Earlier this year the Orchard team was involved in a marketing campaign for one of Guernsey”s best hotels, the Old Government House Hotel. Consultant Emma Anderson and account executive Catherine Le Prevost led the project.
The brief:
Orchard began working with the Old Government House Hotel & Spa in February 2011 following their record breaking win at the Guernsey Awards for Achievement. The OGH was the only business ever to scoop three awards, winning Guernsey Business of the Year, Best Large Business and the Excellence in Training Award.
Orchard PR was approached to maximise the impact of this achievement and to keep up the momentum generated by the awards with PR activity, events and greater profile in the Channel Islands’ media targeting corporate bookers, business customers and holiday makers.
The hotel was also keen to promote their services to islanders with The Governor’s Restaurant and Brasserie a particular focus.
The experience:
A campaign strategy was quickly built to focus most of the ‘news agenda’ on the professionalism of the business and its staff. Interviews, news releases and articles were generated targeting Channel Islands’ business publications and achieved good results, placing the hotel in front of the islands’ corporate community.
A key element of the campaign also acknowledged the work that goes into running an award winning hotel. This included highlighting the senior promotions of two members of the restaurant team which was reported widely by the Guernsey and Channel Islands’ business media. The Hotel also aimed to reach those looking to pursue a career within the hospitality industry by offering Guernsey students the chance to experience life working in a busy hotel shadowing members of the team as they conducted their daily duties.
Other events were more consumer-focused and centred on a mix of cocktails, cakes and canapés. To commemorate the Hotel’s awards the team created a new drink called The OGH Achiever’s Cocktail and a new trio of Achiever’s Canapés which went down a treat at a special party organised to celebrate the Hotel’s success. Photographs from the event were featured in a spread in a Guernsey lifestyle magazine. The launch of the exclusive cocktail also attracted coverage from various media outlets and highlighted again the Hotel’s recent success at the Awards for Achievement.
Ahead of Prince William’s wedding to Catherine Middleton, the OGH celebrated the Royal couple’s nuptials with a unique take on the traditional tea party hosting a special Royal Wedding Street Party. Attendees were invited to paint their own commemorative mugs and feasted on a range of mini British classics including toad in the hole and trifles.
The Hotel’s street party placed the establishment at the forefront of Guernsey businesses getting into the spirit of the Royal Wedding celebrations. A journalist and photographer from the Guernsey Press attended the event and the party achieved excellent coverage in the build-up to the nuptials.
The outcome:
In the two months following the award wins Orchard PR generated 25 pieces of media coverage in the Guernsey, Jersey and Channel Islands business media targeting the primary audiences of the Hotel. This resulted in a significantly raised profile for key team members and the services the hotel provides. The Hotel’s raised profile was reinforced last month when the OGH received a five star rating from Visit Guernsey – the first hotel in Guernsey to achieve this.
Posted by Catherine.