2022 Winners & Shortlists

Why is this work relevant for PR?

The Waitographer demonstrates how original thinking, transformative insight and a strategy rooted in earned has influenced brand affinity and cultural change within the way a brand can deliver a service. An idea with an inspiring storytelling at its core, which reinforced the reputation of Hilton brand as a pioneer in the hospitality industry.

Background

More often than not, a brand idea is only delivered through a beautiful film and some empty words. This case is an example of how brand action can be much more powerful. In 2020, Hilton launched ‘To New Memories’ brand platform globally, it was capturing our collective craving for reconnect with our loved ones and experience new moments worth remembering Then at the end of 2021, as the world was reopening and everyone was either traveling or considering traveling in 2022, the key for Hilton was to be talked about so that the mental availability of the brand would be high. How could Hilton not only live up to its brand promise “To New Memories” but give the world a reason to talk about it? Objectives: ● Create talkability and a news factor for the brand ● Engage employees around its new brand promise ● Drive brand affinity and engagement

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

What if we could make every waiter at Hilton a truly great photographer of precious memories? Introducing “Waitographer”, an internal program upskilling the Hilton staff, delivering them an official certificate training as mobile photographers. The idea itself is built on an attention-catching topic with great potential to bring news worthy innovation in the hospitality industry, regionally and globally, and to disrupt the usual conventional content. Led by Roger Moukarzel, an internationally acclaimed Lebanese photographer, we created the first mobile photography workshop especially dedicated to waiters of Hilton’s properties. All waiters who complete the course are given a special pin to mark them as certified waitographers and to be easily recognized by customers on the ground. Additional communications within the company to drive cultural change first, and in restaurants, on Hilton’s social channels and in the media supported the uplift in experience.

Describe the PR strategy (30% of vote)

Our memories tell the stories of our life. Many memories are created when people stay and dine at a Hilton. So how do we help people not just create those great memories, but also keep them forever to remember and cherish? The answer is simple: the cornerstone of a great memory is a great photo. But there’s a problem: most holiday pictures are awful, especially when you give your phone to a waiter. Photos get cropped, out of focus, or worse with a finger on the lens! Bad photos don’t make it to beautiful frames and they get forgotten. Because quality memories deserve quality pictures. What if we could make every waiter at Hilton a truly great photographer of precious memories? The creation of a film enabled to communicate the idea both internally and externally, especially across owned and earned media amplification. That was the beginning of an idea worth-spreading.

Describe the PR execution (20% of vote)

First, the Waitographer program was implemented internally within Hilton in the UAE. The purpose was to drive change in the culture of the organisation and rally everyone to embrace the new initiative through specific trainings dedicated to waiters. Then, the initiative was promoted across Hilton owned media channels such as Youtube and other social media platforms. The film promotes the Waitographer initiative by immersing ourselves in a dinner experience where guests are struggling to get their pictures done the right way. The word got even more spread around with press headlines such as “Waiters at Hilton are now trained in photography to snap up perfect memories”. Earned media played a massive role in amplifying the communications roll-out, from news publications such as Gulf News, Al Bayan and Al Ittihad to industry specialised press such as Conde Nast Traveller and World Traveller.

List the results (30% of vote)

The most important impact for us, has been the change in mindset: everyone at Hilton has always been committed to creating amazing moments but now they have become more aware (and prepared for) turning beautiful moments into beautiful memories. As a first round of graduates, 70 waiters were selected in the UAE. 40 team members trained in UAE & Saudi Arabia and set for Europe where team members will start training in February, with a view to expanding to other markets via online training from March. Additional communication in restaurants, on Hilton’s social channels and in the media supported the uplift in experience. The initiative has generated PR across 10 markets in publications as diverse as Hotelier Middle East, Whats On, Time Out, and Khaleej Times. Some of the quotes include: “new skills will equip waiters to take photographs for guests in future with expertise and without stress”. Our content on social platforms is planning to reach 2.7million people and more will come as the campaign is just starting to scale and spread. In just one weekend, the Instagram post reached over half a million people, with 786.795 total video plays and a cost per engagement of only £0.01. So book at Hilton.com and get your photo frames ready!

Please tell us about the social behaviour and / or cultural insights that inspired your work

Many researchers have proven that the quality of our lives is determined by the quality of our relationships. And our memories tell the stories of our life. Memories are the footprints of all the best moments we had experience in our past. All the rest is lost to time. The cornerstone of a great memory is a great photo. The photo – considered as the memory currency – inspired the idea to uplift the experience of guests inside the hotels.