INTODUCTION TO MARKETING

Based on the information provided in the case study,create an integrated marketing communication (IMC) for NOBU Hotels.Please include at least 4 promotional mix tools and describe thepromotion/activity with sufficient details for each.

Traveling in Nobu Style: Converting Restaurant Patronsto Hotel Guests

The name “Nobu” is synonymous with an exceptional Japanesedining experience, perfected by chef Nobu Matsuhisa over a morethan 30-year career. Matsuhisa, together with actor Robert De Niroand restaurateur Drew Nieporent, opened the first Nobu restaurantin 1994 and to date, there are now 38 Nobu restaurantsworldwide.

But if you talk to Trevor Horwell, the CEO of Nobu Hospitality,Nobu represents much more than just a restaurant experience. It’s atrue lifestyle brand that also encompasses a relatively small, butgrowing portfolio of luxury hotels, too — eight of which are opennow, and eight more are in the pipeline.

Horwell’s primary focus as CEO is to continue to grow the NobuHotels brand and as he opens up diners’ eyes to the fact thatcannot only eat at a Nobu but stay at one, too, he hasn’t forgottenthe brand’s origins in the process.

“We don’t normally do a hotel unless we think that a NobuRestaurant can do well in that location,” said Horwell. “That’svery important because what we want to do first and foremost is tomake sure there is a draw for locals, and that really comes down tothe Nobu Restaurant.” Horwell said the majority of his Nobu hotelrestaurant diners — 80 percent on average — are local residents,not hotel guests. “It’s not like a tourist restaurant. We like toattract the locals. We want that built-in customer.”

“We are defined by the restaurant, in a way,” he said. “We playto our strengths. If you look at the hotel business today, themajority of hotels are suffering because they don’t lead with foodand beverage. don’t have strong food-and-beverage concepts, and alot of hotels are losing money. Today, we play to our strengthsbecause that is one area that we do very, very well, and we bringin locals.”

The idea to launch Nobu Hotels, he said, came from the fact thatwhen Nobu Restaurants were located inside of a hotel, they “werethe draw for the hotel and we were bringing in customers.”

“If I only convert 5 percent of my customers in Nobu Restaurantto stay in our hotels, then at the end of the day, we’re fillingout hotels. It’s not a tall order to do that, and you can do thatvery well and very quickly if you offer the right product.”

Nobu Hotels has the advantage of having built its brand over a24-year period with its restaurants first, followed by the firstNobu hotel that opened within Caesars Palace Las Vegas in 2013.

“The first focus for us, really, is to expose the brand to ourrestaurant customers,” Horwell said. “We touch all types of Nobucustomers. And we also provide instant identity. If you put ‘NobuHotel’ on a hotel, the word ‘Nobu’ says something and it attracts acertain type of customer.” Horwell said that, for example, when thefirst Nobu opened, the hotel had “more than one billion mediaimpressions.”

So, what’s next for the brand, and how does Horwell plan to growNobu Hotels? He explained, “We’re not driven by reservationssystems because we’re small. It isn’t as if we need a hugereservations system to fill a 400-room hotel. That’s why a lot ofthese corporations do well, because they have the reservationsplatform to fill the big hotels.” Nobu Hotels, by comparison,average anywhere from 100 to 150 rooms generally.

“The reason why those young lifestyle brands have emerged isbecause they’re like us. They are entrepreneurial, they’re uniquebecause it’s a concept that’s come from the heart, from whoever isthe original founder. But when it’s absorbed by a corporation, thewhole thing changes. At the end of the day, the specialness is lostbecause then the corporation’s running it, and then, I think youlose what your original concept was all about. I think that’s thebiggest issue.”

Horwell also doesn’t necessarily think of Nobu Hotels asoccupying a place in luxury hospitality, instead referring to thebrand as “special.”

“I look at our hotels not as luxury,” he said. “I look at themas special. I like us to be special, in each location we’re in.‘Luxury’ is a word that’s used too much in terms of ‘everything isluxury today.’ For us, we’re ‘special.'”

“That’s why I’m saying, from a company perspective, we’re veryentrepreneurial.

Today’s evolving luxury traveler is seeking “youthfulness” nomatter what age they are, and they are “very curious and veryadventurous. Because of that, it’s important for hospitalitybrands, Nobu included, to not just say they’re unique but to reallyoffer unique experiences. He pointed to Nobu Ryokan Malibu inCalifornia as an example. The 16-room retreat overlooks the beachand is right by the ocean, and right next door to the NobuRestaurant in Malibu. It becomes a destination, and that’ssomething Nobu wants to offer.

It’s also a different concept from what the other Nobu Hotelshave. While Nobu Hotels are places where there’s an emphasis onbringing in the locals, the Ryokans are meant to be moreprivate.

“The Ryokan is actually a place where people don’t want tonecessarily be seen,” Horwell explained. “It’s a hideaway, aretreat. You can only book through a general manager and it’s aspecial place.” He added, “We will do more Ryokans, definitely, inlocations that we think is right.”

A major focus for Nobu Hotels is to grow the company and thebrand with the right talent and partners, as well as make sure thatthe Nobu Hotels brand is reaching the right consumers.

“The most important thing, from our perspective, is to build arelationship with our existing customers,” he said. “It’s about,first and foremost, on digital, working our databases. We like todo that through email, through a lot of channels. We just broughton a new head of digital. Capturing data is very, very importantnow, and that’s something that is a main focus and her team.”

“I think the main thing for us is the customer relationshipmanagement (CRM) because you can do so much with it,” he said. “Youcan know your customer. It’s one part of the business that we areheavily focused in in and we can extract a lot of information fromthat.”

In addition to beefing up its customer relationship managementsystem, Nobu is also testing out a loyalty partnership, of sorts.The Nobu London Shoreditch joined Design Hotels last year, givingthe property access to distribution on Design Hotels’ site, as wellas a connection to the Starwood Preferred Guest loyalty program.Three Nobu hotels are also members of Leading Hotels of the World.“A lot of our customers aren’t driven by points,” he said. “When Itravel, I don’t go for points. I want to stay in a hotel where Ienjoy the staff, the food and beverage, the products — all of that— and I will pay a premium for it.”

  

Appendix A
Additional Information about NOBU

Nobu Hotels

"A Place to go and be seen"

By “wrapping” the concept of a luxurious boutique hotel aroundenergized public spaces, Nobu Hotels creates powerful stages forshared experiences of excitement and escapism. Featuring the bestof everything with imaginative new restaurants, high- energy bars,relaxing rejuvenation, distinctive service, remarkable retail andan air of celebrity, Nobu Hotels will afford guests and privilegedowners the most exclusive entry into unparalleled experiences thatlay at the crossroads of innovation and imagination.

Source:

Excerpted from ‘Nobu Hotels CEO on aRestaurant-First Approach to Hospitality’ by D.Ting. Skift – March 22, 2018. +Expertsand image from Nobu restaurant and hotel website