Strong collaborations don't exist in a vacuum—they reflect a brand's presence in the world. In 2024, W Hotels set out to do exactly that by partnering with a visionary who could translate our bold, playful spirit into language that resonates globally. Enter Thomas Lélu, the French artist and social media disruptor known for his sharp, minimalist text-based works. With a talent for distilling cultural truths into witty, irreverent statements, Lélu was the perfect collaborator to capture W Hotels' signature tone—one defined by humor, style, and an unapologetic love for travel.
This collaboration wasn’t just about aesthetics; it was about deepening audience connection through an innovative blend of art, luxury, and digital storytelling. To measure success, W Hotels tracked performance across multiple channels, including web traffic, social engagement, and key brand perception metrics. By bringing together culture and hospitality in a way that felt fresh, unexpected, and inherently shareable, W Hotels reinforced its position as a leader in modern luxury—where creativity isn’t just welcomed, it’s essential.
To bring the collaboration to life, W Hotels executed a 360-degree approach involving hotel teams, digital teams, social/content teams, and brand teams. The strategy ensured a fully integrated campaign that uniquely enhanced global reach:
Collaboration Merchandise: A collection of exclusive Thomas Lélu-designed merchandise was created, available in-room at W Hotels worldwide and for purchase on whotels.com.
Social-First Storytelling: The campaign was led by elevated content capture and storytelling designed for social platforms, showcasing the collaboration’s creativity and exclusivity.
Global Awareness: Targeted paid media and collaboration posts ensured campaign awareness, driving reach and relevance across key markets and audience demographics.
Celebrity Partner Amplification: Content was published in collaboration with Thomas Lélu, leveraging his credibility and social reach as a celebrity to deepen engagement and enhance relevance.
Gifting: High-reach influencers and cultural voices were gifted collaboration merchandise, further amplifying awareness and encouraging authentic social sharing.
Hotel Extensions: A comprehensive toolkit was provided to W Hotels worldwide, empowering each property to execute localized content on their owned channels. This approach extended the collaboration’s reach and allowed individual hotels to authentically connect with their audiences.
Out-of-Home Placements: OOH placements were executed to drive additional buzz and encourage organic social sharing.
This strategy combined creative content, multi-channel execution, and influencer partnerships to effectively amplify reach and cultural impact.
The W Hotels x Thomas Lélu collaboration achieved remarkable success, reinforcing the brand’s cultural relevance and global appeal while delivering exceptional business results. The campaign drove over 61 billion opportunities to be seen (OTS) during the launch, alongside 9 million earned engagements, marking a 56.1% increase in earned engagements and a 1.5% increase in OTS compared to the previous period. The collaboration resonated with audiences and the exclusive merchandise sold out within the first week, demonstrating the campaign’s ability to convert meaningful connections into brand objectives.
The campaign achieved over 8.2 million views and 7 million impressions, with a focused view rate of 17% (compared to a 9.15% benchmark across the Marriott portfolio). Total engagements reached 1.3 million, with an average engagement rate of 13.4%, representing a 34% increase over W Hotels' evergreen Instagram content. The content also generated 10.7k shares and saves, reflecting its ability to resonate and encourage organic interaction. Social assets from the campaign became W Hotels' top-performing content of the year across views, saves, shares, and engagements.
This partnership contributed directly to W Hotels' larger global KPIs for the year, driving brand favorability, which increased by +6.3 points (compared to a +0.9 point benchmark across the Mariott portfolio), and brand awareness, which grew by +2.8 points (compared to a +2.1 point benchmark across the Marriott portfolio). By combining Thomas Lélu’s witty style with W Hotels' bold brand tonality, the collaboration successfully elevated the brand’s cultural relevance while delivering measurable global impact.