Marriott Hotels sponsored the 2018 Hong Kong Rugby Sevens, an iconic annual sporting event where thousands of rugby fans from around the globe converge to drink alcohol, sing, and wear fancy dress costumes whilst they watch the tournament. Given we weren’t title sponsor of the event, we needed to stand out from the crowd and make more noise than Cathay Pacific and HSBC. Marriott wanted to use their sponsorship as an opportunity to build relevance with rugby fans but most importantly expand the brand perception beyond business to leisure, with the effect of modernizing the brand via an association with one of the best sport and party weekends in Hong Kong.

A Marriott spokesperson is introducing an innovative new concierge service called ‘Bonjour’ for guests in Hong Kong. We see a guest fast asleep in his room, until suddenly, Sebastien Chabal’s head (a retired rugby legend) comes crashing through the wall. The guy doesn’t wake up, so a few seconds later, Sebastien Chabal smashes full-body through the wall, dressed like a French maid. The guy is still asleep, so the French rugby legend creeps back out of the room.

On the ground activations in prime Hong Kong high-traffic areas leading up to the big event, as well as in-stadium events on the day got fans spending precious time with the Marriott brand in fun and unique ways. Pop up food stalls showcasing yummy, local cuisine, a “cash grab” for awesome prizes and an online rugby game kept fans wanting more and more.

Paid social media, plus earned (PR) and owned channels (Marriott Hotels & Marriott Rewards social channels, and youtube leveraged retargeting data to ensure we were reaching our very innovative and creative target audience throughout their online journey.

Media ran from 13th March for 5 weeks with a budget of just under $60k USD.