QT is a luxury hotel chain designed to allow guests to indulge their strangest desires. From x-rated art to unexpected room service offerings, theatrical staff members and more, every aspect of the hotel has been curated to peak your curiosity.

But, after two years of COVID lockdowns, the hotel found themselves opening their doors to the worst economic downturn in over a century. With both the hotel and its guests strapped for cash, QT needed an idea that would help to generate buzz and stimulate hotel bookings without costing them, or their clientele.

In a promotion as unorthodox as the hotel itself, QT invited guests to pay for their stay using an item of personal value. From old love letters to well worn Levi’s and locks of hair, no item was off limits. So long as it held personal value to its owner, it was a personally reasonable form of payment to us. QT converted the 'value' of each priceless item and converted it into hotel currency to be used to pay for nights accommodation. The items submitted had to physically be handed over as payment, which were then curated into pieces of art and displayed at each hotel venue.

The campaign was designed to acquire new customers through an engaging and interactive promo, and reactivate dormant customers within QT's existing customer base. Many of the individuals in the latter group had been regular guests prior to the pandemic, but lockdowns and subsequent economic downturn had seen luxury travel drop down their list of priorities.

The strategy was led by earned media in order to access as many potential customers as possible, while also capturing dormant customers by casting a wide net. As the promotion was designed to solicit entries, all customers would be directed towards a dedicated microsite where their submission would be captured along with other key customer data including contact info and top two QT properties of interest.

Retained customers would then be reactivated through targeted communications via eDM, along with organic social content designed to leverage QT's strong social media following (149K followers on Instagram alone).

The promotion was launched via a coordinated earned media push, which detailed the promotion via press releases with the campaign film attached, along with a direct eDM push to existing customers. We then worked with key influencers to create content around the curious items they had traded in for a stay.

Additional inspiration for entrants was provided via a small buy of rock posters, print placements in travel magazines, and organic and paid social media placements. All assets directed entrants to the Curious Currencies microsite where they could make their submissions.

As the entries rolled in we stayed in communication with key journalists, creating ongoing momentum and interest through the strange submissions themselves, generating additional waves of earned media coverage.

The promotion ran for four weeks prior to submissions being closed, with judging happening continuously throughout this period and winners announced via social media and direct eDM.

Over 600 strange and wonderful items were submitted to QT over the course of the promotion. The campaign generated 75 pieces of earned media coverage across print, radio and digital, exceeding the target objective of 25 pieces and resulting in a combined reach of 29 million customers across Australia and New Zealand with 100% positive sentiment.

The integrated PR approach resulted in $1.5 million worth of media coverage from a total media spend of just $10,000.

The campaign leant into two cornerstones of Australian culture: storytelling and individuality.

Australians are known for loving a good story or "yarn" as we call it. The campaign invited customers to tell their best stories via the curious forms of payment, leveraging their natural tendencies and creating an interaction that was genuinely enjoyable for both customer and brand.

On top of this, Australians highly value individuality. We have a long history of mythologising peculiar characters or outsiders from our communities, from Bushranger Ned Kelly to political activist, "Egg Boy". The campaign allowed customers to dig into the strangest corners of their personalities to showcase something truly unique and individual.