To considerable fanfare, IHG has launched an impressive-looking new advertising campaign. The aim is to promote the revamped IHG One Rewards loyalty program as well as the hotel group’s 17 brands.

“IHG Hotels & Resorts is reminding the world what it feels like to be a guest. The company’s newest global marketing campaign, Guest How You Guest, is a celebration of hotels and taking a break from having to do it all. IHG is passionate in its belief that when people are taken care of – they feel free to be themselves and live their best lives. With Guest How You Guest, the company is sharing that message loudly through vibrant images and fresh storytelling…

The multimillion-dollar Guest How You Guest campaign amplifies true-to-life travel moments and shows how guests can define their own journey at IHG hotels. Whether it’s sports fans staying at a Holiday Inn Express to support their team on the road, a Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants guest taking their work calls poolside, or a couple celebrating with all the room service at an InterContinental Hotels & Resorts property – they all experience the heartfelt care IHG hotels provide. It goes beyond all are welcome; it’s that all are welcomed to be cared for.”  

It is fair to say that IHG are extremely serious about this campaign, backing it with substantial investment:

“Backed by the most extensive media campaign investment IHG has ever made for loyalty, Guest How You Guest reflects a playful perspective of a personalized stay at an IHG hotel. It evokes a desire to travel, explore and indulge. The images and videos will appear online, in television ads, magazines, billboards, murals and even subway stations.”

You can watch a video to get a sense of how they are pitching things here.

Bottom line

The photography is stylish and bold and I do like the emphasis on loyalty, as well as the narrative focus on the fun of being treated like a guest. With any advertising campaign though, the real test is whether what is delivered ‘on the ground’ has any similarity at all to what is promised. Get that wrong and the expensive adverts can seem like a bad joke.

I have stayed at a few IHG hotels recently and have been pleased with how the new IHG One Rewards benefits are being delivered so far, but it is early days. Let’s hope that the sort of attention paid to marketing continues to carry through to guest experience.

What do you think about the new IHG advertising campaign, and how are you finding IHG One Rewards?