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In 2002, Embassy Suites Hotels chose to build one of its upscale, all-suite properties along the beautiful Sacramento River. With building completion one year away, the hotel’s management wanted to take action to generate public awareness prior to the opening.
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We were presented with several challenges throughout the course of this project, including: introducing the Embassy Suites brand to Northern California, highlighting the hotel as both a premier business and leisure destination, and providing a grand opening extravaganza that the community would embrace and remember – ultimately driving customers to choose Embassy Suites as their Sacramento hotel of choice.
While other hotels typically announce their arrival with a grand opening event, we staged several events that attracted widespread media and community interest while helping to keep the Embassy Suites name in the public eye during the building period. This gradual introduction distinguished the Embassy Suites brand from other recent hotel openings throughout the area.
To promote awareness and create an ongoing excitement about the hotel, we established a lengthy public relations campaign that highlighted different aspects of the project to the various audiences, from guests to stakeholders. By reaching out to a large audience, the media became instantly intrigued in the hotel’s opening.
• Pre Opening Activities
During the construction stage, our team ensured ongoing publicity by creating an extensive target media list, developing and distributing press releases about different hotel features, arranging individual media tours of the property, and implementing press events highlighting aspects such as the local artwork featured throughout the hotel.
• Grand Opening Activities
Our Team arranged for one of the largest hotel grand openings Sacramento has ever seen. Our flawless event boasted more than 800 people in attendance, including the Mayor of Sacramento, city and county officials, business leaders, and community members. The dignitaries arrived by train from Old Sacramento, making a grand entrance for the official ribbon cutting ceremony.
• Post Opening Gala
We designed a post-grand opening extravaganza thanking the local community for welcoming the hotel to the Sacramento Riverfront. More than 600 people attended the fundraiser, which utilized a live and silent auction to raise money for the Crocker Art Museum. No detail was overlooked, leading to the event’s overwhelming success.
Over the course of the year, the Sacramento Embassy Suites received over 160 media placements in many communication mediums, including: newspapers, radio, television, trade publications, newsletters, and others. Our team worked diligently to reach our goal of creating a buzz around the hotel opening. Today, the Sacramento Embassy Suites is among the highest occupancy hotels in Northern California.
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