Crowne Plaza Targets Business Travellers

Autumn Think Tank Campaign

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. October 14, 2008

SEPTEMBER 12, 2007. Crowne Plaza, one of the hotel brands in the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) portfolio, has announced the launch of its 'Think Tank' concept which aims to strengthen its position as the hotel of choice for the discerning business traveller.

The brand's first integrated campaign will launch across Europe this September with a unique series of Think Tank events, providing guests with an environment to consider or debate new ideas.

These evenings will bring together an elite group of visionary business leaders, known as "The Crowne Plaza Mavericks". Selected for their fresh, forward-thinking approach and subsequent success in their field of business, these influential figures will offer business travellers an insight into the tools that they use to stay ahead of the game, as well as providing practical advice and inspiration.

"Slow movement" guru and best-selling author of "In Praise of Slow", Carl Honor'e, will host the first Think Tank event at the Crowne Plaza London - The City on Monday 24 September. This will be followed by similar events in Hamburg (11 October), Brussels (17 October) and Rome (7 November), each hosted by a different Maverick.

A Think Tank microsite created at http://www.crowneplazathinktank.com will contain various business tools, including tips and advice from the European Mavericks as well as details and news about all the events.

With the Think Tank events at its heart, the campaign will be broken down into various components. These include a media partnership with the Financial Times (FT), point of sale material in all Crowne Plaza properties, promotional support through newsletters to members of the Priority Club Rewards programme - the largest hotel loyalty scheme in the world - together with further print and online advertising support across EMEA. The microsite will launch in early September in the UK and will then roll out across Europe.

Colin Roy, IHG's VP Marketing & Revenue Management EMEA, said: "Crowne Plaza has always been a pioneering brand that recognises the needs of its business clientele and strives to create an environment which allows guests to stay one step ahead of their competitors. In formulating the Crowne Plaza Think Tank concept our aim has been to develop a campaign that embodies the brand's pioneering and individual spirit whilst inspiring our target market."

Crowne Plaza hotels are designed with the business traveller in mind and benefit from a unique insight into their needs, having recently conducted the industry's most extensive travel research to identify the key business expectations of its clientele. The Think Tank campaign aims to increase Europe-wide awareness of the Crowne Plaza brand and strengthen its positioning amongst business travellers.

The campaign has been developed by lead strategic agency Out of the Blue Communications (event and experiential marketing), Anorak (microsite), Carat (media buyers), Henry's House (PR) and Proximity (advertising).