Sports tourism is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the travel industry. And with over 30 hotel brands in 10,000 global destinations, Marriott Bonvoy® is perfectly positioned to help fans travel to cheer on their favorite team wherever the game may take them. By partnering with the NCAA® and teaming up with a variety of athlete influencers, Marriott Bonvoy set out to engage and connect with sports fans with the 2024 Game Day Rituals campaign.
With the overarching goal to increase broad awareness of the Marriott Bonvoy hotel portfolio and NCAA partnership and, in turn, improve the perception of the Marriott Bonvoy brand, Marriott Bonvoy turned to athlete influencers as a core component of the campaign, marking the launch of the U.S. and Canada region’s first major NIL (Name Image Likeness) paid media and influencer campaign. After research indicated that NCAA athletes are one of the best-performing subsets of online content creators, with engagement rates up to 12 times better than traditional influencers, Marriott Bonvoy partnered with 12 incredible student athletes across different teams and sports, including basketball, gymnastics, softball, and track and field. By creating bespoke content highlighting each athlete’s game day rituals, Marriott Bonvoy created effective messaging that resonated with guests and connected them to over 30 hotel brands for every kind of fan, increasing visibility in market.
As the Official Hotel Partner of the NCAA, Marriott Bonvoy brought game day rituals and traditions to life — from the wildly eccentric to the everyday mundane. Combining bespoke creative executions, NIL athlete partnerships, Learfield School IP, on-the-ground activations, and earned and paid social media, Marriott Bonvoy’s 2024 Game Day Rituals campaign spotlighted unique pre-game rituals supported by a portfolio of over 30 hotel brands. Whether it’s the right accommodation, service from an associate, or key amenity, each hotel brand helped bring game day rituals to life, complimenting every fan’s and player’s unique personality, passion, and lifestyle.
By partnering with 12 NIL athletes over the course of the Game Day Rituals campaign, Marriott Bonvoy secured a steady presence on multiple social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok) where NCAA target fans across the U.S. and Canada consume sports content, reaching them with content they were more likely to engage with. With bespoke content tailored to each athlete’s game day rituals and favorite hotel brand in the portfolio, the NIL partnerships connected Marriott Bonvoy to new and existing members and guests, driving both brand and hotel portfolio awareness and consideration.
Collaborating with so many athlete influencers presented a unique challenge when it came to initially capturing the content for the campaign. Marriott Bonvoy planned custom photo and video shoots for each athlete with the aim of authentically showing their personality and game day rituals while connecting back to campaign objectives and showcasing the hotel brand portfolio. From the first mood boards and storyboards to the final photo and video selects, the creative struck the perfect balance between every goal and ultimately resonated with sports fans across social media.
The campaign’s incredible NIL athletes included:
Across a mixture of single-frame static, carousel, GIF, and video formats, 175 unique pieces of content posted both from Marriott Bonvoy and athlete social channels saw high engagement and drove efficiency across campaign KPIs. Key media placements like TikTok and Meta Reels allowed the brand to connect with a younger demographic of fans. Overall, the campaign outperformed goals by utilizing a strategic mix of platforms, placements, and formats alongside athlete influencer collaboration to reach NCAA fans in the most engaging way.
Results Spotlight:
