InterContinental Hotels Group's Priority Club Rewards Community Created by Communispace Energizes Using the Power of 'Word of Mouse'

IHG wanted to test advocacy among some of its most loyal customers using minimal budget to drive incremental revenue. The Priority Club Rewards Community that IHG created with Communispace in 2007 was the logical place to test this new "twist" on word of mouth. For the advocacy viral marketing test, a select group of 150 community members were chosen to participate in an exclusive friends and family promotion. The 150 PCR members were emailed an invitation to earn triple points for each three night stay at any IHG Hotel worldwide between May 1st and June 15th 2008—with as many stays as they would like during that time period. In the email, each member was given a redemption code for themselves to use, along with three more codes to pass along to friends and family.

The IHG Triple Points Promotion drove a quarter of a million dollars in incremental revenue in just six weeks. IHG was able to target some of its most loyal hotel customers efficiently by utilizing its existing online customer community where members have been deeply engaged with the IHG brand over a long period of time. The 150 PCR Community members passed on the codes at a rate that generated more than 2,800 registrations for the promotion—a more than ten fold reach, and members were able to earn an amazing 7.2 million points in total. The campaign, which was given to US-based private online community members, quickly spread to more than 30 countries—including Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Lithuania, and Malaysia. As a direct result, IHG reached customers who they might not have been able to—and it did so without any advertising, marketing, or support costs typically incurred with traditional promotion strategies.