Aiming to cement its position as the hotel of choice for business travellers, Crowne Plaza is running its Think Tank series of events for the second year in succession.

Run once again by Out of the Blue Communications, the new creative platform builds on the success of the 2007 campaign, which saw the hotel brand partner with a group of visionary thought leaders called the Crowne Plaza Mavericks, which included Slow Movement founder Carl Honore and award-winning German actor Peter Lohmeyer.

Last year’s activity included a series of unique events in Crowne Plaza hotels across Europe, where the Mavericks offered business travellers an insight into the tools that they use to stay ahead of the game, as well as providing practical advice and inspiration.

This year, the Crowne Plaza Think Tank is celebrating innovation, with Out of the Blue recruiting leaders from the business and creative industries. This new group will be known as the Crowne Plaza Innovators, who will develop bespoke items that aim to directly benefit the hotel’s business guests.

The three Innovators will each create a different product or service for hotels across nine important European markets, focusing on areas that are key to business travellers, such as meeting rooms, bedrooms and club lounges. Supported by a variety of marketing activities, the concepts will ultimately be delivered to Crowne Plaza business guests through a series of events designed to engage and entertain this key hotel audience.

The campaign will be broken down into a number of components with the new innovations at its heart. These will include:
– A microsite www.crowneplazathinktank.com
– A European print and online media partnership
– Point-of-sale material in Crowne Plaza hotels
– Promotional support through newsletters to members of the Priority Club Rewards programme, the world’s largest hotel loyalty scheme
– Print and online advertising support across Europe
– A series of events and experiences in key hotels to highlight the innovation benefits