Buffing brand appeal
Requests for brown sugar and honey massages, eucalyptus soaks and grain and spice facials are in high demand, with spas throwing open their doors in record numbers to embrace the stressed and weary guest seeking a little pampering and rejuvenation.
This high demand — some 136 million spa visits made in the U.S. in 2003 — has spurred a new revenue stream for aestheticians, whose services are now dangled as experiential rewards tied to a broad range of brand campaigns.
When Coke launched its new My Coke Rewards program earlier this year, a spa experience was an important reward component. Under the program, spa experiences can be earned at various point levels, from $20 off the purchase of $150 or more at SpaFinder.com for a member who earns 90 points to one massage per month for 12 months via a $1,000 Spa Finder gift certificate for 5,700 points.
Tetley Tea ran an entire promotion around the grand prize of an ultimate spa vacation; Spa Finder was featured on 15 million packages. And Buick ran a program dangling a $100 Spa Finder gift certificate in exchange for a vehicle test drive. The 21-month program distributed 1.2 million invitations via direct mail, event marketing and e-mail to women only inviting them to take a test drive of the GMC Envoy. Those who completed the test drive got the gift certificate and two additional invitations to pass on to friends. The program, which ended in February 2004, pulled a 12% response rate and prompted Buick to run similar programs.
Even Fabio is in the game. A recent Unilever sweepstakes seeks a replacement for Fabio, the spokesman for its I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter brand. The Hunk Search triggered an instant-win message for all players and an entry into a drawing that, among a number of prizes — including dinner with the new hunk — featured a trip to the 2007 Daytime Emmy Awards and a day at a spa for two. The promotion ends May 31.
And the list goes on, with spa incentives engaging lesser known brands, as well.
Fairmont Hotels and Resorts offered its 500,000 President’s Club members a contest that dangled a number of prizes, including a getaway to the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa and spa gift baskets. The Sun, a British tabloid newspaper, wanted to get its female readers to participate in a survey on body image and used the chance for a two-night spa break as an incentive.
“People are taking even the most obscure products and services and wrapping a spa theme around it,” says Laura Campbell, VP-gift certificate division, Spa Finder, Inc., New York City, which features details and images of more than 3,600 spas on its site. “You wouldn’t have seen that three years ago, but everybody’s doing it because the consumers respond to it.”
To meet the demand for pampering, the number of U.S. spa locations grew at an average annual rate of 12% between 2002 and 2004. There are now an estimated 12,100 spas across the U.S., according to figures from the International Spa Association, Lexington, KY.
And incentives have never played a larger role for the spas themselves in making new friends and keeping the old. If a consumer comes in under a reward, incentive program or gift certificate, spas want to ensure they come back again and again under new loyalty programs.
At Nob Hill Spa at the Huntington Hotel, San Francisco, a new loyalty program began this year after a few new spas popped up in town.
The Path to Well Being program features a free experience as a reward each time a guest experiences one treatment or service. For example, the first time a guest uses the spa, they receive a wellness class as a gift. If they then have a facial, they get an eye treatment. And once the guest experiences all five areas of the spa, they get a day pass to come back and use the facilities or take a class.
“We wanted to make sure that our clientele was staying loyal and that we’re creating some interest for them,” says Jenean Laroche, spa director at Nob Hill Spa.
That includes a loyalty program for its business customers, called Corporate Retreat Program, which offers some 125 different participating companies three different levels of awards. Day users get gifts and incentives to return, while repeat guests join a frequent-flyer-type program where for every $1,000 spent the customer receives a $100 gift certificate for a future visit.
On a much larger scale, Spa Week was held last month at about 200 spas in 10 cities across the country, including New York, Los Angeles, Washington, DC, Chicago and Atlanta. The promotion offered a choice of two or three spa treatments at each facility for only $50 each. (The average spa treatment is $75). And once a consumer tried a treatment, incentives were dangled — often in the form of discounts — to come back for more.
Mohonk Mountain House, a resort in New Paltz, New York, offers a $10 discount on one additional spa service or product as part of its welcome gift. The resort opened a full-service spa last summer that includes a heated indoor swimming pool and expanded fitness center to build traffic during the cold winter months. A number of value adds are part of its $75 It’s Spa-tacular! spa treatment including unlimited access to the steam and sauna facilities and outdoor mineral pool. The welcome gift also includes a flacon of Signature Mohonk oil and bath salts in addition to the 10% discount.
“Life is so fast, so hectic. It’s just a wonderful way to renew,” says Nina Smiley, director of marketing at Mohonk.
