Vice President of Model & Advertising and marketing at Fairmont Resorts & Resorts, Loay Nour, joins the Suite Spot podcast to debate the launch of Fairmont’s international marketing campaign – “Make Particular Occur”.
Tune in now to be taught extra concerning the model and the marketing campaign solely on the Suite Spot.
Ryan Embree:Welcome to Suite Spot, the place hoteliers examine in, and we take a look at what’s trending in resort advertising and marketing. I’m your host, Ryan Embree. Hey everybody. Welcome to a different episode of The Suite Spot. That is your host, Ryan Embree. We’ve got a really particular episode for you at this time. Gonna inform you in a minute why that’s so telling. However first, I’m gonna go forward and introduce a primary time visitor with me at this time, Fairmont Lodge and Resorts, vice President of Model and Advertising and marketing, Loay Nour. Thanks a lot for becoming a member of me right here on The Suite Spot.
Loay Nour:Thanks for having me, Ryan. Trying ahead to our dialog.
Ryan Embree:It’s gonna be an amazing dialog. We’re gonna speak lots about some thrilling issues on Fairmont Lodge and Resorts, belongings you and your group have been engaged on over there. However earlier than we do this, since you’re a first time visitor, I all the time love to only hear everybody’s hospitality background, distinctive journeys to the place they bought there and for you at Fairmont Lodge and Resorts.
Loay Nour:Completely. So my title is Loay Nour, and I’ve been within the hospitality trade for greater than 18 years really now. My background goes particularly in luxurious hospitality model. It’s a ardour that began for me, though I haven’t achieved hospitality college. However I ended up within the hospitality by ardour, not by training. My background is definitely goes very a lot into visitor expertise, model and advertising and marketing, loyalty advertising and marketing, partnerships advertising and marketing. So I’ve bought round like a 360 diploma on advertising and marketing. And at this time, myself and my group we’re in command of the Fairmont model globally, proudly managing a portfolio of 95 inns worldwide, and a really sturdy pipeline of round 28 inns developing within the subsequent few years. And at this time, actually wanting ahead to inform you concerning the chapter of that. We’ve got only recently launched with a brand new marketing campaign of Fairmont Presents Make Particular occur.
Ryan Embree:Yeah, it’s an enormous international marketing campaign. We’re gonna bounce all into it. However earlier than, let’s give our candy spot viewers possibly a bit little bit of a historical past lesson. We’ve had some iconic manufacturers on this Candy Spot podcast. This is perhaps probably the most iconic. It’s bought a wealthy legacy of timeless hospitality because it’s described. Share with our candy spot viewers, a bit bit concerning the origin story behind this unimaginable storied luxurious model.
Loay Nour:It’s really one of many manufacturers that has an amazing legacy and historical past since 1907 with the primary property that opened in San Francisco. Fairmont took its title really from the imaginative and prescient of the foundries, the 2 first sisters which was the primary half of the title. After which the mont was often because the San Francisco was constructed on a mountain, and that was the primary property that was open for us. Since then, we really, our inns has been social epicenters within the completely different locations the place they function. And we had been capable of really host lots of key defining historical past moments just like the black and white ball, just like the mattress in peace with the John Legend and Yoko and Fairmont Queen Elizabeth in Montreal. So we’ve all the time been a spot the place if we all the time prefer to say if it occurs in a metropolis or it occurs in a vacation spot, it occurs at a Fairmont. And till at this time, we really proceed to host these nice moments. We turned a really worldwide model again in 2002 when our first property exterior the America opened in Dubai. And since then, our portfolio has accelerated. At present, we’re a proud member of a core group that manages greater than 42 manufacturers globally. And we’re one of many very well-known and really properly beloved, luxurious manufacturers globally.
Ryan Embree:It’s unimaginable development and we’re gonna discuss that a bit bit later within the episode. However I do need to quick ahead to at this time. Initially, attention-grabbing and enjoyable reality concerning the title of Fairmont. I imply, in the event you ever need some nice hospitality trivia, I feel that little story proper there’s a nice one to attempt to stump possibly your resort associates. However let’s quick ahead at this time in speaking about this unimaginable launch make particular occur, international marketing campaign launch worldwide, such as you stated, you’re catering to vacationers everywhere in the world. What impressed this marketing campaign and the Fairmont Lodge’s new international branding?
Loay Nour:We’ve got really began a really in depth model positioning train couple of months in the past the place with, when you’ve an amazing model with an amazing legacy like Fairmont, you need to just remember to evolve it rigorously. So that you need to preserve all of the legacy of the model, but in addition you need to just remember to are related. So we did lots of focus teams with lots of our companions, company, and even colleagues internally, to essentially deep dive a bit bit concerning the model, who we’re, what we stand for, and what makes us distinctive and differentiate us in a really crowded aggressive panorama. And that is once we got here with our positioning of Make Particular Occur, which mainly our perception and understanding that luxurious at this time will not be a one measurement suits all. It’s really pushed from the idea that each interplay with each visitor symbolize a chance to shock. And that’s as a result of what’s particular to you, Ryan, is perhaps not essentially particular to me. We have to actually perceive the person wants of our company, and that’s the place this has turned a part of our DNA. And we began by integrating that which is what our, all our companions and colleagues have informed us. We began integrating that into our service tradition, into our DNA into our heritage. After which we began slowly to truly evolve that. We partnered with an company based mostly in New York known as Kingdom Companions who really had been an amazing accomplice to work with, and so they noticed by means of what we’re making an attempt to do as a model and what ambition we had and the way will we deliver that to life by means of a marketing campaign. So that they gave it a bit little bit of that. Okay, you’ve all the time been social epicenters, you’ve all the time been dedicated to essentially celebrating moments in folks’s lives since 1907. So they offer it that form of like actually cinematic view the place you take a look at it at this time, once you see just like the poster behind me, for instance, you see that Fairmont Current make particular occur. It’s like a film sort of like actually type. You see lots of the company who symbolize lots of, a few of our visitor personas really that comes into our inns, whether or not it’s the Langman or the Celebration is, or the couple or the household, how all of them come along with our colleagues to make particular occur. After which it ended up with additionally that includes one in all our colleagues, Tom Wolf, who’s an amazing illustration and an amazing model ambassador, America’s first live performance. He nonetheless works in Fairmont, San Francisco. And he’s made an amazing look for us within the marketing campaign as a result of he is a good storyteller and an amazing illustration of what Fairmont is all about. So it actually began with the foundational work that given to us by our companions, colleagues and company. It began to be a part of our positioning infused into our service tradition and who we’re, after which become a marketing campaign of what our promise to the world.
Ryan Embree:It’s unimaginable. And in the event you haven’t seen, I encourage all of my listeners and viewers to go take a look at that video that features a few of these characters we’re gonna discuss in a minute. Simply so superbly artfully achieved. There are congratulations on the marketing campaign, however I feel your story there, Loay, it’s so attention-grabbing to listen to that background as a result of you consider a historic timeless legacy of Fairmont Lodge and resorts and suppose possibly this marketing campaign isn’t wanted due to that historical past, nevertheless it really has that you need to evolve it and, and so that you can have the cautious consideration of not evolving it to a spot the place it’s unrecognizable to these vacationers that you just’ve been catering to for therefore lengthy, however moderately marrying the previous with the way forward for this, of this unimaginable model. It’s so good. And I feel lots of inns, lots of vacationers don’t perceive the effort and time that it takes as a result of even these small modifications to such a model the place folks have had these moments at at Fairmont Resorts, they’ve been married there, they’ve celebrated anniversaries, birthdays, in the event you change one thing an excessive amount of there, you’re gonna hear about it, proper? These are impacting reminiscences and experiences. So it’s so cool to listen to that background. ’trigger I feel lots of, lots of that’s missed typically with these campaigns. So thanks for sharing and you understand, it’s a globally acknowledged model. So once you and your group went about launching this, proper once you first began speaking about it, how did you ensure you’re not simply making an attempt to focus on one sort of traveler, proper? You’re making an attempt to get this within the eyes and ears of each luxurious traveler the world over. How do you go about doing that and ensuring that it’s making that influence?
Loay Nour:Nice query. I feel we actually began by understanding and acknowledging as a group that that is past an promoting marketing campaign. We’ve got the model video, as you talked about for the marketing campaign. And we’ve got a number of the nonetheless imagery that truly we utilized in throughout our personal channels, but in addition a few of our paid media channels. We give attention to our key markets just like the North America, Canada, Asia, center East, and Europe, to be sure that we actually goal the important thing journey and way of life publications and on-line platform. We’re very a lot additionally current throughout the important thing social media channels that we’ve got globally. However we actually acknowledge that that is must transcend an promoting marketing campaign. And that’s why we launched the collection of or a set of particular occur that are experiential, form of like actually platform. When you go to our web site and to our marketing campaign web page Fairmont.com/Specialhappen, you’ll see that we introduce collection of that assortment, that particular occurs after darkish particular occurs across the desk. Particular occurs within the wild as a result of we wished the folks to essentially be capable to ebook these completely different experiences. We wished them to have the ability to expertise what we’re speaking about. And we additionally wished to dwell as much as our promise particular will not be essentially gonna occur solely inside our inns. It could possibly be taking place wherever so long as it’s actually create our particular expertise for you. And so long as we’re capable of flip your moments with us into particular reminiscences that may final with you for a lifetime, then we did the job, proper? So it was essential for us that we attain with you, with who we’re and what we’re making an attempt to do and our model promise, but in addition invite you to have the ability to come and expertise what we imply by we make particular occur. So that you really can use that as a Yeah. Now I really, I get it. Now I perceive what what you imply and what you do. And to your level in, in lots of our key markets, we actually are very a lot, we’ve got excessive model penetration and model consciousness and model love as properly. So it was actually, we needed to dwell as much as the truth that the folks has been, the preliminary suggestions that we’ve been getting is saying, sure, that is precisely what Fairmont is all about. Sure, we are literally we that resonate with me. And I keep in mind I had, and it’s attention-grabbing, once you take a look at our completely different channels, you begin to see how now it’s really the conversations begin to occur in, within the different aspect as a result of now the company are telling us about their particular moments that they’re really had with us, and so they inform us what made, what makes our inns particular, which is a good asset for us.
Ryan Embree:It’s so sensible since you and your group are tapping into a sense, proper? It’s not, it goes past the 4 rooms, the 4 partitions and a mattress, which is the outdated adage for a resort room. It’s a sense, it’s sentiment that in the direction of you, that you just really feel in the direction of an expertise. And people are the kind of reminiscences that may final a lifetime. And it’s actually cool. I feel the neatest half about this marketing campaign, and one of many ones I I discovered probably the most fascinating and was making an attempt to determine which character I used to be, had been a few of these particular characters inside the marketing campaign. And I wished to take a second to sort of speak by means of a few of them in the event you had the time as a result of I feel it’s so good. It does a very easy but efficient job of sharing that once you come to, when a property, a resort, you’re not coming for a similar purpose. You possibly can come as one character, you may come as a number of, and people create these experiences. So I figured what we may do is possibly speak by means of a few of them and you’ll share the tales behind them. Let’s begin with the celebration.
Loay Nour:Yeah, so she is admittedly representing the central character. We name her Melody as a result of she’s the final word connector. She is the one who’s actually determined that she’s gonna actually showcase the colourful world that we’ve got at Fairmont Resorts. And she or he’s the one who’s writing the invitation to everybody. After which she’s the one who’s collaborating with our porter who’s on a mission to make particular occur. So he’s gonna go round to truly Parker, we name him once more, he’s gonna go round and he’s gonna ship them to the company. You see that the company are coming from completely different elements of their experiences, just like the hyperlinks man. He’s the golfer who likes to essentially present the excellence, whether or not he’s on the golf course or wherever else. He’s simply got here again from a form of like actually a golf spherical into the resort, acquired the invitation, instantly acknowledged, what is that this about? and will get excited by shaking the invitation. After which he’s able to go there. And you then see the wellness fanatic that he’s actually charming. He’s like, you may inform that he’s endlessly enjoyable the way in which he actually socialized through the occasion and the way in which that he’s actually going round. And as he goes on that he’s not simply as somebody who’s spending his time within the health club or worrying about himself, however he likes to have enjoyable. My favourite is definitely the household, the muse and hair makers that the way in which that she will get enthusiastic about receiving the invitation and that undeniable fact that the celebration really begins within the room earlier than they even get the household dances collectively as they get the invitation as a result of they know what’s taking place and all the way in which going into the legends within the Ledger, the couple that he really, they love to essentially get pleasure from each time. However what we love about it’s that how everybody comes collectively. And for me, my favourite half is all the time seeing that rush second when, our colleagues begin to run round making ready. And I really like the truth that Tom fold up the liver and eradicate the signal. However he comes with that form of method, like, you understand what it’s the time once more, I’ve achieved this for a few years, I’ve been doing this. The group, as soon as they see the signal is eradicated. They know what is that this about? He lit it up after which everyone seems to be operating round to make particular occur. And the most effective factor is once you see her, you see the celebration, it’s elevating her glass to Parker on the finish who was main the group saying sure, once more, we made particular occur. These are sort of moments that truly occurs inside our inns daily. I can inform you, even once we had been filming, lots of these moments had been taking place behind the scenes the place our colleagues had been operating round to truly make particular occur, which is the filming itself.
Ryan Embree:It so cool and superbly story informed on that video, once more, encourage you to test it out and take a look at to determine which character you’re as a result of we’ve all been that character a couple of times. And you understand, a few of these are simply capitalizing on journey developments that we’re seeing, you understand, the wellness fanatic is, it’s so highly effective proper now within the journey trade. So once more, so good to have all these characters. One in every of my favourite elements of the worldwide marketing campaign, and to tie it altogether with America’s first concierge, Tom Wolf, I feel can be a becoming word to your previous, proper? And your wealthy, wealthy historical past over there at Fairmont. The timing of the marketing campaign couldn’t be extra excellent. I’m certain this was strategically deliberate to do it proper earlier than the busy summer season journey season. Loay, what do luxurious vacationers need to stay up for this summer season when visiting a Fairmont resort and resort property?
Loay Nour:I feel wherever they’re gonna go world wide, they’re gonna discover an expertise that’s really actually designed round what they need. We’ve got a very nice footprint worldwide and we’ve got a diversified portfolio, these personas that we talked about. And the completely different sort of company comes from the truth that our Fairmont inns worldwide, the 95 inns that we’ve got, there are 36 resorts. There are 19 golf resorts that we’ve got. We’ve got extra. We’ve got round 18 inns with the portfolio which might be greater than 100 years outdated inside the portfolio. So it’s really, whether or not you’re on the lookout for a wellbeing expertise, you’re on the lookout for a golf retreat, otherwise you’re on the lookout for a eating expertise, otherwise you’re touring as a pair or a household time, it is possible for you to to search out these experiences inside our inns. However furthermore, this time or this summer season, what’s distinctive with the launch is definitely these, particular occur experiences that we talked about earlier that we’ll be capable to deliver them to you and it is possible for you to to expertise them, not solely inside our inns, but in addition past our inns within the vacation spot. As a result of lots of them is definitely combining an expertise within the resort and within the vacation spot collectively. So it’s really, mainly you count on that particular is there for you, nevertheless it’s gonna must be outlined by you as a result of it’s really what you’re on the lookout for and what you actually need to do that summer season.
Ryan Embree:You understand, I feel one of many issues too Loay, and proper me if I’m flawed, this sort of additionally international marketing campaign will get the workers and the group actually fired up on the opposite aspect to make these particular moments for the company as properly. So, you understand, it has mutual advantages to not solely to your company and luxurious vacationers which might be touring all world wide to your areas, but in addition your workers and your group to say, Hey, let’s make this occur collectively. Let’s make this particular occur collectively this summer season. So very, very thrilling. As we wrap up on the heels of this international launch marketing campaign, you talked about a number of the thrilling developments for Fairmont Lodge and Resorts. What do you see for the longer term and imaginative and prescient of this model Loay?
Loay Nour:I feel that we’re gonna proceed to develop. We’re gonna proceed to go to new thrilling locations this yr. It began already busy for us when it comes to actually the openings because the starting of the yr. We’ve got opened our second property in India in Mumbai. We’ve got opened in LA NDA and Spain Nice Gulf Resorts. We’ve got opened in Prague, our first property, nice metropolis heart location and flagship of the town and the model. We additionally nearly to open in Tokyo in July. So we proceed to enter nice vacation spot for us as a model. We’re additionally gonna proceed our dedication to essentially bettering our visitor expertise and the delivering on our model promise as we develop. However you additionally gonna be capable to see lots of the brand new applications that’s gonna come, whether or not on eating or wellness or by means of a number of the key experiences that we’ve got with the likes of our Fairmont Gold or the resort inside a resort idea. So there’s a nice momentum on the model. There’s a nice development for the model. This marketing campaign is admittedly gonna proceed to place who we’re. The personas that we talked about are, we name them simply the primary chapter as we go on. You would possibly see increasingly more of these personas. And I might say maintain an eye fixed, just remember to observe us on all our social channels since you’re gonna get to know extra about the place the model goes and what we’re doing.
Ryan Embree:Effectively, we’re so excited to see and watch and appears like loads of new alternatives with some new developments within the pipeline to proceed to make particular occur for years and years to return. So, Loay, I wanna thanks for becoming a member of me right here on the Candy Spot. Congratulations once more to you and your group. Very excited to proceed to look at this marketing campaign and see how this model, this iconic model, evolves into the longer term.
Loay Nour:Ryan, thanks very a lot for giving me and us as a model the chance to speak to the Suite Spot listeners, we’re actually pleased that we bought the chance to share our story on the model and inform you a bit bit about it. We invite you to search out out extra about it, go to fairmont.com/make particular occur. You’ll see the video Ryan and I’ve been chatting about. You’ll see the experiences we’ve been speaking about and maintain keep tuned to be taught extra about Fairmont.
Ryan Embree:Superior. Effectively thanks a lot Loay. Thanks for listening to The Suite Spot and we’ll speak to you subsequent time. To affix our loyalty program, you should definitely subscribe and provides us a 5 star ranking on iTunes. Suite Spot is produced by Journey Media Group. Our editor is Brandon Bell with Cowl Artwork by Bary Gordon. I’m your host Ryan Embree, and we hope you loved your keep.
