Consider a memorable advertising marketing campaign. Bought it? Odds are, that marketing campaign tells an incredible story — whether or not it’s a tearjerker Tremendous Bowl advert, a hilarious viral video, or an modern social media collab. The most effective advertising campaigns have a story that makes you’re feeling one thing. And efficient model storytelling is the key to success on social media and past.
For skilled recommendation, we chatted with Daniel Reynolds, Senior Vice President of World Content material, Media, and Partnerships at Hilton. Earlier than checking in to the hospitality trade (pun very a lot supposed), Reynolds labored for different world manufacturers, together with Disney and Toyota. And for each model he’s labored with, storytelling has been an vital advertising technique.
“How one can prolong the story of a model in new and totally different codecs has at all times been a key throughline,” he shares. Hilton’s storytelling is genuine and galvanizing: suppose pictures and movies taken by actual resort visitors, horror tales from the competitors, and partnerships with celebrities like (duh) Paris Hilton.
Learn on for tried-and-true advertising strategies and examples of brand name storytelling from Reynolds and his crew at Hilton.
What’s model storytelling, and why does it matter?
Model storytelling makes use of a story to speak a message. As a substitute of straightforward promotion (for instance, a billboard saying, Purchase This Product!), model storytelling makes use of emotion to encourage audiences to interact (like, say, a humorous video that illustrates why you can purchase this product).
“You aren’t simply saying the identical factor over and over, like an promoting format,” Reynolds explains. “You’re recognizing and valuing the connection that your audiences have with manufacturers.”
Within the hospitality trade, competitors is fierce, and Reynolds shares that model storytelling helps Hilton’s content material advertising efforts stand aside from the remaining. “It’s so vital, in right now’s world, to interrupt via,” he says. Hilton’s storytelling will increase model consciousness, fosters buyer loyalty, and even helps have interaction audiences who aren’t planning to journey.
How Hilton crafts its tales: 5 pillars to success
1. Authenticity, relatability, and emotional connection
Hilton’s advertising crew goals to deliver a real, honest vibe to their social media content material. To do this, Reynolds says it’s vital to remain true to the model’s values. “Our guiding mild is about creating an incredible keep expertise,” he says. “That lets us anchor ourselves and actually present up in a manner that feels genuine.”
This Instagram Reel sharing Hilton bartenders’ favourite drinks and who they craft them for is a good instance.
The Reel demonstrates how Hilton’s social advertising caters to totally different members of its audience. The “assembly that would have been an electronic mail” will ring very true for visitors who’re touring on enterprise.
“We serve a wide range of different-sized companies, from massive world companies all the way down to small- and medium-sized companies,” says Reynolds. In consequence, a portion of social content material is dedicated to the Hilton for Enterprise journey administration program.
One other key demographic for Hilton is households; and performance is crucial for households. “One of many issues that we heard from households a few years in the past was when travelling with youngsters, it’s actually tough to slot in one room,” says Reynolds. “It’s tough to ebook a second room and never know in the event that they join.”
To unravel this, Hilton launched a product referred to as Confirmed Connecting Rooms by Hilton, and shared relatable, humorous narratives on social media to unfold the phrase.
Luxurious-seekers are additionally prioritized by Hilton’s advertising crew — a lot of the pictures and movies splashed throughout their manufacturers’ social feeds embody picturesque panoramas, spreads of delicious-looking meals, and really relaxed, glad folks.
Supply: @hiltonhotels
Reynolds factors out that, even for individuals who aren’t particularly looking for luxurious journey, telling the story of a luxurious expertise is relatable on an aspirational foundation: many individuals are “simply dreaming of getting that escape second and what their subsequent day may seem like,” he says.
It might sound apparent, however one of the best ways to return throughout as genuine when model storytelling is to inform genuine tales. Hilton’s crew efficiently did this in a video highlighting tales from its efforts to offer room nights for these displaced by the Los Angeles wildfires in early 2025.
Sharing pictures of donation drives, information on the rooms offered (20,000 room nights for over 7,000 folks), and tales from those that stayed in a Hilton resort builds an uplifting narrative. It connects with audiences on an emotional stage.
2. Craft cohesive storytelling via partnerships
Any good story requires compelling characters, and Hilton companions with creators and influencers to assist craft its narrative. “We acknowledge that, for us to create actual, significant connections with audiences, we have to perceive who they’re following and what they care about,” says Reynolds.
When researching folks to accomplice with, the Hilton crew focuses not simply on their goal market but additionally on why their goal market travels. “We see a possibility to attach with the folks touring for the love of a sport, exercise, or model,” Reynolds explains. “There’s a pure capability for journey round that exercise.”
Hilton’s partnership with McLaren Racing’s Lando Norris exhibits a dedication to a distinct segment globetrotting viewers: F1 followers. “F1 followers are rising worldwide at an exponential click on, and people followers journey to pursue their love of the game,” says Reynolds.
This 12 months, Hilton is celebrating its 20-year anniversary of partnering with McLaren, making a collab with a McLaren F1 driver further well timed. “This 12 months presents an opportune time for us to benefit from this rising fandom by telling a really genuine story of how the McLaren crew and the drivers truly stick with us,” Reynolds explains.
Hilton (and Lando Norris) shared pictures and movies exhibiting the driving force experiencing varied Hilton resorts. This capitalizes on an viewers already touring to look at the races and gently suggests a spot for them to remain.
“While you’re a McLaren F1 driver, you must make it possible for the sleep expertise, the meals expertise, and the on-property expertise is great in order that your thoughts is on the observe,” says Reynolds, “and in case you’re a fan, equally, you don’t need to be distracted from something when you’re there to expertise your favourite sport.”
And, after all, there’s no higher influencer for Hilton to accomplice with than Paris Hilton herself.
Collabs just like the video above present how multifaceted Paris Hilton’s life is and the way Hilton’s properties cater to all of these aspects.
“Paris Hilton helps us authentically inform the story of how the keep helps her — a worldwide icon, DJ, businesswoman — in order that has been a enjoyable one, to have the ability to faucet into her fan base and inform that story,” says Reynolds.
3. Set your self aside from the competitors
Hilton is among the largest resort chains on this planet, however that doesn’t imply the advertising crew can slack off.
“By way of consciousness, the model is so well-known, and that’s an actual present,” says Reynolds, “however we additionally know that we’ve to proceed to achieve new audiences and likewise present that we’ve plenty of new components of our portfolio that they may not learn about.”
Reynolds explains that whereas many resort chains share pictures and movies of the vacation spot extra broadly — the town, the seaside, et cetera — not many deal with the keep itself. He calls it a “sea of sameness.”
“We all know that, for many vacationers, the keep can truly make or break a visit,” he says. Movies just like the collab with actor Sid Malhotra beneath highlight the resort itself.
Moreover, Hilton’s advertising typically factors out (in a humorous manner) why staying in a Hilton resort is healthier than staying in a short-term rental. A few of these movies are on the refined facet, like this one:
Then, there are extra direct methods of poking enjoyable on the competitors, like on this tackle the “What’s your favourite horror film” TikTok pattern:
Supply: @hilton
Content material like this encourages model loyalty, reaches new clients, and reminds audiences why Hilton stands out from the competitors. However, it nonetheless comes throughout as real and enjoyable and stays true to the model’s core values.
4. Create participative storytelling experiences
One other social media technique Hilton makes use of is capitalizing on user-generated content material and inspiring the participation of visitors and followers. Reynolds says the important thing to that is understanding “what our clients, or folks extra broadly, are doing on the platform, after which embracing it.”
On Instagram, for instance, Hilton shares many pictures and movies created by real-world customers. For instance, there’s this cute Instagram put up from a household’s go to to Hilton Bali Resort.
When manufacturers like Hilton share posts just like the above (in any other case often known as user-generated content material), it helps to construct a extra genuine story.
There’s loads of worth in common, marketing-focused feed posts and collab posts from influencers, after all, however sharing pictures that visitors have taken provides one other layer of real expertise to the content material.
Person-generated content material sometimes isn’t as polished because the pictures and movies the advertising crew produces, however that’s a part of its magnificence.
The extra buyer tales a model shares, the extra customers shall be impressed to create it (in spite of everything, getting your picture reposted to an account with over 435K followers is fairly cool).
Hilton permits audiences to form the model’s narrative via a social engagement technique, backed by the “Hilton. For the Keep” platform and “It Issues The place You Keep” marketing campaign.
Utilizing this technique, the crew screens social media and different shops and finds individuals who have had nightmare journey experiences in short-term leases or at different resorts. Then, they attain out, providing to maneuver the particular person to a Hilton resort, ship them some swag, or in any other case help them.
This Instagram story spotlight exhibits the marketing campaign’s affect and the way significant interactions with an viewers can additional improve a model’s story.
Supply: @hilton
5. Carry audiences behind the scenes for a transformative expertise
“There’s plenty of work that goes into creating an incredible Hilton keep, and that comes via within the on-property expertise,” says Reynolds, “however telling the story of all of the work that has gone into that’s truly fairly an fascinating factor for lots of our followers.”
Hilton’s social accounts share a number of varieties of behind-the-scenes content material that furthers the model’s transparency, relatability, and trustworthiness. For instance, for the aforementioned collaboration with McLaren F1 driver Lando Norris, Hilton posted a 13-minute lengthy YouTube video sharing candid clips from the marketing campaign.
“It confirmed a ‘day within the life’ of Lando Norris, however what it actually confirmed was that there’s an incredible quantity of care that goes into the keep expertise for him and ensuring he can carry out his greatest,” Reynolds explains.
Hilton additionally makes use of behind-the-scenes content material to share tales from workers. For instance, on this Instagram put up, a crew member who has been with Hilton for 18 years handwrites customized notes for visitors.
Behind-the-scenes content material helps to humanize the model, set off an emotional response, and create a extra well-rounded, genuine story.
A peek behind the scenes has an unique, sincere vibe that’s typically lacking from meticulously curated Instagram feeds, and that helps a model stand out, too.
Crafting your individual model’s story: 4 ideas from Daniel Reynolds
1. Know your group
To inform a compelling story, you must have a good suggestion of precisely who you’re telling the story to. The digital advertising crew at Hilton focuses their model’s mission on who their visitors are.
“It’s all about deeply understanding them, their wants, and their expectations relating to a hospitality expertise,” says Reynolds.
Need assistance defining your audience? Purpose right here.
2. Hear earlier than you act
This weblog put up may encourage you to begin creating storytelling content material instantly, however hold this in thoughts: “It begins with listening greater than doing,” says Reynolds.
“Actually understanding what our clients care about, what they’re speaking about, and what they need is such an incredible and powerful place to begin.”
Social listening is the perfect (and most wallet-friendly) manner to do that. For small companies and rising entrepreneurs, that’s key. “It doesn’t essentially require a ton of funding,” Reynolds factors out.
For instance, Hootsuite gives AI social listening instruments powered by Talkwalker, together with fast search potential and sentiment evaluation.
3. Contemplate the fan expertise
Hilton’s partnerships faucet into manufacturers, experiences, and individuals who have already got a dedicated following or fandom.
By collaborating with influential folks (like Tommy Paul and Paris Hilton) and companies (like Calm and Peloton), Hilton exposes itself to new, engaged audiences — audiences that require providers that align with the model’s function.
“Once we faucet into the fan expertise, we will inform the distinctive story of how our keep truly permits that fandom to return via most authentically,” says Reynolds.
4. Stroll the speak
Lastly, it’s vital to make it possible for the model story you inform is true. For instance, the wildfire reduction video talked about earlier was attainable as a result of Hilton supported folks affected by the wildfires.
Model storytelling needs to be an correct reflection of who you might be and what you do. So, be sure there’s story to inform. “We now have an genuine cause to interact in dialog, inform a narrative, and create an affect,” Reynolds says.
Key takeaways
- Profitable model storytelling permits companies and creators to attach with their viewers on a deeper stage.
- Model storytelling can set you aside out of your rivals in a artistic, significant manner.
- Social listening can assist you identify who your viewers is and how much model tales to inform.
- Lean into the “fan expertise ” by collaborating with creators, influencers, and different manufacturers with passionate followings and fandoms.
- Participatory content material can have interaction audiences and inform a compelling model story.
- Sharing behind-the-scenes content material provides followers a recent, thrilling perspective and builds belief.
- Compelling storytelling places authenticity first by staying true to model identification and buyer values.
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