Tuesday, August 19th, 2008 by eydie
Marketers who read this blog want to keep up on the latest developments in the industry. So maybe some of you already read Event Marketer magazine’s June issue–specifically, the feature on the winner of its Grand Ex Award, the Stoli Hotel. If so, you’ll be interested to know how the mobileStorm platform played a crucial role in the Stoli marketing campaign.
The vodka-maker’s marketers created a traveling top-line hotel–described as an “ultra-luxe” “pop-up experience”–that appeared for just a few weeks Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, New York, and San Francisco. Think of it like a traveling circus big top–and when you think about it, as magical as the supernatural camping tents described in the Harry Potter books! The Stoli Hotel, all of 20,000 square feet, showcased bedrooms, bars, spa services, and lounges like you’d see in a permanent building–and where guests drank cocktails made from the brand of vodka in question, of course.
Because of the short-term nature and the immediacy of the event, Stolichnaya marketers had to quickly generate buzz prior to each Stoli Hotel stop. It started advertising in the respective cities about one month before arrival. On the website stolihotelrsvp.com, there was a dedicated landing page for each city—on which interested consumers signed up to receive more detailed email messages about the hotel.
Stoli marketers then used mobileStorm RSVP Manager to create and maintain its database of people who wanted to visit the hotel. As you may know, RSVP Manager is the first comprehensive event management software that incorporates multiple forms of messaging into a single system. It lets clients collect responses and more information about event attendees via SMS, email, and/or a Web form. Because RSVP Manager gathers so much data, clients can also get comprehensive reports on the success of their campaigns. (Read more about mobileStorm RSVP Manager here.)
“Thousands and thousands” of Stoli Hotel guests came each night, said the Stolichnaya brand director at Pernod Ricard. More impressive is how effective the campaign was: After attending the hotel event, 86 percent of consumers said they were likely to drink Stoli; 76 percent bought the vodka in a bar or restaurant; 80 percent said the experience improved their thoughts about the brand; and 94 percent told their friends about the Stoli Hotel.
Grand Ex-worthy results indeed. Thanks, in part, to RSVP Manager.
Eydie Cubarrubia, Marketing Communications Manager, mobileStorm
“I’d rather you text me”
RSS confuses many. Could be that the acronym itself makes it appear more complicated than it really is. So the first thing you should know is what RSS really stands for: Real Simple Syndication. Note the word “simple”!
The good news, as 
I went to Chicago last week for the long-weekend family reunion that my mom’s side holds every other year. The coolest thing this time ‘round was the yellow school bus my cousins and I rented to go from the ‘burbs to barhopping in downtown Chi-town! The second-coolest aspect of the weekend was the dominance of text-message marketing. Sure, it’s nice to really get away from work and anything related therein. But I gotta be happy when my industry is doing well, especially with the impending recession.
