How Samsung And Marriott Are Revolutionizing Brand Storytelling In Streaming

As CTV advertising becomes increasingly sophisticated and native, brands and platforms are partnering in new and innovative ways to give consumers more immersive experiences. Branded content is a big part of that, as advertisers realize that longer form programming that’s relevant and interesting can help to boost consumer’s perception of their brands. 

I sat down with Annie Granatstein, Vice President, Content Marketing at Marriott International, and Cathy Oh, Global Head of Marketing at Samsung Ads, to discuss the vision, strategy, and insights behind Marriott’s new Travel by Design Campaign.

ALAN WOLK (AW): Tell me what is Travel by Design all about? What was the inspiration for going the branded content route?

Annie Granatstein (AG): Marriott's got a vast collection of about 30 hotel brands worldwide. We realized we could share some fascinating design stories about these places, given our guests' interest in architecture and design. We kicked off Travel by Design last October, a platform where we reveal the inspiration behind some of our best known hotels.

AW: What kind of hotels are we talking about here?

AG: We're looking at places like the W Hotel in Rome, The Ben in West Palm Beach, and the Hotel Marques de Riscal in Spain, to name a few. We've got films, articles, podcasts, even photography about the work of famous designers like Frank Gehry. We partnered up with Samsung Ads to create a space for our four premium short films on Samsung TV Plus, their free streaming service.

AW: Why did you choose CTV as the platform for this versus just setting up a website?

AG: We wanted to use different channels to their full potential to tell our stories. CTV was the perfect platform to really show off the beauty of our hotels. You can really appreciate it more when you see it on a big screen in full 4K HD. 

Cathy Oh (CO): CTV has transformed how we use Smart TVs for advertising. Now, it's not just about 15, 30, or 60 second spots. Branded content is a big part of the future of CTV as brands realize the power that their messaging has on a big screen. That’s especially true when they have a very visually-oriented story to tell. When Marriott approached us about Travel by Design, we built a custom solution for them in Samsung TV Plus. We used our advanced targeting capabilities to ensure the right audience could see Travel by Design in a premium streaming environment.

AW: What was the main goal of this campaign?

AG: At the most basic level, we wanted viewers to really fall in love with some of our most special hotels and destinations, places they may not have known about, using the power of the biggest screen in the house - their TVs. At a macro level, we wanted them to associate Marriott with these sorts of beautiful vistas and with thoughtful design. Knowing the inside story of how the hotel was designed is going to increase their desire to someday visit.

AW: How did you measure success for this campaign? What sort of KPIs did you use?

AG: We used brand lift as a way to measure our success. This was not meant as a direct response campaign, so we were not looking for people to watch and then immediately call their travel agent. Though if it did happen….

AW: Can you share some of the results you're proud of?

AG: We saw an increase in awareness, brand favorability, and consideration intent for the 18-44 age group, which was above the usual benchmarks for the hotel category.

CO: We were also able to exceed Kantar Millward Brown's internal Hotel benchmark, which is always a great achievement.

AW: How have viewers reacted?

AG: We've received some really positive responses. It's been fantastic hearing from viewers who not only enjoyed watching the episodes but also ended up booking a stay at the hotels we featured.

AW: What's next on the horizon for Marriott?

AG: CTV and our partnership with Samsung are really working out for us. So we're going to keep sharing these unique design stories on Samsung TV Plus and expand Travel by Design to reach audiences all over the world.