MELBOURNE, JUNE 7, 2013 – The unconventional campaign created by Naked Communications Melbourne for boutique Australian hotel owner Art Series Hotels has won the $10,000 Warc Prize for Innovation 2013.
The “Overstay Checkout” initiative combines consumer insight, PR, new product development and word of mouth with the aim of boosting revenues by eschewing standard checkout times.
Under this initiative, guests could “overstay” in their rooms for free until said rooms were needed by other customers. The campaign was intended to deal with traveler dissatisfaction with checkout times, and was found to have boosted room sales as well as spend on services during off-peak seasons. Art Series Hotels turned the offer on and off at will, which enabled it to steer clear of any possible dilution of the reputation of its brand.
The innovative approach sparked positive word of mouth outside Art Series Hotels’ home market. Judges were equally impressed. Howard Draft, executive chairman of Draftfcb, the agency network, and chairman of the panel of judges, said that they had picked “Overstay Checkout” as the winner because it showed the panel that a genuinely new and compelling business idea needs to reside at the heart of one’s campaign in order to create truly effective communications innovation.
OREO’s “Daily Twist” campaign won the Runner-up trophy in the Warc Prize for Innovation. This campaign marked the centenary of the cookie brand in the United States through creating a new creative expression and posting it online daily for 100 consecutive days.
