Burj Al Arab Jumeirah proves social media can successfully extend brand equity.
DUBAI – Burj Al Arab Jumeirah, the World’s Most Luxurious Hotel, has been awarded the global title ‘Best Social Media Presence by an Individual Hotel, Property or Resort’ by Skift, the world’s largest travel intelligence and marketing platform.
During the seven month judging period from 1 January 2014 to 31 July 2014, Burj Al Arab achieved record engagement figures with more than six million likes, comments, shares and views across Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Twitter.
Initiatives highlighted by Skift included hosting the #WorldsUltimateInstameet with the world’s largest Instagram travel account @BeautifulDestinations. The Instameet was attended by ten of the world’s most influential social identities who share a combined audience of more than 18 million. The event generated more than 25,000 comments and 3.2 million likes from supporters around the world.
The hotel also committed to a yearlong partnership with #MyDubai, a campaign initiated by the Crown Prince of Dubai, HH Sheikh Hamdan. The initiative invites residents and visitors to hashtag their social media images #MyDubai to create ‘the world’s first autobiography of a city’. On the last Thursday of each month, the five best images are projected onto Burj Al Arab’s iconic sail.
Burj Al Arab’s social strategy targeted key social media influencers and high net-worth individuals to engage with both the local community and with current and potential customers.
Jumeirah Group Spokesperson, Piers Schreiber said: “We are delighted that Burj Al Arab Jumeirah has received the Best Social Media Presence for Hotels award from Skift. As the hotel is one of the most talked about and certainly the most photographed in the world, social media is the most natural platform for it to communicate with its many fans; and as the flagship hotel of Jumeirah Group it has pioneered the use especially of Instagram and YouTube in both building brand awareness and entertaining its followers across the globe. This award is a fitting testament to the creative passion of our marketing team at Burj Al Arab Jumeirah.”
The inaugural Skifties awards recognise and award travel brands that excelled against peers in 2014 with judging based on the marriage between value data and editorial context.
Announcing the winners, Skift said: “To us, acquisition of users was not enough to make a brand stand out, it was about how their content engaged the community, and how present and genuine the brands were in their attempt to inspire and convert their audience.”
Other Skifties award winners included TripAdvisor for Best Branded Facebook Account and Lonely Planet for Best Branded Instagram Account.
Photo caption: Burj Al Arab’s marketing team.
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