ATLANTA—IHG Hotels & Resorts (IHG) has launched a global marketing campaign for the company’s two largest brands, Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express.
“We’re there,” a new, unified communications strategy, celebrates authentic moments of human connection and the role these two industry icons have played in connecting people all over the world for nearly seven decades, according to the company.
The campaign launched today in the U.S. and launches globally later this summer. The multimillion-dollar campaign focuses on what Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express have held at their core—human connections. Since the first hotel opened in Memphis in 1952, Holiday Inn has brought people together through travel. Now a family of nearly 4,000 hotels around the world, the brands remain true to their initial purpose—to be a place where everyone is welcome, and guests can focus on spending quality time with others—helping make the world a little bit smaller, according to the company. This heritage is the inspiration behind the launch of the program.
In a world where technology increasingly dominates how people connect, celebrating real, in-person moments matters now more than ever. A proprietary survey conducted by IHG in the U.S. found:
In the last 12 months, many Americans have communicated more often digitally than in person, including:
- 67% have primarily engaged with a good friend through digital channels
- 59% admit to communicating more with family members via technology than in person (including 39% with parents or guardians)
- 88% of business travelers state they would rather have a meeting in person versus virtually
“Being there in person matters,” said Claire Bennett, global chief marketing officer, IHG. “We know the reason people travel is not exclusively about the location itself; it’s almost always about the people. Travel brings families and friends closer, creates stronger relationships among business colleagues and connects the world.”
With hotel teams welcoming millions of guests through their doors, Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express hotels make travel more accessible and are positioned to help travelers solve this digital divide and connect with those who matter most to them, according to the company.
“Across our hotels, we share some of the most important moments in our guests’ lives—from birthdays and weddings to key business trips and job interviews,” she said. “The history and heritage of these two brands in particular means we’ve always been there, so our guests can be, too. The launch of ‘We’re there’ reminds us all of the importance of these ‘people’ trips and how we can help make that happen in more places, for more people, more often.”
