Hilton Strikes With A ‘Bang’ in New Branded Entertainment Deal
In a new twist on branded entertainment, the Hilton Family of Hotels on Monday announced a multi-year agreement with Clear Channel Entertainment Properties to rename New York’s Ford Center for the Performing Arts to the Hilton Theatre.
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| Consumers can enter the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang sweeps to win tickets to see the show at the newly renamed Hilton Theatre |
The joint partnership gives Hilton and Clear Channel Entertainment Properties new ways to link the travel, leisure and hospitality industry with the performing arts via promotions and sweepstakes, venue branding, and VIP benefits, said Jeffrey Diskin, senior VP-brand manager for Hilton Hotels.
“Show business and entertainment have been closely associated with hotel stays in the past,” Diskin said. “We are looking at invigorating the Hilton brand. We want people to associate Hilton with the biggest, the best, the pinnacle.”
“The partnership we have with Clear Channel…provides added value for our Hilton customers,” he added. “We think it’s a great association for us.”
The theater was renamed the Hilton Theatre in January. Financial details about the partnership were unavailable.
The deal encompasses more than 2,500 hotels worldwide and eight brands under the Hilton Hotel Corp.—Hilton, Embassy Suites Hotels, Doubletree, Hampton Inn, Hilton Garden Inn, Homewood Suites by Hilton, Conrad, and Hilton Grand Vacations Club. Signage in Hilton brand hotels and a billboard on 43rd Street support.
The partnership brings new meaning for branded entertainment, boosting the hotel industry as well as generating buzz for Broadway shows, said Bruce Eskowitz, president of Clear Channel Entertainment Properties.
“It’s not just about naming rights,” Eskowitz said. “It’s about creating a compelling, multi-platform brand experience that will connect the Hilton brand with Broadway throughout the nation.”
The classic family show Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, will debut at the Hilton Theatre on Thursday, April 28, marking the first Broadway production at the newly renamed theater at 213 W 42nd St. To promote the show’s opening, the Hilton Family of Hotels has launched a national sweepstakes, which offers the grand-prize winner a trip to New York, four tickets to see Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, a VIP tour of the theater before the show, lunch with a cast member and other prizes.
Consumers who book a room online at any of the Hilton brand hotels with a stay through June 30 will be automatically entered in the sweepstakes. Fifty first-prize winners will receive a Chitty Chitty Bang Bang DVD. Winners will be selected at random on Aug. 16. Internet materials support.
Clear Channel Entertainment’s relationship with Hilton will introduce the hotel chain to new promotional opportunities. For example, Hilton hotels will serve as the official hotel sponsor and participate in local market promotions in select Clear Channel Broadway Across America markets, including Boston, Orlando, FL, Miami, FL, Indianapolis, IN, Portland, OR, and Philadelphia, PA.
In addition, the venture will let Hilton offer members of its loyalty program, Hilton Honors, new premiums and incentives including advanced ticket sales and weekend packages or group sales tickets for corporate incentives, Diskin said.
“It’s giving [consumers] something that is unique and differentiating,” Diskin said. “Whether it’s for business or pleasure, taking advantage of a show is a great opportunity. The travel industry and theater really go hand-in-hand.”
The hotel chain may be also affiliated with a National Broadway Tour in Clear Channel Entertainment road markets each year.
“The relationship opens up tremendous opportunities,” Eskowitz said. “It’s a revolutionary step in theaters for marketing. [It] will open up their brand to new, very great audiences of millions of people who go to Broadway. To us, it makes all the sense in the world.”
