Online Campaign Asks: "What Would You Do With A Million Dollars?" — For One Consumer, That Wish Could Become Reality
New York — July 5, 2006 — Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH), one of the world's largest lodging franchisors, and Agency.com, the full service interactive agency, today announced the launch of the Digital Wishing Well online campaign. The campaign is part of the Choice Hotels "Key to a Million Sweepstakes" summer promotion for its Econo Lodge and Rodeway Inn brands, which offer affordable travel accommodations at over 1,000 locations nationwide. The promotion, which runs through August 18, gives the $50,000 winner a chance to pick one of 20 room keys, one of which will open the door to a $1,000,000 prize.
The Wishing Well portion of the promotion includes dynamic advertising units on third-party Web sites that ask the question, "What would you do with a million dollars?" Visitors can submit wishes directly into the real-time advertising units, and upon submission, the entry is added to the Digital Wishing Well where it can be seen along with others' entries by scrolling over the wishes, which are in the shape of coins.
The experience recurs on the contest landing page, which also features the Wishing Well component. On the landing page, users can enter the sweepstakes and see other entrants' wishes. Additionally, the landing page includes a viral component for visitors to send the contest link directly to their friends.
"We are excited to offer one consumer a chance at $1,000,000, courtesy of Choice Hotels and our Econo Lodge and Rodeway Inn brands," said Wayne Wielgus, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Choice Hotels. "This promotion is an excellent opportunity to introduce online consumers to our economy brands, which provide great hotels for value-oriented travelers."
This campaign will target both leisure and business travelers through placement on travel, lifestyle, business and government Web sites such as TripAdvisor, Weather.com, CNN Money and Military.com. The promotion also will be advertised through an SEM campaign, complementing standard search terms with unique keywords reflective of the grand prize: "key to a million" and "one million dollars." Individuals can also enter the contest at the Econo Lodge Web site or the Rodeway Inn Web site.
"For our Summer promotion, we sought to develop an innovative, interactive marketing experience that would enhance consumer recognition and awareness of our Econo Lodge and Rodeway Inn brands," said Laura Bajkowski, Vice President of Marketing and Advertising at Choice Hotels International. "This campaign meets our objective by delivering an enjoyable, memorable online experience."
"In this and future campaigns, our goal is to deliver captivating online experiences, not just messages, that ultimately help drive a greater overall customer experience for Choice Hotels," said Tom Ajello, Vice President, Creative Director for Agency.com. "The Digital Wishing Well gives customers the opportunity to dream and think about the luxury of one million dollars, while staying close to the brand."
Choice Hotels International franchises more than 5,200 hotels, representing more than 425,000 rooms, in the United States and more than 40 countries and territories. As of March 31, 2006, 653 hotels are under development in the United States, representing 51,157 rooms, and an additional 69 hotels, representing 6,223 rooms, are under development in more than 20 countries and territories. The company's Cambria Suites, Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Quality, Clarion, Sleep Inn, Econo Lodge, Rodeway Inn, MainStay Suites and Suburban Extended Stay Hotel brands serve guests worldwide. Additional corporate information may be found on the Choice Hotels Internet site, which may be accessed at www.choicehotels.com.
Agency.com is a full-service interactive agency. Since 1995, the company has created effective interactive marketing campaigns and world-class Web sites to help global clients – including 3M, British Airways, T-Mobile and Visa – get and keep customers online. Agency.com is headquartered in New York and has offices in Amsterdam, Brussels, Chicago, Dallas, London and San Francisco. For more information, visit www.agency.com. Agency.com is part of TBWA Worldwide, an Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC) company. Omnicom is a Fortune 500 global advertising, marketing and communications company. Omnicom's branded networks and numerous specialty firms provide advertising, strategic media planning and buying, direct and promotional marketing, public relations and other specialty communications services to over 5,000 clients in more than 100 countries.
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All trademarks, trade names, service marks, and logos referenced herein belong to
their respective owners.
Choice Hotels, Choice Hotels International, Cambria Suites, Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Quality, Clarion, Sleep Inn, MainStay Suites, Suburban Extended Stay Hotel, Econo Lodge and Rodeway Inn are proprietary trademarks and service marks of Choice Hotels International.
* NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. OPEN TO LEGAL RESIDENTS OF THE U.S. 50 STATES (D.C.), 21 or older. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. Ends 8/17/06. For official rules, prize values, and odds disclosure visit http://www.choicehotels.com/officialrules. Sponsor: Choice Hotels International Services Corp., 10750 Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20901.
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