Hilton Marketing Communication Mix
Hilton marketing communication mix integrates print and media advertising, sales promotions, events and experiences, public relations and direct marketing as discussed below in more details.
Advertising
Hilton engages in print and media advertising to communicate its marketing message to the target customer segment. Hilton marketing message stresses the highest standard of service provision, a high level of integration of information technology in order to maximise service personalization and the perception of status, achievement and recognition.
This marketing message is communicated through a set of specific elements of advertising promotional strategy such as advertisements in newspapers and magazines popular with senior level management professionals such as Forbes, Fortune, The Economist, and Financial Times. Moreover, the communication of Hilton Hotels & Resorts marketing message is also facilitated through broadcast advertisements in selected television channels. ‘Stop Clicking Around’ is one of the recent large-scale marketing campaigns that “challenges the common misconception that third-party Web sites always offer the best prices on hotel rooms”[1].
Sales Promotion
Sales promotion relates to attempts by a business to persuade potential customers to purchase products or services through introducing various incentives. Sales promotion is popular in hotel industry and this specific element of promotion mix is used by Hilton Hotels & Resorts in an intensive manner.
Specifically, Hilton uses the following forms of sales promotions:
- HHonors loyalty programs offer discounted prices, digital check-in, free internet access, late check-out and others. Currently, there are more than 50 million Hilton HHonors members worldwide.[2]
- Discount vouchers are available in official website of the company and a wide range of discount websites.
Hilton Hotels & Resorts gains practical advantages from using sales promotion in the forms of increasing the level of revenues and achieving utilisation of their rooms at a greater extend. However, it is important to note that by introducing aggressive sales promotions, Hilton Hotels & Resorts may be risking to compromise brand value in a way that sales promotion and the possibility to use the brand services in cheaper prices might be compromising the level of exclusiveness of the brand. Furthermore, sales promotions only offer short-term advantages and thus this element of marketing promotion mix is best used only in an occasional manner.
Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. Report contains more detailed discussion of Hilton marketing communication mix and marketing strategy. The report also illustrates the application of the major analytical strategic frameworks in business studies such as SWOT, PESTEL, Porter’s Five Forces, Value Chain analysis and McKinsey 7S Model on Hilton. Moreover, the report contains analysis of Hilton’s leadership and organizational structure and discusses the issues of corporate social responsibility.
[1]Gazdik, T. (2016) “Hilton Launches Largest Campaign Ever” Media Post, Available at: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/269083/hilton-launches-largest-campaign-ever.html
[2]Annual Report (2015) Hilton Worldwide