Andaz Brand Campaign: Story of Hyatt's Luxury Lifestyle Hotels

18.02.2024 - 13:15 / skift.com / Sean Oneill / Brand Marketing / Brand Campaign

Hyatt’s luxury lifestyle brand, Andaz, launched a brand awareness campaign in November called Be Like No One’s Watching. The campaign illustrates the many challenges and opportunities that hotel groups face as they market brands in today’s noisy media ecosystem. So Skift checked in to see how it’s been going.

“On the initial benchmarks we set for engagement and viewership, the results have been great so far,” said Crystal Vinisse Thomas, vice president and global brand leader of Hyatt’s lifestyle and luxury brands.

The campaign is the first for Andaz since the hotel brand debuted in 2007. The campaign is the brainchild of Thomas, one of AdAge’s 2023 picks for its 40 under 40 list. Thomas previously did brand work for Apple’s Beats by Dre and Marriott’s luxury lifestyle brand W.

Hyatt said it’s making “a seven-figure investment” in the year-long campaign. It has dropped three ads so far, with three more coming soon. The aim has been to break through the noise with a non-traditional marketing approach.

“One thing that was important to me was that — because Andaz is a lifestyle brand — we should talk about the lifestyle and experiences versus the transactional nature of a hotel booking,” Thomas said.

She felt that hotel marketing too often focuses on showing people guest rooms or pools and call-to-actions to book rather than storytelling of the kind that companies like Nike do. Travelers should be able to see themselves in the story, she said.

In the Andaz brand campaign, Hyatt’s team showcased real people living out their more aspirational and non-traditional sides in the setting of Andaz properties.

For example, one middle-aged school teacher visits a property to enjoy experiences like DJ-ing and karaoke and playing an electric guitar on the bed to connect with his deep inner love of music.

From Bali to Prague to Mexico City to Scottsdale – escape to an Andaz hotel and awaken your passion, uniqueness and being. At Andaz hotels, the version of yourself you want to be has the room (or suite) to shine.

Thomas thought it was important to select real people, rather than models. They interviewed many people to find a handful who had day jobs but also secret passions, such as one person who wanted to be an Afropunk fashionista.

Some of the best moments happened through experimentation and serendipity, Thomas said.

One concept had been to depict a woman on a box at a resort surrounded by flowers so her love of dancing could be highlighted.

The portrait photographer, Afanador, suggested having the woman hold a parrot, but Thomas thought that would be “cheesy.” Yet when they experimented with having the woman hold the parrot, they got some beautiful shots and video.

“Anika just started to move and flow with