Interview by Conor Risch
Photo by Annie Leibovitz
In 2004, The Peninsula Hotels commissioned Annie Leibovitz to shoot
black-and-white, environmental portraits of hotel staff members for
a worldwide ad campaign. The ads are still running today. Five
years is a long time for any campaign, and the past year has been
hard on the travel industry. But when Peninsula Hotels wanted new
ads to promote two of its newest locations, in Chicago and Tokyo,
they continued their focus on their employees, and again
hired the most famous portrait photographer in the world for the
job.
Jean Forrest, General Manager for Marketing for The Peninsula
Hotels, directed the new campaign, and says the “Portraits of
Peninsula” ads were a hit from the beginning. “Following the
launch of the campaign, we commissioned a great deal of research to
evaluate the impact of the campaign and the customer recognition
factor in terms of the images representing Peninsula,” Forrest
says. “The research demonstrated that this was a very high impact
campaign in the marketplace, with excellent recognition.”
By showing hotel concierges and bellhops, rather than hotel
locations or pampered guests, the black-and-white ads stand out in
the travel category. “The message - that these long-serving and
dedicated "real people" are here to take care of our guests and
ensure a memorable stay - is universally appealing and long
lasting,” Forrest says, and that’s still true in the middle of a
recession. “With the current economic situation, travelers are
looking to return to authenticity and honesty in all forms -
cutting through all the clutter, the trendy, outre, over-styled and
extravagant have been exchanged for the comfortable and familiar,
yet which offers great value in terms of the experience enjoyed
during the stay. Guests are less willing to spend on unknown brands
or destinations, and thus are seeking genuine hospitality,
delivered by dedicated and long-serving staff - which is what this
campaign is all about.”
To maintain the same feel and style in new ads focused on the
Chicago and Tokyo hotels, Peninsula once again hired Leibovitz,
whom Forrest calls “the world's foremost portrait photographer.”
“There was never any question of not inviting Ms. Leibovitz back to
photograph the second collection of ‘Portraits of
Peninsula.’”
After all, the whole campaign is about loyalty to the people who
work for you.
Peninsula Taps Leibovitz Again
Aug 18, 2009
Interview by Conor Risch
In 2004, The Peninsula Hotels commissioned Annie Leibovitz to shoot black-and-white, environmental portraits of hotel staff members for a worldwide ad campaign. The ads are still running today. Five years is a long time for any campaign, and the past year has been hard on the travel industry. But when Peninsula Hotels wanted new ads to promote two of its newest locations, in Chicago and Tokyo, they continued their focus on their employees, and again hired the most famous portrait photographer in the world for the job.
Jean Forrest, General Manager for Marketing for The Peninsula Hotels, directed the new campaign, and says the “Portraits of Peninsula” ads were a hit from the beginning. “Following the launch of the campaign, we commissioned a great deal of research to evaluate the impact of the campaign and the customer recognition factor in terms of the images representing Peninsula,” Forrest says. “The research demonstrated that this was a very high impact campaign in the marketplace, with excellent recognition.”
By showing hotel concierges and bellhops, rather than hotel locations or pampered guests, the black-and-white ads stand out in the travel category. “The message - that these long-serving and dedicated "real people" are here to take care of our guests and ensure a memorable stay - is universally appealing and long lasting,” Forrest says, and that’s still true in the middle of a recession. “With the current economic situation, travelers are looking to return to authenticity and honesty in all forms - cutting through all the clutter, the trendy, outre, over-styled and extravagant have been exchanged for the comfortable and familiar, yet which offers great value in terms of the experience enjoyed during the stay. Guests are less willing to spend on unknown brands or destinations, and thus are seeking genuine hospitality, delivered by dedicated and long-serving staff - which is what this campaign is all about.”
To maintain the same feel and style in new ads focused on the Chicago and Tokyo hotels, Peninsula once again hired Leibovitz, whom Forrest calls “the world's foremost portrait photographer.” “There was never any question of not inviting Ms. Leibovitz back to photograph the second collection of ‘Portraits of Peninsula.’”
After all, the whole campaign is about loyalty to the people who work for you.
Fashion photographer Caesar Lima presents flavor and fun with good taste for Taste Clothing.
