Stairway to viral Heaven

But you can pave the way, writes Mike Walder of Allink about the viral marketing blockbuster "Stairway to Heaven."

Allink is the agency of the Hotel-Villa Honegg and the pool of the 5-star superior hotel with 23 high-quality equipped rooms with dream views is the starting point of a fabulous marketing story.

Advertising Week: Mike Walder, how does it feel to be part of a viral hit with over 128 million engagements?
Mike Walder: It shows that our wiggle video viral strategy, planned intensively over six months with a team of 16 creatives, hit the mark. Seriously, as you mentioned at the outset, something like this simply can't be planned. Of course, we are very happy about the media attention that the post for Hotel Villa Honegg has triggered. In this respect, the viral hit is further confirmation that it pays to consistently use digital advertising channels. It works for the Hotel Villa Honegg.

Stairway to Heaven - please tell us the story.
As always, it all started quite innocently. Brazilian blogger Fabi Gama posted a shaky video of the Villa Honegg hotel pool on her travel blog. A short time later, the clip was shared by Discover World - and the rest is history: Within a very short time, the video was seen by 128 million people worldwide.

Performance - can you give us some figures?
In just three days, a turnover was achieved via the website that the hotel normally generates in two months. Another 900 inquiries were received by e-mail, plus countless bookings via hotel portals. By the time the viral hit was picked up by the Swiss mainstream media, traffic to the website had already peaked. Still, this positive press is very valuable. Hotel-Villa Honegg generates over 50 percent of its revenue from Swiss guests. A mention in the national media is priceless advertising; after all, not every Swiss citizen is present on social media on a daily basis yet.

ROI - and how much was the investment?
The investment was to invite a blogger to the hotel. In view of this, quite a good return.

Recipe for success - what are the ingredients that have been processed?
From an online marketing perspective, you have to admit: This publicity is unique and can hardly be planned. But you can pave the way to it. The starting point is always a strong story that immediately inspires. In the brand story of Villa Honegg, the unique location with breathtaking views therefore played the main role from the very beginning: in the development of the brand strategy; in the logo, which refers to the topography with the stylized contour lines; and in the imagery, which consists of more than 500 shots taken by a local photographer and is accessible online for all journalists, bloggers and fans: Brandmanual.ch/villa-honegg

Dangers - were there also negative feedbacks or other critical moments?
For the small, exclusive boutique hotel, the story is almost paradoxical: You trigger delight among 128 million people, but you can only manage this rush of visitors to a certain extent, because there are only 23 rooms available. But at the same time, the desirability arises from exactly that exclusivity, were it not for 128 million potential guests ...

Opportunities - how do you put the power of 128 million engagements on the road?
Well first and foremost, we hope that not everyone wants to swim in the pool of Hotel-Villa Honegg at the same time. Just the mention in daily newspapers and travel blogs in the last few days will bring Hotel-Villa Honegg increased traffic to the site for a long time. For example, the visibility of the hotel on Google has tripled in the last seven days.

Trends - Mike Walder, what do you see as the most exciting current developments in digital marketing?
Personally, I think it's great to see how SMEs can use online marketing to reach customers they can't get to with traditional forms of advertising because the costs are simply too high. Hotel Villa Honegg is a prime example: guests from all over the world reported that they became aware of the hotel via Instagram & Co. even before "Stairway to Heaven". "Stairway to Heaven" is not well executed in terms of quality, but ultimately radiates the hotel's brand values perfectly. I see "Stairway to Heaven" as a lucky strike, whoever wants to proceed in a more plannable way has to produce authentic, exciting content, boring junk is ignored. Depending on the company, this can be a shaky smartphone video or just a professionally produced spot.

Allink - who is at the right address with you?
Successful Swiss SMEs that have established themselves in their market, but whose day-to-day business leaves them little time to take care of their brand presence. We help our clients to sharpen their brand values and communicate them to the outside world: with a clear corporate identity and communication on the web.

Interview: Beat Hürlimann