Some of the best things in life are free, as guests at Ritz Carlton hotels and its PR execs have discovered.
Last month, the hotel premiered The Ritz Carlton Magazine, a 116-page glossy travel magazine that serves both informational and promotional purposes.
The strategy of touting the company's properties in an editorial format confers an objectivity that paid advertising usually does not and allows the hotelier to achieve dual goals with one communications tool.
"It's a marketing tool for us and it provides a service to our guests," says Stephanie Platt, co-editor in chief and corporate manager of public relations. "It adds to our mystique and enhances our image in an objective manner."
The free magazine is distributed in-room at the 33 Ritz Carlton hotels in 11 countries. It contains feature articles on exotic travel locations, interviews with celebrities and a 25-page insert with local ads and information about the city the guest is visiting. The company plans to distribute it twice a year, with the second issue due out in September.
Atlanta-based The Ritz Carlton Hotel Company, LLC, has turned out a four-color magazine with lush photographs and has aimed the editorial content squarely at upscale globe-trotting travelers, its best guests.
In fact, the hotelier has incurred no expense in producing the magazine. While the Ritz Carlton functions as the publisher and editor, Phoenix-based custom publisher, SCG, Inc., is responsible for printing and distribution costs. It draws its revenue from advertisers.
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The Ritz Carlton Hotel Co.
Headquarters: Atlanta |
Approximately 1,500 press kits were mailed to the media prior to the magazine's launch. In early February 1998, the company held a launch for the magazine at Rizzoli, a New York-based bookstore and invited the media to "create good word-of-mouth and a buzz," says Cullen.
The publication's launch was picked up by Advertising Age, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Atlanta Business Chronicle and Lodging, an industry monthly.
Ritz Carlton PR execs spent four years evaluating how to launch the magazine, and surveyed guests and its travel agent advisory board members.
"Certainly we could have produced in-room videos or done mailings to our customers, but we think the magazine is more effective for cross-selling our hotels globally," says Karon Cullen, co-editor in chief of the magazine and corporate director of public relations for The Ritz Carlton Hotel Company. "We wanted a distinctive publication to complement our global marketing efforts and we wanted to lead in the in-room category."
Cullen's reasoning is compelling. The magazine enhances the customer's knowledge of where they are, providing guests with a virtual "in-room concierge," she says. The publication also keeps travelers abreast of activities at other Ritz Carlton properties, and its "take-home" feature allow guests to browse the magazine long after they have left the hotel, making it a posh, entirely portable PR vehicle.
Packaging the Ritz in Print
Ritz Carlton PR execs differentiate its in-room magazine by retaining editorial control. This is in contrast to many hotel companies that allow a custom publishing company to create content.
"Since we can control the advertising and editorial content, we can protect the integrity of the magazine," says Platt. "We're the only [hotel] company that is really involved day-to-day in a hands-on way."
Ritz Carlton has been able to ensure that the magazine reflects the high -quality, high-end lifestyle of its readers. Advertisers in the first issue include Rolex, Fendi, Cadillac [GELW], Polo Ralph Lauren, Escada and Ford [F].
Cullen and Platt formed an editorial advisory board comprised of well-known travel and lifestyle journalists, including National Public Radios' "Savvy Traveler" host Rudy Maxa; Saveur magazine's travel editor Bill Sertl; and former Travel & Leisure Editor-in-Chief Ila Stanger.
"The board members talk with us and brainstorm how the editorial should flow," says Cullen. "And we've tried to select people who have experience in either a geographic location or a lifestyle specialty."
The company prints four copies of the magazine for each of the 11,500 hotel rooms in the company's 33 hotels, with an additional 5,000 copies for sales departments, trade shows and mailings to key media. (Stephanie Platt, Karon Cullen, Ritz Carlton, 404/237-5500; Richard Purscell, SCG, Inc. 602/952-2288)
Maintaining the Brand's Integrity
Ritz Carlton execs see its new magazine as a brand extension of the hotel chain, and the magazine's content is carefully drawn to reflect its readers' tastes. The first issue contains an interview focusing on the travel habits of violinist Isaac Stern, a story on golf course architect Tom Fazio, and features on Bali, vintage jewelry, high-tech gadgets and the virtues of massage performed on tables vibrating with music.
The magazine opens with a six-page section called "By The Way," a round-up of news and events at Ritz Carlton hotels and resorts worldwide. At the back end of the magazine, an 11-page section called "A Word As Big As The Ritz" contains a photo, description and phone number for each of the 33 Ritz Carlton hotels. (Stephanie Platt, Karon Cullen, Ritz Carlton, 404/237-5500)