TV Super-hero helps to build a brand

A new commercial for HotelDirect.co.uk, a leading online hotels and theatre breaks agent, hits our screens this week. The commercial from Conrad Advertising features 'Hotel Derek', a charming if slightly clumsy super-hero who delivers us direct to the hotels of our dreams at prices that we can all afford.

The character was created by James O’Malley and Mark John at Conrad Advertising as part of a branding campaign aimed at improving sales conversion online and building brand awareness offline. Our creative team were encouraged to think widely about how to connect a brand character to the Hotel Direct brand. Inspiration came from many areas of life including music, stereotypes around hotels and the real-life drama of finding an affordable hotel.

“The concept was to create a visually engaging advert with a smartly comic twist, backed up by a richly detailed character in Hotel Derek; through liaising with the client and some good-old teamwork, this original idea was transformed into the advert you see” said James.

The name Hotel Derek was chosen for the character with one eye on how similar it sounds to Hotel Direct. Hotel Derek does promote the site URL, but for those curious about the character a Hotel Derek microsite, Facebook page and YouTube video channel can help them learn more.

Produced by Bob Ford at leading production house Loki and Directed by Laurie Castelli, the film combines real-life drama with live action super-hero flying scenes. Director Castelli said “It’s great to work on an original idea like this. We all had a lot of fun working with the character”.

The campaign goes to air on ITV, Channel 4 and digital channels from 4th June and is supported by social media and a micro-site for Hotel Derek himself with links to HotelDirect.co.uk. Search campaigns will also capitalise on viewers’ curiosity about the character.

Importantly, as the client’s business is predominantly online, specific search accounts were set-up around Hotel Derek and affiliate programmes with Trade Doubler and remarketing advertising were introduced. Recognition of the brand character from the TV campaign mean that response to affiliate advertising will perform better and remarketing will capture recent visitors to the website.

Existing search terms were adjusted to incorporate references to Hotel Derek where appropriate. The brand awareness will pay off in additional search traffic and improved rates of conversion to bookings.

Hotel Direct co-owner Mark Wilson said, “Hotel Direct is well established online and our 1 million customers know us for great hotel deals in London, Dublin, Paris, Barcelona and many other cities. However, we have an ambition to elevate Hotel Direct into a genuine brand, a household name. We want people to seek out HotelDirect.co.uk when looking for a hotel deal and we believe that in Hotel Derek we have a campaign that will achieve this.”

“Many online travel agents, and web businesses in general, recognize that it isn’t enough to dominate online search and that building broader brand awareness is what transforms successful small businesses into online giants. TV advertising can do that.” said Nick Henley, Conrad’s Media & Planning Director.

www.hotelderek.co.uk