chain which owns brands including Carlton Ritz, Marriott and Renaissance hotel chains, is partnering with Universal Music to launch a series of live music events hosted at its hotels.
The move, which global CMO for Marriott Karin Timpone revealed to AdNews in Cannes, is part of the global hotel group's efforts to deliver better and more exclusive experiences for guest.
The first event kicked off yesterday with a performance from Jessie J – currently a judge on The Voice - in Marriott's Renaissance Hotel in London's remodelled St Pancras hotel.
Timpone told AdNews that the hotel chain is planning a raft of partnerships with different kinds of organisations to expand the experiences it can offer, and it follows a recent partnership with Netflix to allow guests to log into and use their own Netflix accounts at its hotels, or sign up to a free trial of Netflix during their stay.
“A lot of the way we're innovating Marriott Rewards is around technology, but it goes through to unique experiences. The concert is just the beginning. We started last year with some interesting proofs of concept that told us we had a lot more opportunity to deepen the loyalty relationship,” she said.
“Loyalty is a lifetime relationship. It's changed a lot. With loyalty, it's perfectly fine to have relationships around transactions, but where we're heading is very emotional … true loyalty is around earning a relationship and its two-way.”
The deal will bring Universal's portfolio of record labels, which include Capitol Music, Def Jam Recordings and Island Records, together with Marriott's 19-strong portfolio of hotel brands - pairing artists that are most suited to each hotel brand's character and giving Marriott guests and members of its loyalty scheme access to exclusive gigs and content from artists. Members of the loyalty program will also be able to win access to music industry events and festivals such as The Grammy Awards, SXSW, Billboard Music Awards and the MTV Video Music Awards.
Marriott is adopting the hashtag #WithTheBand as an umbrella campaign on social.
In a statement, Timpone added: "We are bringing together the global traveller and the universal language of music in order to create and deliver unique experiences. The partnership will also help to amplify the benefits of the Marriott Rewards program for both new and loyal guests."
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