Hotel Chain Lures Travelers to Canada With Custom Insert
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts ran its first insert in the August issue of American Express Publishing's upscale Travel + Leisure magazine, aiming to entice U.S. travelers to visit its properties in Canada this summer.The four-page insert, headlined "There's Only One Way to Experience Summer," appears in the subscriber copies of Travel + Leisure. Another 250,000 are being distributed as brochures at Hudson Newsstands at New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta, New Jersey and Seattle-Tacoma airport locations.
"It was purely about delivering a message in an editorial-like way and delivering it in a highly targeted manner," said Joanne Katsch, vice president of custom solutions at American Express Publishing Custom Solutions, New York.
Travel + Leisure has a monthly circulation of 978,502 (35,961 of it is newsstand sales) and a claimed readership of 4.7 million affluent travelers. The magazine, part of a portfolio that includes Departures and Food & Wine, leads the travel category in circulation, newsstand sales and audience numbers. It also claims to lead the travel set with the most ad pages.
Fairmont's custom insert has images of scenic locales and Fairmont properties, linking that content with local festivities. Hotels promoted include Fairmont Empress in Victoria, British Columbia; Fairmont Palliser in Calgary; Fairmont Hotel Vancouver; and Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth in Montreal.
American Express cardholders who respond to the promotion get special summer rates for staying in a Fairmont property, be it a castle, lodge or a modern retreat. For reservations, readers are asked to call a toll-free number or visit www.fairmont.com/summer.
For more visibility, staff at participating Hudson Newsstands are donning aprons that proclaim, "Summer. There's Only One Way." Special bookmarks were distributed in cities like New York.
"We'd love to do similar deals with other companies in other luxury lifestyle categories," Katsch said. "[And] we'd love to expand our relationship with Fairmont."
Mickey Alam Khan covers Internet marketing campaigns and e-commerce, agency news as well as circulation for DM News and DMNews.com. To keep up with the latest developments in these areas, subscribe to our daily and weekly e-mail newsletters by visiting www.dmnews.com/newsletters
