ZENZI was hired by Hilton San Diego Mission Valley to promote and publicize the $20 million renovation of hotel facilities and grand opening of its brand new gourmet restaurant STISH.  Hilton wanted to raise its profile in the corporate and meeting/ events industries and become a known destination for business and conference travelers in San Diego.  ZENZI was tasked with developing messaging for a variety of target demographics including local and national media, business community and meeting/ event planners.

ZENZI built a proprietary list of potential sales targets encompassing the event industry, government agencies, corporations, sports teams, business organizations and associations, non-profits, real estate, financial professionals and various other influencers to invite to the event.

To kick off the $20 million renovation, ZENZI created a celebration that showcased all the most unique attributes of the hotel and give guests a taste of the endless ways they could use the venue for meetings and events.  ZENZI set up themed food and drink stations through out the hotel grounds (i.e., the presidential suite hosted an after-hours relaxed atmosphere with champagne and caviar, the lounge served signature martini and mini burgers, poolside cabanas encouraged guests to put their feet up as if they were on vacation, sip Mai Tais and enjoy Pupus).  To keep the party lively, music was staged according the themed station ranging from jazz soloists to a Cuban band.

To make the Hilton experience come alive for guests, ZENZI devised a “scavenger hunt” promotion where contestants toured different stations and collected stamps to be entered into a sweepstakes.  Entrants who completed the full tour of hotel facilities were eligible to win a vacation at any Hilton Hotel worldwide.

In addition to sales prospects, ZENZI arranged for numerous local and national media contacts to attend the celebration, mingle with guests and view the spectacular renovation firsthand.

Results:

The media relations campaign garnered over three million media impressions for the Hilton, including feature stories in meeting/events trades such as Adjourn Magazine, Corporate Meetings and Incentives, Lodging, Financial and Insurance Meetings, and Hospitality Magazine, and local media including signonsandiego.com, San Diego Union Tribune, 944 and many more.  STISH was named in the “Hot Stuff” section of San Diego Magazine, and recognized by the San Diego Union Tribune as “Spot of the Week.”   The value of the media exposure was estimated at over $200,000. Attendance exceeded expectations with over 500 guests and VIPs from numerous targeted industries. Several conferences and events were booked as a direct result of the kickoff celebration.

According to Mark Tennision, Hilton Sales Director, “ZENZI’s precise execution and forward-thinking campaign was vital to the success of our grand reopening. We immediately saw a return on the media coverage.  It directly resulted in new business opportunities.”