Sandman dreams up its first major campaign in two decades

Sandman Hotel Group is challenging category convention by avoiding images of amenities and accommodations in marketing, while it seeks to build awareness for its 54 locations.

Sandman Hotel Group, the Northland Properties-owned mid-range hotel chain is encouraging Canadians to “spend less on their accommodations so they can get away more” according to its tagline, and put some new memories on their fridge while they do it.

“The client was making it very clear it was not interested in free Wi-Fi, parking, breakfast and the stuff most other brands talk about,” says Kyle Darbyson, creative director at agency partner, Full Punch. “[The brand] was more interested in reminding people that travel is great whether it’s a week or a weekend away.”

Darbyson says a fridge covered in tchotchkes was an interesting way to tell a story of travel through someone’s life. Sandman is about proximity, convenience and value, Darbyson notes, and the campaign is a creative way to get people excited about unexpected surprises of travel and creating core memories, while tying it back to the brand by saying you can spend more on the actual trip rather than on accommodations.

Sandman has been around for decades, and began as a modest roadside motel. Darbyson says the brand’s new creative is as “pure an awareness campaign as you can get,” in order to stand out in a crowd of competitors with decades of brand equity and global notoriety. It also gets the word out that Sandman exists in big cities, and counters perceptions its offerings are limited to smaller towns.

In addition to the 30-second hero spot, on social media, stop-motion fridge magnets list various awareness and value-driven messages, while digital out-of-home showcases a variety of fridges full of family memories and headlines reminding travelers how easy and affordable it is.

“We purposely avoided the big expensive media buys on TV,” Darbyson says, adding that the brand opted instead for CTV, radio and OOH to go after younger families with kids almost exclusively.

The new creative marks Sandman’s first major campaign in more than 20 years. The company is expanding stateside and into the UK, and as a pillar of the Northland Properties empire – which also includes dining chain Moxie’s, as well as Revelstoke Mountain Resort – Sandman needed to get the message out and tell its story impactfully.

The campaign launched to capture an audience beginning to plan their summer getaways and will be live in Western Canada for eight weeks, with media planning by EssenceMediacom.