When luxury NYC hotel The Benjamin first came to us a year after it opened, all the "opening" media fanfare had died down. The hotel needed fresh media angles and a positioning to differentiate it from the many luxury hotels in NYC and indeed, within a 10 block radius from its own front door. Redpoint's extensive site visit revealed an unexpected array of design details and services that support an exceptional night's sleep: sound proofed windows, blackout drapery, hand-selected bedding, an extensive menu of pillows (and this was long before the hotel "bedding wars" arose), and more. Knowing that The Benjamin's core guest was high-end business travelers, we created the positioning that sleep is the ultimate luxury, and that The Benjamin delivered a night's sleep that was as good, or even better, than one would get at home.
To strengthen this positioning, Redpoint recommended that the hotel add the following elements: create a special guest service attendant/media spokesperson, The Sleep Concierge, who received enhanced training in the art of sleep and could advise guests on pillow "solutions," sleep tips, etc.; extend the pillow menu from six to twelve options; offer a "Sleep Menu" of turndown amenities, from white noise machines to milk-and-cookies. Moreover, the hotel was willing to go one step further: it offered a "Sleep Guarantee" to guests: if you don't have an exceptional night's sleep, you can get a full refund for the night. Redpoint launched the "sleep positioning" with a profile of the Benjamin's Sleep Concierge in the Styles section of The New York Times, and intense media interest followed.
Unprecedented media coverage reached more than 50 million consumers in just three months, including The Weekend Today Show, Good Morning America, Today in New York, Good Day New York, and all the major prime time news shows, as well as The New York Times, USA Today, Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, and every major market newspaper.
Since that initial launch several years ago, media coverage remains strong. Not only have nearly all of the above short-lead media outlets covered The Benjamin "sleep" story several times again, but a host of long-lead and other media have featured the hotel and the Sleep Concierge. From multi-page features in the London Times to key North American media such as O, The Oprah Magazine, InStyle, Time Magazine, US News & World Report, Newsweek, USA Weekend, Travel & Leisure, and more. Media coverage for The Sleep Concierge over the years has exceeded a billion consumers.