Westin Redefines Traditional Hotel Advertising with Innovative $30 Million Dollar Campaign

Today, Westin Hotels & Resorts unveils its groundbreaking "For a Better You" ad campaign that uses artistic imagery to depict how the Westin brand experience is designed to help guests leave feeling better than when they arrived. In a departure from the genre, the new campaign is devoid of room and property shots typically featured in hotel advertising. Instead, various amenities and features of the Westin hotel experience – titled the "Elements of Well Being" – are brought to life through a series of images created in a studio setting to illustrate the brand's signature programming including the Westin Heavenly Bed^®, WestinWORKOUT^® and more.

Westin worked with New York-based advertising agency BBH to develop the $30 million campaign, which consists of six unique executions that are currently running in print, online, and in a variety of out-of-home placements. This marks the Westin brand's first new ad campaign to debut in more than five years.

To further differentiate the campaign from others in the hospitality sector, Westin and BBH commissioned French photographer Grégoire Alexandre, known for his dramatic fashion and high-end editorial work, to shoot the ads. To add to the complexity of the campaign, each ad features a unique and intricate set, with none of the imagery devised using computer graphics.

The campaign executions were created as part of a numbered series to illustrate how every element of the Westin guest experience was crafted for one purpose – "For a Better You." Each ad begins with an insight for one of the "Elements of Well Being" and visually captures the essence of each signature Westin brand offering designed specifically to meet that need.

• The Heavenly Bed execution portrays a moment of luxurious bliss while underscoring the benefits of the Westin brand's renowned sleep experience – "A good night's sleep is proven to reduce stress, improve focus, and bolster memory."
• The campaign's resort execution emphasizes the virtues of vacations in a witty and fashionable way. A glamorous bathing-suit clad woman is standing in a stylized pool of water with an umbrella and the ad copy reads "Regular exposure to sunshine is the best natural source of vitamin D. That's why our resorts lie on some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. For a better you." The creative evokes the enjoyment of a Westin resort experience, yet a second glance reveals a secondary image – that of a large tropical drink, where towels form a lemon, a beach ball replicates a cherry, and an umbrella mimics the type found in a tropical drink.
• The Westin brands signature SuperfoodsRx menu and WestinWORKOUT programs are also featured in the campaign.

"Westin's entire brand positioning stems from our mission of helping our guests better themselves. The campaign is designed to illustrate how we do this in ways that our competition doesn't and to reinforce the premium experience Westin delivers," said Brian Povinelli, Global Brand Leader, Westin Hotels & Resorts. "We believe our understanding of our guest's needs is more sophisticated than other brands and wanted a marketing message that reflected that sophistication and at the same time conveyed lightheartedness."

"The campaign was designed to alter the conversation that the brand is having with people," said Greg Andersen, CEO, BBH NY. "We have changed the nature of hotel advertising for Westin because Westin isn't just another hotel. Everything they do is highly considered in order to create a better stay."

The Westin brand's "For a Better You" campaign breaks online today, on top news and lifestyle websites such as the Condé Nast Network, Self.com, Epicurious.com, NYTimes.com and Oprah.com. Newspaper print ads in The New York Times and Wall Street Journal will appear in early May, and June issues of Travel + Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, SELF, Bon Appétit, Oprah and Real Simple will also feature ads from the campaign.

About Westin Hotels & Resorts

Westin Hotels & Resorts makes the healthiest choices irresistibly appealing, so guests leave feeling better than when they arrived. With more than 170 hotels and resorts in over 36 countries and territories, Westin is owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. Starwood Hotels is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with 1025 properties in 100 countries and territories with 145,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood Hotels is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels, resorts and residences with the following internationally renowned brands: St. Regis®, The Luxury Collection®, W®, Westin®, Le Méridien®, Sheraton®, Four Points® by Sheraton, and the recently launched Aloft®, and Element ^SM. Starwood Hotels also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts. For more information, please visit www.starwoodhotels.com.

About BBH New York

BBH is an independent, full-service creative company with clients that include Axe, British Airways, Google, Johnnie Walker, NYC & Company, Sprite, Vaseline, Westin Hotels & Resorts and World Gold Council. BBH NY has been named 4A's U.S. Mid-Sized Agency of the Year four years running. Further information is available at our website, www.bartleboglehegarty.com.