HOSPITALITY AWARDS

The Culture Collective x Sónar+DA p p l i c a t i o n p r e s e n t a t i o n

P R E S E N T S

The Culture Collective

Contemporary culture, curated by ME for you.

#TheMEScene

P R E S E N T A T I O N - N A M E O F T H E C O N C E P T1.

‘The Culture Collective’ is the way we

communicate the Cultural Programme – ME by

Meliá’s cultural initiative, partnering with cutting-

edge creative minds from across the globe to

bring groundbreaking contemporary culture into

ME hotels.

And ME by Meliá has join forces with Sónar+D

through “The Culture Collective x Sónar+D”, a

collaboration which will bring the latest in

innovation, technology and creativity to ME

hotels as a facilitator of contemporary culture.

INTERNAL PROGRAMME SÓNAR+D PARTNERSHIP

P R E S E N T A T I O N - D E S C R I B E T H E I N N O V A T I V E C O N C E P T

And ME by Meliá has join forces with Sónar+D through “The Culture Collective x Sónar+D”, a collaboration which will bring the latest in innovation, technology and creativity to ME hotels as a facilitator of contemporary culture.

In 2019 we will continue evolving our collaboration.

“Bringing groundbreaking contemporary culture into ME hotels.”

1.

2018 collaboration –activations

Voices of Sónar+D for ME by Meliá

2 talks in partnership with Sónar+D

An open dialogue between artists, creators and entrepreneurs who are pushing the boundaries of innovation.

Concierge @SONAR+D 2018 ME stand and lifestyle services at Sónar

• Lifestyle Concierge Service.

• Barcelona Hotspots Advisors together with

URBAN JUNKIES

• DIY guide of Barcelona hidden hotspots

• Art pop-up installation.

1.

3. When and why has the concept been introduced?

The Culture Collective concept was developed and

introduced at the beginning of 2018 in alignment with

the new Brand positioning strategy. The focus was to

become a driving force of contemporary culture,

highlighting its special focus on innovation and

creativity.

The Culture Collective is the name that we give to our

Brand Cultural Programme which is developed both on

a Brand and a hotel level with the aim of becoming a

true driving force of contemporary culture.

Our Cultural Programme is developed across all

properties through an intensive and deep cultural

entertainment programme. By collaborating and

connecting with local and International artists and

partners, we join forces with key creative and

innovative leaders that share ME’s culture personality.

4. What kind of surveys were conducted to launch the concept?

Our new cultural positioning, and therefore our

concept, The Culture Collective, has been set up

after thorough and wide-reaching research and

analysis of the market, trends, target profile and

brand personality. This is the result of a complete

study of the brand and its environment, ensuring

that the target profile is always positioned in the

center of the study.

Our target profile had an key role in this study. The

many study techniques used focused on our

target profile in order to find out their opinion;

focus group, personal interviews, panels, etc. This

provided the starting point of the analysis and

study.

P R E S E N T A T I O N

2. C O N C E P T I O N

1. Have partners been involved in thedefinition of the concept?

Following our positioning and joining forces with a key

partnership in the innovation and cultural landscape,

we have created The Culture Collective x Sónar+D. This

was done so that we could include this collaboration

under our The Culture Collective programme and

umbrella concept.

For The Culture Collective x Sónar+D umbrella concept

for this collaboration we have created, together with

Sónar and Sónar+D, “Voices of Sónar+D for ME by

Meliá” for the specific activities and talks, that have

taken place in ME hotels.

• The Culture Collective x Sónar+D: ME by

Meliá’s umbrella concept for its cultural

programme, joining with key innovative and

creative partner, Sónar+D.

• Voices of Sónar+D for ME by Meliá: concept

created together with Sónar+D to give visibility

and a common name to the series of

conversations that have taken place and will

take in the future in the different ME hotels in

collaboration with artists, innovators and

business leaders.

2. What are the main innovative aspects of the

concept?

This is not just a concept but also a whole 360º Project which

represents innovation and the characteristics of everything

that we have done along this project. It has been innovative

to align forces with one of the most important international

congresses of innovation, technology and creativity that

battles to evolve in everything they do.

On the other hand, innovation is also present in the new

concept of events and talks created under the name “Voices

of Sónar+D for ME”. Under this concept, creative leaders,

innovative projects and ideas, cultural networks and media,

Sónar+D and the ME brand meet for conversations and

events that are not usual to experience in the hotel industry,

adding an incalculable value to the stay that transcends

accommodation.

It is also essential to note that the whole project is innovative

because we are joining groundbreaking artists, opinion

leaders and creative minds in addition to Sónar+D.

In addition, it was the first time that a hotel company was

present at the Sónar+D congress, Marketlab, merging our

stand with an innovative and technological environment.

In this 360º project we consider that innovation has been

present from the key partnerships involved and the marketing

strategy, to the singular stand design and innovative formula

of innovative concierge services.

3. C O M M U N I C A T I O N & I M P L E M E N T A T I O N

1. What was the total cost to create theconcept?

As we said before, this is a key, transversal and 360º

Project that belongs to our brand positioning and

help us to lay the foundation of our strategy focused

on culture and innovation.

As this is not just a concept but a key brand strategy,

this evolved from a sponsorship of Sónar+D and a

marketing, communication and social media

strategy to hotel activities and events related to the

partnership and actions that we are developing

together with Sónar+D and the collaborating artists.

In conclusion, this Project can not be understood as

a concept in terms of costs but as a long time

innovation strategy that we will continue developing

in 2019.

2. How many properties are involved in this new concept?

This year, strategy has been focused on a

brand message and perspective, as well as

bringing the collaboration and the

conversation to two key hotels of the ME brand:

ME Madrid and ME London. These cities are

hubs for major artists, innovators and

specialized media, and can therefore be

considered a whole cultural network.

Since this is a long term strategy which we will

continue developing in 2019, we will continue

involving more ME Hotels with different

activities, not just on a Brand level, but also on a

ME Hotels network level.

4. E V A L U A T I O N

1. How did you assess results after creating the concept?

As this is a pure Brand positioning and Brand

awareness strategy, we have developed a

complete communication plan and social

media strategy. Therefore, its measurement is

based on the KPI’s established in these plans

that are related to brand awareness,

recognition, relevance, impacts, etc.

Considering strategy KPI’s and the results

obtained, we can affirm that it has been a total

success in terms of awareness and brand

positioning in the cultural and innovative

landscape.

As we said, this is a long term strategy, so in 2019

we will continue evolving the different plans and

activities in collaboration with Sónar+D and its

collaborators.

2. How did you assess customersatisfaction related to this concept?

This collaboration took place in two ME Hotels

and the main stand in the Sónar+D annual

congress, so we could have direct input and

feedback from guests and attendees, both

personal and digital from social media

channels.

The result was fantastic since these activities

also gave us the opportunity to position the ME

Madrid and ME London hotels as leading

cultural hotspot in the cities and make them

well-known and connected with the cultural

local and international scene.

Social media was key for these activities since it

created a complete strategy. Guests and

attendees could have a direct link with ME and

Sónar+D and we have had great results in the

different channels.