"When the going gets tough, the tough get going!"  To me that saying means different things to different people and in the case of Holiday Inn Express, it means stepping up their advertising and marketing efforts!  They recently launched a new series of commercials that ask people to "Stay Smart."  It's one of the best campaigns I've seen and I'm impressed to the point of laughter on how creative and straight up funny they are.

"While other hotel brands are pulling back, it presents an advantage to us and affords us the opportunity to talk to our target in a less cluttered environment," said Steve Ekdahl, director of brand marketing for Holiday Inn Express.

"We'd all like to be having better numbers and better performance right now," says Ekdahl, based in Atlanta. "But our brand has always been all about smart value, and so our messaging resonates even more in difficult times. We want to make sure we're out there in the media."

From an article I read on Brandweek from Mike Bierne. "The ads, created by Fallon, Minneapolis, evolve the brand's 10-year-old campaign that carried a well-known punch line: "No, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night." One spot, which initially ran in theaters, shows a businessman being confronted by a rapper who pokes fun at his square attire. The businessman jumps into a freestyle rap battle and concludes with, "I bet you're still wondering why my verse is so tight? I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night."

In a second spot, a newborn baby reaches for surgical scissors and snips her own umbilical cord in the delivery room. The parents explain to the astonished doctors that they stayed at a Holiday Inn Express "about nine months ago." A third spot shows an autograph seeker fainting in front of baseball legend Cal Ripken Jr. A doctor is on the scene ready to assist, but a security guard insists on asking the crowd, "Did anyone stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night?"

Measured media spending by the InterContinental Hotels Group, which Holiday Inn Express is a brand of, already has reached $21 million through July of this year (not including online spending), compared with $29 million for 2007, per Nielsen Monitor-Plus.

I first saw the commercial with the rapper on Saturday Night Live last weekend and then went on you tube to watch it about 5 more times.  I love it!  It's had over a million views on YouTube in a very short time so obviously their internet marketing is working for them and their video optimization is reinforcing their brand as well. 

At Bauer360, I see the advantages that companies like holiday inn express can capitalize on everyday by being aggressive with their advertising spend when others simply get going.  Stay smart and you'll be a step ahead of your competition!