CHRISTINA X CLARK

THE WORLD’S GATHERING PLACE

With over 400 hotels in 75 countries around the world, Sheraton is a global icon. To rebrand at such a scale is no small endeavor. We began by defining the brand’s core values of warm, connected, community and then created the brand positioning. We brought it all to life across all guest touch points around the globe, adding personality, life and relevance to a brand that was perceived as stale and old.

The toughest challenge: creating a mechanism for the voice that allowed the brand personality to be translated into dozens of languages, while keeping the voice simple enough for associates at the hotel-level to reproduce.

My Role: Lead Copywriter, Copy Director and Concept Lead

Deliverables:
Core value definitions
Defining, naming and describing the demographic
Positioning tag line
Tone and voice creation
Brand narrative
Interior design narrative
100+ piece guest-facing collateral program
Brand video
B2B development brochures
Retail catalogs
Training materials
A $20 million ad campaign
Webinars and training of writers around the globe in all media.

"At its heart, Sheraton is about people. And about bringing people together, all around the world. It’s the best man’s champagne toast. The deal sealed with a handshake. Your family reunion. It’s where every language is understood, and the universal language is spoken. Where work and life are in perfect proportion. And everyone is on the same wavelength. The human one."

EYES WIDE OPEN

At the center of Le Meridien Hotels & Resorts brand refresh is the "Creative Mind", a demographic who works in the creative field and has an international mindset. Every brand touchpoint is designed to appeal to this guest’s innate curiosity and to allow him/her to discover something new. It comes through in a menu with words hidden in French folds. A ticket with a carefully placed perforation that, when torn, reveals a new word. Gutters that reveal poetry to the curious guest.

My Role: Copy Director, Senior Copywriter, Concept Lead

Deliverables:
New tone and voice for brand
150+ page visual language guide
Positioning statements
Tag lines
100+ piece collateral program
Ad campaigns
Microsites
Brand launch world conference concept and materials
Product naming
Spa materials
B2B sales materials
Training webinars for writers around the globe and across all media

"Unlock Art
Our room keys open more than just doors. They can open minds. Featuring the commissioned work of select contemporary artists, our keycards offer guests access to an experience with a contemporary cultural institution."

THE WARMTH OF COOL

W Hotel’s iconic cool extends through every consumer touchpoint, from the Welcome Ambassador’s repartee to the behind-the-velvet-rope vibe of the Living Room to the covetable style of the posh guestrooms. Infusing this feeling throughout the digital sphere was a pleasure.

As the first touchpoint with the guest and a major revenue driver and sales tool, whotels.com needs to seamlessly and impeccably blend form, function and fierceness, all in 226 characters or less.

My Role: Senior Copywriter

Deliverables:
Brand refresh of entire whotels.com website
Product naming
Property copy that sells all hotels, bars and spas

"Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler

Let lounge impresario Rande Gerber put his voodoo on you at Whiskey Blue. Or fall under the spell of flavor at foodie’s delight Zoe, where Louisiana comfort foods meet contemporary cuisine. When times get too hot, cool off in a poolside cabana."

STYLE AT A STEAL

Aloft hotels is a rapidly growing select service brand that had outgrown its very American Tone and Voice as it expanded internationally. I created a brand story to speak to these tuned-in travelers, no matter their native tongue.

My Role: Copy Director, Senior Copywriter, Concept Lead

Deliverables:
Core value definitions
Defining, naming and describing the demographic
Tone and Voice creation & guide
100+ piece guest-facing collateral program
Brand narrative
Design narrative
National & multi-national ad campaigns
Website & microsites
Promotions
Social posts
Training of writers around the globe in all media

“Break free from the bland and generic. Designed for global travelers who love open spaces, open thinking and open expression, this is where travel creates possibilities. Where style is necessary. Gourmet can be to go. Connectivity keeps up with you. Social scenes are vibrant. And the only direction is forward. This is Aloft Hotels.”

FOR A BETTER YOU

For a demographic of corporate climbing Healthy Actives, we created a voice that uplifts as it soothes, and delivers information quickly, concisely, efficiently and beautifully.

An added challenge was creating headline conventions that were simple enough to be replicated by hotel staff around the globe, but sophisticated enough to represent this world-class lifestyle brand.

My Role: Copy Director, Concept Lead.

Deliverables:
Core value definitions
Defining, naming and describing the demographic
Tone and voice creation
100+ piece guest-facing collateral program
Website
Events/road shows concepting and collateral
Sales and marketing materials
B2B developer facing brochure
Retail catalog
Webinars and training of writers around the globe

“Everything we do is designed to help you feel your best. From our world-renowned Heavenly® Bed and our nourishing SuperFoodsRxTM dishes, to our energizing WestinWORKOUT and our revitalizing Heavenly® Spa treatments, every element of your stay is created to leave you feeling better than when you arrived.

For a better you.”

YOU ARE A PHOENIX. RISE. 

To reposition the legendary Phoenician Spa for a new era, we looked back to an ancient one. Working from on the roots of the name, we steeped our work in the legend of the Phoenix, and the myth and rituals of Phoenician people to create a spa experience that is eternal, timeless and magical.

We infused the brand into every customer touchpoint. We envisioned treatments incorporating Phoneician staples: honey, pomegranate and oils. We created rituals: invite the guest to write an intention for their visit on parchment, then toss it into a firepit to symbolize the rebirth that awaits.

My Role: Copy Director, Concept Lead.

DELIVERABLES
Brand development
Brand narrative
Tone and voice creation
60+ page visual language guide
Style guide
Spa rituals
Spa treatment concepting

COLLECT THE WORLD’S EXPERIENCES

Each Luxury Collection hotel and resort is a distinct, authentic expression of its location, a portal into the destination’s indigenous charms and treasures. All of the Collection’s 75+ hotels are noteworthy for their history, architecture, art, furnishings and amenities. When creating a new voice for this brand, we focused on and highlighted the amazing details and experiences that truly evoke the place. A collection of restored 14th century palaces, Murano glass chandeliers, ornately carved marble columns and legendary architecture, these properties are anything but ordinary, and the voice is equally embellished, ornate and absolutely transporting.

My Role: Copy Director/Senior Copywriter, Concept Lead

Deliverables:
Core value definitions
Defining, naming and describing the demographic
Tone and voice creation
100+ piece guest-facing collateral program
A national ad campaign
Website
Webinars and training of writers around the globe in all media

"You’re invited to linger… in the faraway, the rare, the spell of the place. To enjoy the rarest of journeys and the most sublime of sparkling destinations.

To ride a stone-gray elephant beneath a paper parasol as she wades through the agate tide.

To savor a rare perfume, carried through the air on the notes of a gondolier’s song to the balcony of your palace guestroom.

To hunt down a long-coveted jade demi-god in an cacophonous marketplace as incense swirls through amber sunbeams.

Life is a collection of experiences. Let us be your guide."

BUSINESS, MEET PLEASURE

This solid, down-to-earth brand was begging for a straightforward tell-it-like-it-is voice to speak to its DIY audience.

My Role: Copy Director, Senior Copywriter, Concept Lead

Deliverables:
Core value definitions
Defining, naming and describing the demographic
Tone and voice creation
100+ piece guest-facing collateral program
Websites & microsites
Events/road shows concepting and collateral
Sales and marketing materials
B2B developer facing brochures
Cross-channel promotions
Brand book
Guest-facing collateral pieces
Webinars and training of writers around the globe

"Get everything you’re looking for with style and service you want, all at a great price. We have what matters most to you like stylish rooms, comfortable beds, delicious breakfast and fresh coffee. Plus lots of other extras you’ll love like free bottled water in your room, free internet access, and great local beer with Best Brews."

Names have to do so much in an instant. Through leading and participating in naming exercises for countless products, services, hotels, spas and restaurants - including those for clients listed below - I have developed an effective method that extends the brand's key attributes into a compelling, loveable name.

W Hotels - restaurants, bars, amenities, services

Viacom - intranet, restaurant

IAC - products

Sheraton Hotels - products, restaurants, bars, programs

Le Meridien Hotels - restaurants, bars, products

Westin Hotels - restaurants, bars, products, positions

St. Regis Hotels - restaurants and bars

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide - global summits, positions, hotels

Aloft Hotels - spaces, products

PLAIN JANE
NOT ON YOUR ITINERARY

We created this multi-national ad campaign to demonstrate Aloft Hotel’s bold take on select serve. Using vibrant illustrations and strong type against arresting copy we position Aloft as the exciting alternative to cookie-cutter competitors.

My role: Senior Copywriter, Concept Lead

Deliverables:
Multi-national ad campaign for print, digital and environmental

“HO-HUM
Not on your itinerary

Break free from the beige, bland and generic. Here, the thinking is as open as the loft-inspired spaces. Live music is curative. Gourmet can be to go. Work and life sync up. This is Aloft Hotels.”

THE BEAUX ARTS TIARA

With this project, we created more than a brand, we created a dream of a hotel. In a pitch for new business, we envisioned how to bring the famed Knickerbocker Hotel back to her former glory as the beaux arts tiara of Times Square. We created concepts for different areas of the hotel that closely relate to its sense of place: exteriors that shine like the diamond district, flower-laden meeting rooms for private equity mergers, an underground bar that glamorizes the Square’s seedy seventies. To tell the story, we juxtaposed evocative descriptions of the hotel space against quotes from would-be guests.

My Role: Senior Copywriter and Concept Lead

Deliverables:
16-page brochure
8 folios of concepts for the hotel

“A visual reference to the nearby diamond district, cut crystals around the entryway refract the neon, announcing the hotel’s presence and welcoming the guest to an indigenous expression of Times Square. The brilliance and color of Times Square are literally reflected and amplified by the hotel’s entryway.

Lavishly comfortable with bold lines and a strong style, the guest rooms are a calm respite from the concrete cacophony that lies outside.

Hovering in the glow of Times Square, a garden grows – an electric garden of neon flowers. Standing on the roof, we’re surrounded by green halogen stems rising upwards. Looking down from neighboring buildings reveals flowers; bright and bejeweled like a juiced-up Chihuly. Electromagnetism ensues.

Gold goblets and place settings glimmer in the light thrown by the 6-foot chandeliers that are replicas of the Times Square Ball. In the two-story Waterford Ballroom, modern-day fairy tales spontaneously begin. Women in feathered gowns meet handsome princes and midnight never strikes.”

When new ownership lovingly and meticulously restored the Grande Dame of San Antonio back to her former opulence and grandeur, they needed to tell the story to the world. 

" This, the original San Antonio luxury hotel, is now restored to the opulence that made her storied halls the haunt of politicos, princesses and a-list celebrities. This designated national historic landmark has been completely renovated to offer the grace, style and service of a bygone era with the modern conveniences today’s travelers require."

" Live jazz from the 1927 Steinway fills the air in Peacock Alley where signature martinis and gilded empire chairs invite you to linger. Enjoy a moment of leisure in a cabana at the rooftop pool or clink glasses against a backdrop of stunning city views on our 10th floor open-air terrace. Retreat to the contemporary chic of one of our 352 guestrooms - each with glass and granite bathrooms."

"From cattlemen to oil barons, U.S. Presidents to airline execs, business leaders have been gathering at the St. Anthony for their most important meetings for over a century.

Our 15 flexible venues encompass 36,000 sq. ft. of meeting space and have all been completely refurbished. The spaces each retain their timeless elegance and individual character – from double-height ceilings to walnut paneling to crystal chandeliers – while offering the latest audio-visual equipment, lighting and connectivity.

Our superlative service, from our on-site technology staff to our private caterers, ensures that every detail is attended to and attendees enjoy a productive and successful gathering."

THIS TIME IT’S PERSONAL

Inspiring a crowd of seen-it-all seasoned global marketers is a challenge that I don't take lightly. When the top 300 brand-gurus of Starwood hotels got together to discuss personalizing the hotel experience, we paired bold headlines with intriguing portraits to pique interest. The headlines both tie into the product offerings and reveal a lot about the person pictured's lifestyle in very few words. Floor-to-ceiling images adorned the space and a wall of phrases served as a backdrop to the CEO’s speeches.

My Role: Senior Copywriter, Concept lead.

Deliverables:
Concept
Oversized posters
Stage backdrop
Pillar wraps and banners
Invitations

“Put it on my Visa black.

You can’t beat my carbon footprint.

Love me, love my dog.

I’m a full-on Manchester United fan”

A BUSINESS TRAVEL ESSENTIAL

Green from the ground up and LEED certified, Element hotels offers eco-sensible extended stays to business travelers. This campaign demonstrates the brand promise of balance: between work and life, travel and living local, daytime productivity and nighttime unwinding. 

The copy positions the brand benefits as essential to successful business travel. Leisure images and headlines juxtapose against a prominent business-oriented sub-head, demonstrating the balance that Element promises.

My Role: Copy director/Senior copywriter, Concept lead.

Deliverables:
National print ad campaign
Digital ads

“PLAY

A business travel essential

Productivity can’t be achieved without balance. That’s why we go beyond business tools to offer our guests what they need to stay whole, like bikes to borrow, spaces flooded with daylight, Relax evening wine receptions and more. Discover the essentials of balanced travel.”