Reverse Engineering (RE): Marriott Rewards Print Ads

Part I: Advertisement and Company Overview Advertisement 1: Marriot Rewards

Reverse Engineering (RE): Marriott Rewards Print Ads

Marriott Rewards

Marriott rewards system consists of three level of membership which is silver, gold and platinum level. Each membership level receives exclusive hotel benefits and the recognition by Marriott. Marriott Rewards awards travelers their choice of frequent flyer miles or points toward free vacations and merchandise when choosing any of 3,100 Marriott hotels in 65 countries worldwide. In addition to earning points or miles for dollars spent at participating hotel brands, members who stay with Marriott just 10 or more nights during a given year also receive special "Elite" benefits and services that make travel more convenient such as what has been advertised in Newsweek above.

Reverse Engineering (RE): Marriott Rewards Print Ads

Company Background Marriott International Inc. is a leading lodging company. The company was form from a simple root beer stand in Washington, D.C. by John Marriott in 1927 (Goldwasser, 1986). It was expanded and developed as a chain restaurant. It then diversified its business into airline catering. It opened its first hotel in Arlington, Virginia in 1957. The chairman and Corporate Executive Officer is J. William Marriott, the son of John Marriott. The company headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland with 146,000 employees. The companys portfolio encompasses more than 3400 managed and franchised properties across 18 brands in the United States and 69 other countries as well as territories. Marriott Lodging operates and franchises hotel under the following brands:

Marriott Hotels & Resorts Renaissance Hotels Autograph Collection AC Hotels by Marriott Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott Town Place Suites by Marriott Marriott Vacation Club Executive Stay Marriott Executive Apartments

JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts EDITION Hotels Courtyard Marriott Residence Inn by Marriott Marriott Conference Centers SpringHill Suites by Marriott The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C. The Ritz-Carlton Destination Club Grand Residences by Marriott

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Marriotts spirit to serve its customers, associates, the environment and communities is an important part of the companys culture and is integrated into how they do business. Marriott International adheres to high ethical and uncompromising standards. Social responsibility is affirmed as the companys DNA. Marriotts strength and competitive advantage are the values that its associates around the world embrace and practice. The guiding principle and foundation for Marriotts sustainability

commitment was formed base on the J. Willard Marriott statement that says if you take care of your associates, your associates will take care of the customers and your customers will come back. Marriott embrace a global mindset to focus on advancing its associates cultural competence with the aim to effectively compete in a complex global market place. Rich diversity of culture, talent and experiences of its guests and associates around the world is the greatest strength of this lodging company. It also believe that the companys diverse structure makes it stronger, culture more vibrant, business model more nimble and their work more meaningful.

Reverse Engineering (RE): Marriott Rewards Print Ads

Reverse Engineering (RE): Marriott Rewards Print Ads

Part II: Media Planning Analysis Media Strategy i) Target Audience Selection Target audience is strongly influenced by Marriotts target market. Marriott has different tiers of customer that they targeted on. All in the entire main or the general target market of Marriott is the travellers whom anyone who needs stay and accommodation. In a more specific manner Marriott targeted on men and women travellers who needs convenience stay and also required mobile business facilities such as internet to ease business communication process. ii) Media and Vehicle Media are the general communication methods that carry advertising messages such as television, magazines, newspapers, and radio. However vehicles are the specific broadcast programs or print choices in which advertisements are placed. Therefore in this case, media selected by Marriott is magazine and vehicle is Newsweek magazine. iii) Message Strategy The advertising message strategy describes what is to be communicated and how it is to be communicated. It consists of the: Message idea: the main theme, appeal, or benefit to be communicated in the message. Marriott: Benefit communication-MARRIOTT REWARDS Copy platform: a written statement that fully describes the message idea. Marriott: JOIN TODAY! GET FREE INTERNET WHEN YOU STAY.

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The message idea was to encourage customer to join the rewards program in order for them to enjoy a credible members benefits Message or creative format: a broad creative approach used to communicate the message idea to the target audiences. It can be in many ways such as testimonial, slice of life, symbolism, word plays, made-up phrases or emotions. Marriott: YOU CANT PUT A PRICE ON STAYING CONNECTED. SO WE DONT....JOIN TODAY! GET FREE INTERNET WHEN YOU STAY. Use word plays and made-up phrases.

iv)

Advertising Objectives

In relation to the companys product life-cycle, Marriott is at the maturity stage. At this stage with increased competition the organization take persuasive and reminder tactics to encourage the consumers to purchase their product over their rivals. Any differential advantage will be

Reverse Engineering (RE): Marriott Rewards Print Ads

clearly communicated to the target audience to inform of their benefit over their competitors. A part from that, the objectives can also be: To increase customer preference for the organizations services. To increase customer loyalty to the organization. To encourage customers to switch from using a competitive organization. To remind customers to book at the organization now or in the future. To remind customers about facilities or services that is unique to the sponsoring organization. To remind customers about when they should book or reserve the organizations services. To remind customers of the existence of the organization.

v)

Media Selection Magazines can be classified either Trade or Consumer Magazines, circulated either weekly, monthly or bimonthly and produced either geographically by local, regional or national. Therefore as for; Marriott-Newsweek: Consumer Magazines with monthly circulation and circulated on regional based. Guess-In Trend: Consumer Magazines with monthly circulation and circulated on national based. Why Newsweek and why In trend? Each medium and vehicle has a unique set of characteristics and virtues. The reasons why Marriott and Guess choose magazine as their printed media strategy is:

Reverse Engineering (RE): Marriott Rewards Print Ads

a) Target specific consumers Magazines company normally has media kits and rate cards that provide potential advertisers with thorough information about their readership. Information such as the readership's income, marital status, education level, buyer behavior, gender, interests and geographic location are outlined. This information gives potential advertisers a clear overview of the types of individuals who subscribe to and read specific magazines. Magazine publishers make this information available to potential advertisers so they can determine whether the magazine's readership mirrors their target market. Magazine publishers use surveys to gather information about their readership. b) Reproduction Quality High print quality, full of colours and flawless paper may attract readers to pulse their eyes on the ads compared to the newspapers. c) Ad Layout Flexibility Magazine advertisements offer potential advertisers more control and flexibility when it comes to creating layouts to advertise products and services. With most advertisements appearing on 8.5-by-11-inch pages, businesses have a full page to persuade consumers to try their product or services, in comparison to several lines of text a Yellow Pages advertisement might provide. Coupled with flexible layout options, magazines afford advertisers the opportunity to display high-quality ads with colors and high-resolution images to make them more appealing to consumers.

Reverse Engineering (RE): Marriott Rewards Print Ads

d) Longer Ads Life Span Enter the home of an avid magazine reader and you'll notice magazines displayed on coffee tables and on bookshelves. Magazines have a longer shelf life than newspapers, so it's no wonder businesses opt to advertise their products and services in them. Not only do magazine readers store months and years worth of their favorite magazines, they often pass the magazines along to friends and family members, if they find a noteworthy article to share. Magazine Publishers of America indicates that magazine readers are more likely to influence their family and friends' purchases. Sharing magazines is beneficial to advertisers because the more people who get their hands on a magazine, the greater the possibility that a potential client will see an advertisement that persuades them to buy a product or sign up for a service. e) Ability to communicate detailed information. It is a good choice for the company whereby magazine offers them a chance to communicate and expressed detailed information about their product and services which not offered by other medium such as radio and television.

Reverse Engineering (RE): Marriott Rewards Print Ads

Part III: Marketing Communication Analysis

Since both products currently is considered at the maturity stage, the marketing communication objective and marketing strategy are explained in the graph as below:

Source: Paul Hauge, Director, B2B International, New York

Reverse Engineering (RE): Marriott Rewards Print Ads

Part IV: Situation Analysis

i)

Swot Analysis

Marriott is a global hospitality company that operates and franchises hotels and lodging facilities. The company with its global presence and strong brand recognition is a formidable player in the international lodging market. However, the threats of terrorist attacks could hamper the companys international operations.

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Strengths Technical innovations to ease the business process and increase hassle-free experience for the customers Higher brand recognition and recall makes the company priority choice for clients Global presence and strong brand portfolio diversifies the revenue sources Opportunities Strong growth in the hotel and motel industry in emerging markets Improving hospitality market in the US. Brand innovations to suit the changing customer preferences

Weaknesses 1. Business model which has the potential to dilute the brand perception and limit the revenue growth 2. Weak financial performance affecting the companys expansion plans

Threats 1. Vulnerability to terrorist attacks raises security and safety concerns 2. Fragmented and intensely competitive lodging industry

Reverse Engineering (RE): Marriott Rewards Print Ads

ii)

Competitors Analysis

The industry is highly fragmented and no player commands more than 10 percent of the market share. Competition in the industry is generally based on the quality of rooms, restaurants, meeting facilities and services, attractiveness of locations, availability of a global distribution system, price and other factors. Although Marriotts global presence across 68 countries enables it to offer services to a large number of customers, it lags behind its competitors that presence in 80-100 countries throughout the world. The closest competitors and the position to take from is Hilton Hotels. Hilton is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world. It is primarily involved in the management and development of hotels across the globe. Initially Hilton focused on acquiring and owning more real estate. However, it has recently changed its growth strategy, and it now focuses on spreading its operations through franchisees. This enables the company to earn revenues in the form of franchisee fee without incurring any additional costs to purchase real estate and construct hotels.

Reverse Engineering (RE): Marriott Rewards Print Ads

Marriotts Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning Analysis

Market Segmentation is a fundamental marketing concept. Simply stated, customers in market either have different needs, or similar needs with different priorities. Either way, the firm job is to place customers in a group so that each group is relatively homogeneous in its needs profile. A specifically designed market offer will satisfy a customer group that has a homogeneous need profile. A second group of customers, with a different need profile, will require a different market offer. We call these groups market segments.

Therefore, in 1985, Marriott Hotels, Resorts and Suites was a domestic (U.S.) mid to large size hotel chain. Marriott decided to enhance the travelers value by segmenting the market and targeting selected segments, each with a different brand as a positioning strategy. Then as now, Marriott was the flagship brand. Each new brand would support Marriotts over all brand identity

Reverse Engineering (RE): Marriott Rewards Print Ads

a committed to a superior customer service through a training that enables and encourage employees to have a passion for service.

However Marriott is not concentrating on a single base of segmentation strategy. Results of the analysis has shown that Marriott has use a multiple bases of segmentation strategy such as geodemographic through Marriotts international expansion to Asian countries by targeting at different income segments using psychographics elements such as lifestyle and personality characteristic. This approach combines the best attributes of undifferentiated marketing and concentrated marketing. This is because; Marriott believed that all customers require a base service level. It also believed that customers differ in their willingness to pay for different level of comfort and luxury. Management also knew that many customers stay a few nights in a hotel but a growing number, like business people on assignment need accommodation for several weeks. Recognizing the varying needs of hotel customers, Marriott was the first major hotel chain to base its strategy on market segmentation. Marriott grew new brands organically, but implemented its strategy in part by acquisition and strategic alliances such as through its new brand of Autograph Collections.

Reverse Engineering (RE): Marriott Rewards Print Ads

Marriotts flagship brand continues to target customers needing fine restaurants, meeting rooms, athletic facilities, and other upscale amenities. These brands, their target segments, and core requirements are: Tiers Brands Segments Needs Positioning Strategy

Luxury Tier

-Business centers Elegant and luxurious Marriott -Secretarial Services brand -Evening Turndown Service -Cash Machine/ ATM -Baby sitting -Intelligent Agent -Etc. (includes all common facilities in Marriots Hotels) -Boutique hotel offers Up-scale and luxury properties signature service and great with distinctive personalities shopping experience. and boutique ambiance. -Fine dining -24-hour room service -Twice-daily housekeeping -Fitness centers -Business library and center -Swimming pool -Fitness centers -Conference and banquet Stay interesting which provide guests with the ambiance of a good leisure.

Collection Tier

Lifestyle Tier

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Tiers

Brands

Segments Needs -Fully equipped fitness centers -Gift shops -Swimming pools -Concierge levels -Business centers -Meeting facilities -Wi-Fi -Guest rooms with large work desks and ergonomic chairs. -24/7 access to food at The Market -Business library and onsite business services. -Meeting space -Outside courtyard and patio area. -Invigorating fitness room.

Positioning Strategy Consistent, dependable, and genuinely plus with caring experiences to the guests on their terms.

Signature Tier

Time-saving and ready to go travelers which the choices and options that let them make the most of their time on the road.

Select Service/ Extended Stay Tier

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To identify and develop effective market offers like Marriott, the firm must understand these need profiles. The firm seeking to serve a large market like hotel industry will require several market offers, at least one per market segment to meet varying customer preferences.

Marriotts Brand Analysis Marriotts business model is to build brand equity through superior performance to fuel growth in shareholder value. Each element in the business model influences Marriotts ability to execute the other aspects of the model and achieve increased cash flows, earnings growth, and improved returns on invested capital.

Each Marriott brand has distinct personality and style. This is because, for Marriott, their target customers know what to expect at each hotel brand. According to Kotler, we define brand personality as the specific mix of human traits that may be attributed to a particular brand. Marriott work hard to communicate this essence and strength of each brand in creating brand personality through various point-of-differences from one brand to another. Table below shows various personalities in different brands of Marriott.

Reverse Engineering (RE): Marriott Rewards Print Ads

Part V: Marketing Mix of Marriotts Marketing mix is a combination of marketing tools that are used to satisfy customers and company objectives. Consumers often call the marketing mix "the offering." Therefore, Marriotts offerings are controlled by the following variables: i) Product

The core products of the Marriott are their hotels, or better specified, their rooms. Marriott has different kind of hotels, resorts, suites and apartment; they have the various brands as what has been discussed on Marriotts brand analysis. Each brand has its own style or theme. For example we take Residence Inn attraction is that they have a quiet and peaceful place with comfortable couches. That is why we think Residence Inn's target group is elder people because it is a calm place to stay.

Basically they have their own a way to make that concept work in different places and for different people. That is how they can attract a lot of customers. It is clearly stated that most of the Marriotts product strategy has took place aligned with their brand strategy that has been discussed in the brand analysis previously.

ii)

Place

Marriott has hotels in a lot of countries like the USA, Thailand, and Argentina and so on. There are also three Marriotts in the Netherlands; all of them are in Amsterdam. The hotels are located in all kind of places. There are hotels next to the highway, nearby the airport and there are also

Reverse Engineering (RE): Marriott Rewards Print Ads

hotels in the centrums of cities. In simple words, Marriotts brands are everywhere. For them, business people will stay in hotels next to the highway or nearby the airport and the hotels nearby the airport will also attract travelers who have to wait a long time before there next flight is leaving. The hotels in the centrums of cities will mostly be filled by tourists who are on a city trip. From US to Asian country, they had successfully expanded their business aggressively. This can mean that the Marriott wants to attract all kind of people at many places.

iii)

Promotion

There are a lot of ways to promote a hotel. Nowadays one of the most important ways to promote a brand, in this case of Marriots hotels is through the internet. Marriott has a extensive and clarifying internet site. It has a lot of information for the customers and you can also book online. But of course there are lots of other ways to promote a hotel. First of all we want to say that we think that the Marriott most of all wants to re-attract or penetrating the customers that they already ''have'' through loyalty program such as Marriott Rewards. At the same time, they also want to attract new customers, but we expect that the Marriott in their promotion campaigns most of all wants to attract the customers they already have. That has consequences for their promotion campaigns. You can also see this on the internet site. For example the site says "Live it up this summer. Stay the weekend, pay with your Visa card and get a $25 Visa gift card". This gift card is used as weapon in encouraging repeat stay by their customers. Marriott also sends regular customers letters and e-mails with special offers. We have not found any television or radio advertisement as a ways how the Marriott tries to attract new customers but we guess that they try to do that with banners on internet sites and folders at Tourist Information Offices. With

Reverse Engineering (RE): Marriott Rewards Print Ads

all these facts, we strongly believed that Marriott is majorly concentrating in serving their existing customer and has put less effort in seeking the new customer. For Marriott, getting new customers costs much more than maintaining ones already.

iv)

Price

Every Marriotts brands have a different price. This is because the different brands want to attract different people. For example they can ask a high price from business people because their rooms are mostly paid by the company they work for. So business people do not really care about the price. But on the other way families want to pay as less as possible because they already have a lot of costs. The price also depends on the fact if the brand has more facilities like "Renaissance Glendale Hotel & Spa". We guess that most of the customers are satisfied about this because Marriott is a big company and they have lots of customers. They wouldn't have so many customers if the customers weren't satisfied with what they get for their money. In simple words, Marriott has successfully create a perceived value for money among its customer.