IEG SPONSORSHIP REPORT IEG SPONSORSHIP REPORT THE LATEST ON SPORTS, ARTS, CAUSE AND ENTERTAINMENT MARKETING NOVEMBER 12, 2012 WWW.IEGSR.COM WHO DOES WHAT HOTEL CHAINS CHECK INTO NEW SPONSORSHIPS Hotel chains double down on sponsorship to drive new business and engage consumers outside the hotel environment. Rising occupancy rates, the growing popularity of consumer loyalty programs and new hotels in the U.S., Asia, Middle East and other markets are driving a groundswell of new deals around the world, bringing the category back to life after taking a hit a few years ago. Those include Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. and the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One team; InterContinental Hotels Group and the LPGA, and Marriott International, Inc. and the Barclays Center, home to the NBA Brooklyn Nets. More recently, IHG last month announced a one-year partnership with the East Coast Hockey League, a deal HOTELS BY NUMBER OF DEALS that affords status as the league’s preferred hotel partner across the company’s various hotel chains. Those deals follow a spate of new ties over the past two years. Those include Marriott and the National Football League and IHG and the PGA Tour, Champions Tour and Web.com Tour. IHG in 2010 extended Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resort’s title of the PGA Tour Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial through 2015. Below, IEG SR highlights the three primary hot buttons in the hotel category: ©2012 IEG, LLC. All rights reserved. Drive bookings. To no surprise, hotel companies use sponsorship to gain new and incremental business. That includes business from fans and other frequent travelers as well as sports teams and other sponsored properties. © 2012 IEG, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 1 IEG SPONSORSHIP REPORT Hotels drive bookings by offering discount rooms to fans, athletes and other stakeholders. For example, IHG activates the ECHL with a special portal that ECHL teams and coaches can use to book discount hotel rooms for out- of-town games and recruitment initiatives. “This partnership provides a terrific opportunity to showcase team travel accommodations for the ECHL’s players and officials,” said Doug Dixon, IHG marketing manager, U.S. sales & marketing. Hotel chains also drive bookings through links on property Web sites. IHG activated USA Cycling—another new partnership in 2012—by posting a link on USACycling.org. IHG sponsors USA Cycling on behalf of the Holiday Inn brand, although NGB members can use the partnership to access exclusive rates at any of the company’s participating hotels. Other hotel chains bundle discount pricing with other perks. Marriott activates the NFL with an exclusive fan package that includes a $50 discount on a two-night weekend stay and a 15 percent savings on purchases over $100 on www. NFLShop.com. Engage frequent customers. Hotel chains are increasingly using sponsorship to engage and reward frequent customers. That involves accessing unique, one-of-a-kind experiences for customers enrolled in loyalty programs. For example, Starwood uses Cirque du Soleil, Live Nation, Penske Racing and other properties to access money can’t buy experiences for members of the Starwood Preferred Guest loyalty program. That includes VIP access to NASCAR races and behind-the-scenes tours of Penske Racing’s shop in Mooresville, N.C. Other reward programs include Best Western Rewards, Hilton HHonors and IHG’s Priority Club Rewards. Support growing brands. Domestic and international expansion is driving new interest in multi-market properties. Case in point: Starwood partnered with the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One team to support its expansion in Abu Dhabi, Singapore and other Middle East and Far East markets, while IHG earlier this year partnered with championship winning BMW driver Joey Hand on behalf of the Crowne Plaza brand. With more than 400 hotels and 100 in the pipeline, Crowne Plaza bills itself as one of the hotel industry’s fastest- growing brands. Best Western Best Western International, Inc. 6201 N. 24th Pkway. Phoenix, AR 85016 Glen MacDonell, managing director, strategic partnerships and field marketing 602/957-4200 Targets/Objectives/Key Activations: Not-for-profit membership association focuses sponsorship activity on its long-running partnership with Michael Waltrip and the Michael Waltrip Racing NASCAR team. Best Western— which franchises more than 4,000 hotels around the world and 2,200 in North America—activates the tie with the “Fan Swap” promotion that gives business travelers that chance to swap jobs with Waltrip. The company also uses sponsorship to engage Best Western Rewards members. For example, Best Western leverages its new partnership with Hotels for Heroes by giving BW Rewards members the opportunity to use points to provide free © 2012 IEG, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 2 IEG SPONSORSHIP REPORT hotel accommodations for returning soldiers receiving medical treatment. The company this summer leveraged its partnership with Disney Media Sales and Marketing with a promotion that offered BW Rewards members the opportunity to meet the cast and receive dance lessons from the stars of Shake It Up. Most sponsorships emanate from individual franchises or co-op marketing funds. Current Deals: Anderson Speedway, Ind.; Caldwell Night Rodeo, Idaho; Central Washington State Fair; Elon University Athletics; Lafayette College Athletics; Make-A-Wish-Foundation; Maryland International Raceway; Michael Waltrip Racing NASCAR team; Portland Rose Festival; Southern Utah University Athletics; Virginia Arts Festival. Additional Comments: Sponsors annual AAA pet photo contest to promote pet friendly hotels. Touts NASCAR content on www.YouMustBeTrippin.com; Best Western dropped its partnership with NASCAR after the 2009 season. Hilton Worldwide, Inc. 7930 Jones Branch Dr. Mclean, VA 22102 Jeff Diskin, senior vice president, global customer marketing 703/883-1000 Targets/Objectives/Key Activations: With more than 3,900 hotels in over 90 countries, Hilton takes an international approach to sponsorship through its seven-year-old partnership with the U.S. Olympic Committee. The company expanded its Olympic platform in 2011 with a tie to the Chinese Olympic Committee, a partnership that afforded tickets and hospitality at the 2012 London Summer Games. More recently, Hilton in 2012 inked a two-year tie to USA Volleyball. The USOC partnership affords status as the official family of hotels for Team USA; Hilton activates the tie with booking links on NGB web sites. The company also activates sponsorship to support the Hilton HHonors loyalty program. For example, Hilton leverages its long-running partnership with the Grammy Awards by offering customers the opportunity to donate points to the Grammy Foundation. Hilton also leverages the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Formula One team to access perks for Hilton HHonors members. Current Deals: Conrad Hotels & Resorts: Tribeca Film Festival. Doubletree: Npower Football League Milton Keynes Dons FC; World TeamTennis. Hilton: Advocare 100 Independence Bowl; AHL Milwaukee Admirals; America’s Baby Cancer Foundation; AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic; Auditorium Theatre, Chicago; Auto Club Speedway; Autozone Liberty Bowl; Bank of America Chicago Marathon; Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl; California Polytechnic State University Athletics; Chick-fil-A Bowl; Chris Evert Raymond James Pro-Celebrity Tennis Classic, Boca Raton, Fla.; Cinequest, the San Jose Film Festival; Cleveland Convention & Visitors Bureau; College of the Holy Cross Athletics; Florida University Athletics; Florida State Fair; Indianapolis Motor Speedway; ING New York City Marathon; Kansas City Power & Light District; Kennesaw State University Athletics; Merriweather Post Pavilion; MLB Chicago White Sox and Tampa Bay Rays; Nashville Symphony; NBA Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies and New Orleans Hornets, NFL St. Louis Rams; NHL Anaheim Ducks and St. Louis Blues; OC Marathon, Newport Beach, Calif.; Ohio Natural Gas Taste of Cleveland; Ohio State Fair; Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon; Orange County Fair; Oregon International Airshow; Outback Bowl; Palm Springs International Film Festival; PGA Tour Principal Charity Classic presented by Wells Fargo; Portland Marathon; Portland Rose Festival; Sacramento State University Athletics; Southwest.com Chinese New Year Festival & Parade; St. Jude Country Music Nashville Marathon; Thunder in the Valley Air Show, Columbus, Ga.; TicketCity Bowl; University of California-Irving Athletics; USA Volleyball; USA Water Ski; USA Wrestling; Wolf Trap, Vienna, © 2012 IEG, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 3 IEG SPONSORSHIP REPORT Va.; XL Center, Hartford, Conn. Hilton Garden Inn: Albany Marathon and Half Marathon, Ga. Hilton Honors: Aviva Premiership Rugby; Chinese Olympic Committee; Kellogg’s Tour of Gymnastics Champions; Little League Baseball; Special Olympics; Sundance Film Festival; U.S. Figure Skating; USA Curling; USA Luge; USA Rugby; United States Olympic Committee. Additional Comments: Hilton has an endorsement deal with swimmer Michael Phelps. The Marketing Arm helps activate USOC partnership. Touts sponsorships and strategic alliances through www.HHonorssponsorships.com. Intercontinental Hotels Group InterContinental Hotels Group, Americas 3 Ravinia Dr., Suite 100 Atlanta, GA 30346 Del Ros, vice president, Americas Sales & Marketing 770/604-5000 Targets/Objectives/Key Activations: IHG—which bills itself as the world’s largest hotel company by room count— has significantly expanded its involvement in golf over the last two years. The company in 2010 inked a five-year partnership with