Influencers + Media = Buzz for Luxury Hotel Brand’s West Coast Flagship
St. Regis San Francisco
The Dare
Gathering individuals with clout. Leveraging trusted media relationships. And merging both strategies in a way that generates buzz about a soon-to-open project. No agency does it better than Glodow Nead. The PR firm’s involvement with St. Regis San Francisco leading up to its 2005 opening was instrumental in the luxury hotel brand’s launch of its West Coast flagship, including a hotel and residences.
The Scheme
To kick off home sales among key Bay Area influencers, Glodow Nead partnered with then-Mayor Gavin Newsom and California Chief of Protocol Charlotte Schultz to host an exclusive reception. A St. Regis butler hand delivered the invitations. After the first-look event, not only were the crème de la crème of San Francisco society talking about St. Regis, but the project’s sales team had a number of noteworthy leads in San Francisco as well as other markets.
For the hotel launch, the focus was on intensive one-on-one media outreach. The hotel was still under construction when GNC invited key media to spend time with the GM, developer, interior designers and architect, planting the seeds of future stories in a broad array of publications. And since we were introducing St. Regis’ West Coast flagship, we invited select media to visit The St. Regis New York for a first-hand experience of the level of service and sophistication of design that inspired the San Francisco property.
The Upshot
The St. Regis Residences were sold out by the opening date.
And Glodow Nead’s approach spurred a wealth of coverage surrounding the hotel opening in The New York Times, Los Angeles Magazine, U.S. News & World Report, Condé Nast Traveler and Cigar Aficionado. What’s more, the coverage consistently reflected the messages we set out to convey.
Glodow Nead continues to keep St. Regis San Francisco, Remède Spa and Ame, a Michelin-starred restaurant, top of mind among media. During deskside briefings with with Vogue, Elle, Travel + Leisure and Town & Country , we introduced the recent launch of a five-year anniversary campaign including a series of “5 Senses” Aficionado packages, as well as the unveiling of Limited Edition SFMOMA Suites. The fervent hum about St. Regis San Francisco endures.