Marriott to bring major music acts to hotels

Marriott International has partnered with Universal Music Group (UMG) to create a global marketing partnership that will include exclusive performances by established and emerging artists at its hotels.

The partners will also create a branded video series, social content, music downloads, and ticket offers among other things.

Marriott International global marketing officer Karin Timpone commented: “Our new partnership with UMG reinvents the way we market to next generation travellers.

“We are bringing together the global traveller and the universal language of music in order to create and deliver unique experiences.

“The partnership will also help to amplify the benefits of the Marriott Rewards programme for both new and loyal guests.”

Marriott’s St. Pancras Renaissance London Hotel and UMG will deliver #WithTheBand experiences to engage millennial guests this summer.

On June 30, the hotel will feature a live performance by pop sensation and ‘The Voice Australia’ judge, Jessie J, kicking off a series of on-property performances across the globe.

Mike Tunnicliffe, executive vice president, business development and partnerships, UMG said: “We are thrilled to partner with Marriott International as they share our determination to build progressive, creative, long-term relationships with brand partners.

“This relationship brings to life our vision to develop truly integrated partnerships beyond standard transactional opportunities for our artists and their fans around the world.”

The partnership joins Marriott International’s 19 brands, including The Ritz-Carlton, Edition, JW Marriott, Renaissance and Marriott Hotels, with UMG music labels such as Capitol Music Group, Def Jam Recordings, Interscope Geffen A&M, Island Records, Republic Records and UMG Nashville.

Through the UMG partnership, Marriott will match talent with its styles and tastes of each of its brands’ guests.

This will come to life in the form of social content and an online video series that draws from UMG’s roster.

In addition to receiving special ticket offers, exclusive downloads, and artist merchandise, Marriott Rewards’ 50 million strong member community will be eligible to participate in more than a dozen sweepstakes to win VIP concert experiences to see their favourite artists.

For the first time, Marriott Rewards members will also have the opportunity to attend UMG-sponsored events and after parties at premiere music industry events and festivals such as The Grammy Awards, SXSW, The ACMs, Billboard Music Awards, CMA Fest, MTV Video Music Awards and CMA Awards.

Attracting and engaging millennial guests has been a major focus of Marriott International since it launched its Travel Brilliantly campaign in 2013.

The multi-year global campaign, is aimed at reflecting the lifestyles and requirements of the next generation of travellers through advertising, a revamped brand look and logo, and enhanced social media platforms.

As part of this, the operator created the Content Studio —dedicated to publishing, distributing and sharing digital content across multiple platforms.

This year it has released two short films, its debut Two Bellmen, and French Kiss, A romantic mystery set around the Marriott Hotel Champs-Elysee in Paris, which combined have had more than 11,000 views on YouTube.