Submitted by Hoopla MarketingAgency IPI Score 31/100

Warner Leisure Hotels influencer campaign

Influencer Marketing

Hoopla Marketing recruited ten creators with genuine 50 to 65 audiences to make a hotel chain known for older guests read as a break for the next cohort down.

90,300audience engagements
over 850,000impressions
105pieces of influencer content
10creators in the network

Case in 60 seconds

Warner Leisure Hotels is adult only and its average guest age had been 65 and over for years, so it needed awareness and consideration among people aged 50 to 65.

A brand cannot argue itself younger, but creators whose own followers sit in the target band can demonstrate that a Warner break suits people at that age.

Build a small network of creators with genuine authority and genuinely 50 plus audiences, and let them show the activities, outdoors and relaxation side of the hotels.

Ten creators were researched, validated and briefed, produced blogs, photography, video and social content, carried unique affiliate links and trackable codes, and had their content amplified with paid social.

The agency reports 105 pieces of influencer content, over 850,000 impressions and 90,300 audience engagements, all self reported and not independently verified.

Strategy Breakdown

UK adults aged 50 to 65 with an interest in travel, activities, the outdoors, relaxation and hotels, a cohort younger than the chain's long standing guest base of 65 and over.
People in their fifties and early sixties do not see themselves in marketing pitched at retirees, so a brand associated with older guests reads as not for them.
Adult only short break hotels carry an age signal that is hard to shift with brand advertising alone, and the chain's 14 country and coastal properties needed to be understood as active as well as restful.
Warner positioned itself as a relaxing break that still offers activities and facilities appealing to a slightly younger guest, and as a way to experience the best of Britain.
Audiences take an age cue from the person recommending the break, so a creator in the target band does the repositioning work that brand messaging cannot.

Creative & Execution System

Assets & channels

  • Creator blog posts on their own websites
  • Creator photography and video content
  • Creator social media posts
  • Paid social campaigns amplifying the creator activity

Partners

  • Hoopla Marketing

Participation mechanic

  • Creators researched, validated and personally invited into the campaign
  • Detailed creative briefs issued for content development
  • Unique affiliate links and trackable codes for every creator
  • Best performing creators rewarded on the basis of tracked performance

Creator role

  • Advocates with genuine interest in the brand and an engaged 50 to 65 following
  • Producers of blogs, photography, video and social content
  • Affiliate sellers carrying trackable links and codes

Results & Evidence

MetricValue
Audience Engagements90,300
Impressionsover 850,000
Pieces of Influencer Content105
Creators in the Network10

Why Hoopla Marketing's strategy worked

  1. 1

    When the brief is a demographic problem, creator selection is the media plan, and ten well matched creators can be the right answer rather than an under delivery.

  2. 2

    The age of a creator's following, not its size, is the variable that moves consideration for a brand carrying an age signal.

  3. 3

    Blogs and photography alongside social posts suit a 50 plus audience that still uses long form travel content when planning a break.

  4. 4

    Unique affiliate links and codes per creator turn an awareness programme into something measurable, and make it possible to reward and re use the creators who actually sell.

  5. 5

    Reported engagement of 90,300 against over 850,000 impressions is consistent with a closely matched audience, though the underlying data has not been shown.

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