Westin OOO generator
Westin Hotels & Resorts
Issue 37 | December 2015
Agency
BBH New York
Creative Team
Creative Directors Dave Brown Daniel Bonder Associate Art Director Crissy Fetcher
Production Team
Producer Simon Joseph UX Director Kelly Bignell Associate UX Designer Leah Kim Production Company Agency Dominion Film Production Domani
Other Credits
Strategy Director Mark Aronson Account Executive Kerry Callaghan Account Director Chelsea Dunich Vice President, North America Brand Management, Westin Hotels & Resorts Bob Jacobs Director, North America Brand Management, Westin Hotels & Resorts Brooke Patterson Manager, North America Brand Management, Westin Hotels & Resorts Bettina Young Specialist, North America Brand Management, Westin Hotels & Resorts Vanesa Odenbach
Date
October 2015
Background
There had been an increasing number of stories in the press about how Americans were not taking their full quote of vacation days. Apparently, workers used just 16 of the available 21 days they were entitled to.
Knowing how important it was to decompress, Westin Hotels and Resorts wanted to remind consumers of the wellness-oriented offerings and amenities that could be found at Westin resorts.
Idea
To communicate that guests at Westin resorts could really disconnect in order to be able to return to their jobs feeling refreshed, the brand teamed up with satirical blog McSweeney's.
The idea was to create a digital 'Out of Office Message generator'. Potential holiday-makers could go to www. westinooogenerator.com, answer a few questions about the sort of vacation they wanted, with whom and who the point of contact back at the office would be, and the generator created a customised message with a true McSweeney tone.
It also created a shortened version of the OOO to be used on Facebook and Twitter, making it the first-ever social media OOO message generator.
Results
Not known.
Our Thoughts
The first thing you should know is that www.mcsweeneys.net is a good place to go if you’re feeling glum or out of sorts. It can be bloody funny. It’s where literary Americans take a gentle pop at modern culture. So, what BBH have done here is flatter Westin’s target audience, first, by association with McSweeney’s and its values and, second, by letting them explore the idea for themselves.
I’ve heard it said that a great digital idea is one that is ‘useful, usable and delightful’. I’m not sure how useful this is really, but it scores highly on delightful.