Check in with influencers and check out the results

Nira Caledonia BlogMedia Coverage

How this hotel PR agency delivered influencer marketing success to ‘phoenix’ venue

 Influencer marketing as part of Nira Caledonia's hotel PR

INFLUENCERS. If ever there was a word that divides opinion, it’s definitely up there. Part of the problem is that the word “influence” means very different things to different people.  

Of course, an influencer can be a very powerful tool for a business. But any power tool has to be approached with care, handled safely and must also be suitable for the job in hand (try bashing in a nail with a cordless drill…)

Hotel concierges are a perfect example. When a visitor arrives in a strange city and wants to find the best local restaurant or a quality taxi service, the concierge has the local knowledge, local relationships and they have a vested interest in guest welfare. They are the ideal influencer in that situation.

But what happens when the hotel itself wants to reach media influencers? Even the most gifted concierge is likely to be found wanting at that stage.

Nira Caledonia hotel in Edinburgh wanted to involve travel and lifestyle influencers during a special event – its reopening following a £1.4m refurbishment necessitated by a devastating fire which left more than half the hotel closed for nine months. With VIP guest attending, it was essential that any influencers there on the day should be both relevant and authoritative.

Step up the Holyrood PR team. Thanks to our bulging contacts book, knowledge of the sector, presentation skills (we even designed the invite), understanding of the right influencer for the client/sector, we made sure the event was a massive success, attended by:

  • 25 sector specific influencers, all considered appropriate heavyweights
  • Journalists and bloggers from national news outlets, local titles, lifestyle magazines, business media, hospitality trade publication and travel & tourism media
  • Power influencers from Marketing Edinburgh, which is dedicated to promoting the city as a must-visit destination
  • Movers and shakers from VisitScotland – the country’s most powerful tourism engine
  • Key communicators from the City of Edinburgh Council

It was a superb turn out for the lunchtime launch – not least because modern journalists, writers and bloggers are notoriously reluctant to attend such events because of the demands of the 24-7, always-on news cycle.

It also provided fantastic networking opportunities for the Nira Caledonia team, executives from the parent company Shanti Hospitality and for the VIP guest who cut the ribbon, Filip Boyen, CEO of Small Luxury Hotels of the World, an exclusive network of boutique venues. That in turn yielded a host of social media updates by the influencers who attended, reaching a significant and relevant audienee.

Social media success for Nira Caledonia as part of Hotel PR campaign

On top of that a trio of staff from Holyrood PR attended, strengthening existing relationships, while creating new and equally valuable connections with the Shanti Hospitality marketing team and with the interior design company behind the gorgeous refurbishment – bringing into a play a host of further potential stories.

However, the really impressive results – ins were clear, almost immediate and eminently measurable. Among the success delivered by the influencers who attended were:

Bosses of the four-star, boutique hotel in the heart of Edinburgh’s New Town were thrilled with the turnout on the day, with the far-reaching results and with the valuable new relationships delivered.

If you’d like to know more about influencer marketing or hotel PR, contact our public relations team

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