Rock bands trashing hotel rooms? Some of the stories are legend.
But in a world turned upside down by both the recession and the explosion of online social media, Motel 6 on Wednesday unveiled plans to reward rooms to a handful of up-and-coming touring rock bands as a marketing tool to attract a younger clientele–and here we are talking sixteen to twenty four year olds.
According to Jeff Palmer, vice president of marketing at Motel 6″If the bands place our logo on their websites and thank us on stage, that will increase awareness among younger consumers,”
For Motel 6, it’s about making the brand hipper to young customers. The recession has hit even the budget hotel brands. The initial Motel 6 promo offers six weeks of free lodging to three soon-to-tour bands selected by Primary Wave Music, the music publisher and marketer that created the promotion.
It’s all about getting cash-strapped young, bands to engage their fans online and give a nod on Twitter and Facebook to the hotel that gives them a free place to crash for the night or the restaurant that doles out free eats.
The lead singer of one of the bands says that staying at Motel 6 during his band’s upcoming 60-date tour will be luxurious compared with past tours.
But it begs the question: Younger customers? Is this something that Hotel 6 has thought through? Imagine the problems that they will experience as police raid the hotel rooms at 1:00 or 2:00 AM, on noise complaints and find underage drinking, etc. Will Hotel 6 tolerate rock bands throwing televisions out the windows, or tearing down walls as partying turns into wild ruckuses? Is there really reason for concern?
Last year, Denny’s also adopted some emerging rock bands to which it gave free food for three months in exchange for positive social-media nods.
While it’s one thing to appeal to sixteen to twenty four years as a place to eat, do you think parents will shell out the ducats for Junior to party within a hotel room, even though this may remind Mom and Dad about their wasted youth?
For more information:
http://www.primarywavemusic.com/
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