Hilton’s Mark Weinstein on driving loyalty and inspiring wanderlust

For its first marketing campaign after the COVID-19 pandemic and its biggest campaign since 2016, Hilton wanted to stand out. Sure, many travel brands were trumpeting the power of reconnection, but Hilton and its creative partner, TBWA\Chiat\Day New York, felt there was a fresh message they could share.

That message turned out to be a simple one, with Hilton’s CMO, Mark Weinstein, sharing on The Current Podcast that the hotel brand landed on reconnecting with its roots as a company.

“In a sea of sameness of this kind of ‘eat, pray, love’ wanderlust of travel and people [eating] goji berries and [riding on] surfboards, that’s not my travel experience most of the time,” Weinstein says. “Why were we glorifying the destination but not the thing we provide in this travel experience? The stay itself.”

On the podcast, Weinstein discusses why a simple goal — making the stay itself the best it can be — drives loyalty and inspires wanderlust. He also breaks down how technology and data plays a huge role in his strategy, as well as how the brand finds authentic moments on social media to market against home-sharing companies.