Hilton Hotels & Resorts launched its new spa brand, eforea: spa at Hilton, through an aggressive PR campaign that leveraged mystery, personal outreach, and digital assets. The PR team piqued media interest without revealing details and invited them to the launch event through mysterious emails. At the event, media received exclusive access and coverage was secured in major outlets. A microsite housed digital assets that drove over 7,000 views. The exposure generated 67 development inquiries and 11 confirmed new spa openings within two months, proving the campaign a success.

1. When It Comes to Social Media, the
Numbers Don’t Lie: The Ads Have It
For some PR practitioners,
dealing with paid media is
nothing short of heresy. But
if you’re a PR pro in charge of
social media within an orga-
nization (a growing trend to
be sure), it’s hard to ignore the
advantages—and payoffs—that
“paid” can bring via social
media advertising.
With social media, orga-
nizations are able to not only
engage mainstream media and
top influencers, but other tar-
geted groups and individuals,
says Clint Schaff, director of
digital at GolinHarris. “If
you expand the pie to people
who can drive your story to
everyone, why wouldn’t you?”
he asks.
Schaff, who will be a pre-
senter at the PR News Digital
PR Summit on Feb. 16 in San
Francisco (prnewsonline.com/
digitalsummitsanfran12/) goes
so far as to say that a social
media ad on Facebook, Twitter,
LinkedIn and other platforms
is the equivalent of putting a
flashing message on the desk
of a reporter at The New York
Times.
The ability to target via
social media platforms is key,
says Schaff.
“Unlike a story in The
Washington Post, where we
can’t determine exactly who
will read the paper, in social
media we can pick based on
interest, location and age to
drill down to the targeted audi-
ence,” he says.
And these ads can be
deployed for peanuts when
compared to other forms of
paid media. “Depending on
the competition, we have seen
per-clicks costs as low as 25
cents and the cost per new fan
as low as 30 cents,” says Sarah
Van Heirseele, digital director
at Blue Chip Marketing
Page 2 ▶
B2B CommunicationsSocial MediaAdvertising
©2011 Access Intelligence LLC. Federal copyright law prohibits unauthorized reproduction by any means and imposes fines of up to $100,000 for violations.
December 19, 2011 prnewsonline.com Issue 48 Vol. 67
PR is always a main driver of
a given year’s top stories, but
it seems as if that was even
more true in 2011. From the
10th anniversary of 9/11 and
the saga of Charlie Sheen, to
the Royal Wedding and the
scandals at both Penn State and
Syracuse University, PR has
been front and center.
But those were the “public”
stories of public relations.
As members of the PR News
Advisory Board recalled
2011 events and offered up
important trends to look for
in 2012, a concern was that
people—both in business and
the general public—aren’t really
aware of all that PR entails. But,
do they really have to know?
That’s just one topic tackled
by five of our Advisory Board
members: Mike Herman,
CEO of Communication
Sciences International; Laura
Kane, VP of corporate com-
munications at Aflac; Michael
McDougall, managing partner
at McDougall Travers Collins;
Mike Paul (“The Reputation
Doctor”), president of MGP
& Associates PR; and Helene
Solomon, CEO of Solomon
McCown & Co.
PR News: How did PR do in
terms of its own reputation in
2011? When did PR shine, and
in what instances did it lose
some of its luster?
Helene Solomon: Tops on my
list was around 9/11 and many
different story threads around
the anniversary, and Steve
Jobs—the management of his
illness and his passing—and
the whole packaging around
the release of the biography by
Walter Isaacson, all with the
Page 6 ▶
Reputation Issues Define PR in 2011;
Privacy Problems in 2012?
▶Advisory Board Roundtable
Seven Things You Will
Learn in This Week’s
Issue of PR News
1. PR pros have seen clicks on
social media ads cost as little as
25 cents. (p. 1)
2. eMarketer estimates
Facebook’s ad revenue to be
about $4.27 billion in 2011. (p. 2)
3. According to the PR News
Salary Survey, nearly 30% of
respondents received no salary
increase in 2010. (p. 3)
4. Facebook is the space moms
use most for brand engagement,
followed by blogs and online
communities. (p. 3)
5. The New Jersey launch of the
eforea: spa at Hilton resulted in
67 development inquiries from
owners and investors. (p. 5)
6. One 2012 trend gleaned from
the PR News Advisory Board:
PR pros will be looked upon as
change managers. (p. 7)
7. The “Iago Effect” is when
a CEO turns to a trusted lieu-
tenant to help in a crisis, and
that person ends up doing more
harm than good. (p. 8)
(DID YOU KNOW?)
Contents
▶Cheat Sheet Social Media Ad Tips 2
▶Quick Study Cyber-Engaged Moms Buy More 3
▶Case Study Mystery Pitch Propels Spa Launch 4
▶Tip Sheet Brush Up Your Shakespeare 8
More premium content at PR News’ Subscriber Resource Center
PR News Releases
Salary Survey: Learn
where you and your peers stand
on compensation and benefits
by reading the PR News Salary
Survey. PR News subscribers
can get the report by e-mailing
clientservices@accessintel.com.
See page 3 for a sneak peek at
the data. The next issue of PR
News will be published on Jan.
2, 2012. Happy Holidays!

2. Diving into the cluttered space
of spa brands, Hilton Hotels
& Resorts needed to make a
notable splash. The spa experi-
ence has become an integral
part of contemporary travel,
and to meet this growing
demand, Hilton prepared
to introduce “eforea: spa at
Hilton,” its first branded spa. Of
course, earning extensive media
coverage would help present
eforea as a fresh experience
offered by an established brand.
Hilton needed to launch eforea
as a new global spa concept—
and one that is better than its
competitors’ spas.
In a three-month period
starting in July 2010, a com-
bined 10-person PR team from
Hilton and agencies Murphy
O’Brien Public Relations
and Covalent Logic devised a
plan to entice a range of media
to cover the global launch of
eforea in Short Hills, N.J., on
Oct. 21, 2010, to bring the
message to consumers, future
guests and potential developers.
Goals and objectives for the
launch included:
• Secure consumer and trade
media coverage about the
new spa to generate interest
from guests and property
owners who develop hotels
under the Hilton brand;
reach outlets in which the
brand had traditionally been
absent; and position Hilton
as a legitimate force in the
spa industry.
• Generate sales leads and ulti-
mately increase the develop-
ment of eforea: spa installa-
tions worldwide.
• Extend brand cachet by
showcasing the style, sophis-
tication and contemporary
relevance of Hilton Hotels &
Resorts.
MEDIA MASSAGE
Hilton launched an aggressive,
multi-phased
approach to
capture the
attention of tra-
ditional media,
social influ-
encers, bloggers
and celebrity-
focused outlets.
Direct, personal
outreach to key
target media
enabled Hilton
to generate
buzz among a
wide circle of
reporters and
recruit a group
of media ready
to pounce
once its formal
announcement
was made. The
organization’s
core press Web
site, The Hilton Global Media
Center, was to be used to tout
the New Jersey event and
worldwide launch.
The outreach twist: The
team would pique interest
without unveiling specifics
about the concept or that
Hilton was even preparing to
introduce a spa brand. Hilton
wanted to own the spa space
on the day of its major global
announcement—withholding
the name, logo and specific
details of eforea: spa at Hilton
until the formal launch.
Save-the-date e-mails
were delivered with a design
aesthetic that hinted at a new
“journey” from Hilton, without
disclosing the eforea name or
any other spa-related details.
Reporters clicked through
the image (pictured) to RSVP
online at the same Global
Media Center Web address
that would—post-launch—
house the electronic media
kit. Murphy O’Brien’s phone
pitching and follow-up alluded
to it being a global announce-
ment in the wellness space,
but did not reveal the plans for
the event or the actual launch
announcement details.
The media kit, once made
available online the night of
the announcement, needed
different aspects to show the
depth of the story and bring
it to life in order to help a
reporter—or investor—under-
stand the new spa concept, says
John Forrest Ales, director of
global brand public relations
for Hilton.
“This was new territory for
us in the eyes of the consumer
because we didn’t have a known
presence in this space,” says
Ales. “We decided to create a
brand experience for those on
hand, and to produce a ‘come
out all at once brand story’ full
of digital assets to be available
online immediately after the
event,” says Ales.
DIGITAL HOME
Stafford Kendall, principal at
Company: Hilton Hotels & Resorts
Agencies: Murphy O’Brien Public
Relations/Covalent Logic
Timeframe: July 2010 - Ongoing
▶Case Study
4 prnewsonline.com | 12.19.11
Four Tips for Creating
A Seamless Media Center
For the launch of Hilton Hotels & Resorts’ new eforea spa brand,
Covalent Logic team built a microsite on Hilton’s Global Digital
Media Center to manage media outreach and house a range of
digital assets, from downloadable photos to embeddable video spa
tours. Stafford Kendall, principal at Covalent, provides four tips on
for creating a seamless Web site experience for media.
1. Share the wealth. Provide a multitude of high-resolution photo-
graphs, video and audio that is easily downloadable. Give them
plenty to choose from.
2. Open sesame. Do not require a log-in or credentials to access
your materials. Credentialed press creates exclusivity, but doesn’t
allow for broad coverage from bloggers and regional media.
3. Get a game plan. Gather logos, fact sheets, links, head shots
and B-roll footage in advance to have on a development site (and
tested) before your event. Require these items to be finalized and
in place by the day of the launch.
4. Please feed the beast. A media site should be a living, breathing
animal that requires nourishment, updating and ongoing attention.
Don’t build it and forget about it.
Big event, small hint: Save-the-date e-mails were
delivered to media leading up to the global premiere
of the eforea: spa at Hilton in Short Hills, N.J. The
e-mail was scant on details, while hinting about an
upcoming “journey.”
Sly Messaging and a Personal Media Relations Touch
Help Drive Global Buzz Around Hilton’s Spa Launch
(c)2011HiltonHotels&Resorts
Event PRDigital PRMedia Relations

3. prnewsonline.com | 12.19.11 5
Covalent Logic and leader of
the campaign’s digital efforts,
says her team’s goal was to
make the Web presence reflect
the spa’s brand identity, but also
to tie it to the existing Hilton
Global Media Center.
“The regular travel press are
very familiar with the Hilton
Global Media Center, but we
wanted the newly targeted
beautification and cosmetics
publications who would be
visiting the eforea page to see
it was part of a larger Hilton
brand story,” says Kendall. To
make the launch truly global,
the press release announce-
ment was translated into 14
languages.
The team needed to secure
interest, manage logistics
of transporting media and
serve as a “concierge” for
media guests. Personal phone
calls helped the team engage
reporters, gauge interest and
secure coverage. Media in
Manhattan were picked up in
private town cars transformed
with the look and feel of eforea.
“PR pros need to be mindful
of all logistical aspects from
start to finish, and in this case,
offering transportation was one
way that we overcame the chal-
lenge of holding an event out-
side of Manhattan,” says Sarah
Siler, VP, Murphy O’Brien.
Upon arrival, media received a
first-look tour of the new spa,
met key product partners and
received mini spa treatments
before party guests arrived.
Blue carpet arrivals fed a steady
stream of celebrity photos to a
variety of entertainment out-
lets.
Meanwhile, the team also
wanted to make a quick impact
and drive the conversation
online immediately after the
launch. Bloggers were pitched
to for their coverage immediacy
and to capture the energy of the
announcement party.
Since the news wasn’t
released in advance, the
Murphy O’Brien team secured
a media exclusive in The Wall
Street Journal that would hit
the morning of the launch and
also coordinated stories for
that afternoon in The New York
Times and USA Today.
GAME ON
The minute the event launched,
the team flipped the switch
on the eforia microsite, and
reporters were instantly pro-
vided with embeddable videos
and tours with Hilton execu-
tives, photos and spa treatment
information. “Something as
basic as having a friendly URL
(HiltonGlobalMediaCenter.
com/eforea) during our
pitching helped the media
remember it as the hub,” says
Ales.
For Ales, the most diffi-
cult part of the campaign was
keeping media in the dark prior
to the event.
“We wanted that ‘aha!’
unveiling moment,” says Ales.
“We didn’t want the logo and
matted color schemes to get
out, and we had to get creative
about how we communicated
to reporters to give them a
general sense that this was an
important global announce-
ment and not a run of-the-mill
statement.”
For Kendall, building a dig-
ital strategy to boost the critical
48-hour press period as well as
create a sustainable resource
was the biggest challenge.
“For an event we may create a
static microsite, but this had
to be manageable for future
launches,” says Kendall. If given
a second chance, Kendall says
they would have integrated the
eforea more fluidly with the
Global Media Center.
RESULTS PARTY
The event, which was more
of a high-profile party than a
press conference, landed Hilton
placements in outlets and blogs
around the world within hours.
Specific results included:
• More than 70 media brands
the launch event including
Condé Nast Traveler, Men’s
Health, Fitness, Good
Housekeeping, Travel Weekly,
American Spa, Travel +
Leisure and Cosmopolitan,
among others.
• Hilton flew reporters from
key target outlets in Australia
and the U.K.—two major
markets for eforea develop-
ment—to the event. Bloggers
and journalists covering life-
style, fashion, beauty, health
and niche areas joined tradi-
tional travel consumer and
trade reporters. In all, there
were more than 120 place-
ments in consumer, trade and
entertainment outlets, with a
total circulation of more than
140 million.
• The media landing page on
the Hilton Global Media
Center received more than
7,000 page views to date,
with 4,500 views directly to
the landing page from inter-
ested media.
• The far-reaching exposure of
the launch led to 67 develop-
ment inquiries from owners
and investors, and within two
months of the launch, 11 of
those inquiries led to con-
firmed spa openings in 2011.
For Hilton, the eforea brand
is proving to be a major suc-
cess. It has expanded into New
Zealand, Australia, Thailand
and will be in China in 2012.
When each new spa is opened
around the world, the local
media experiences the rather
personal launch process, too,
with fresh quotes, videos and
pictures. PRN
CONTACT:
Stafford Kendall, stafford@
covalentlogic.com; John Forrest
Ales, JohnForrest.Ales@hilton.
com; Sarah Siler, ssiler@
murphyobrien.com
Source: Covalent Logic
Mad Dashes to Hilton’s eforea Microsite
In launching its first branded spa concept, eforea: spa at Hilton, in 2010, Hilton Hotels turned to digital
outreach to get the word out among journalists, creating a microsite available within its Global Media
Center. At the initial launch in New Jersey, more than 320 photos were downloaded from the site to be
used in print media and online. In 2011, aggressive media outreach caused the site to spike three more
times, with two launches in Thailand and one in Australia.