Celebrating a Successful Project’s Conclusion
On May 1, 2008, a new group of writers & editors led by Aubrae Wagner began a content management project with InterContinental Hotels Group, which was in the midst of a major re-branding program that touched several of its most high profile brands. As hotels within the IHG family were renovated and their websites were relaunched, the EVG team supported the effort by writing fresh copy with strong SEO for each hotel’s website. The initial contract was for just under 300 hotels, but the work done by the first team was so successful, EVG’s partnership with IHG continued and expanded. Now, just one month shy of three years, dozens of writers and editors have completed 2,606 hotels.
Over the past three years, IHG has become part of our family and we’ve become a part of theirs. We’ve gotten to know each other on a personal level and shared funny moments and successes. As the engagement grew and new contracts were added, our assignments took us from Anchorage, Alaska to Yuma, Arizona. We learned more about the language of the US Army and on- and off-Post hotels. We’ve learned that Canadians don’t think “lodging” when they search the web for hotels.
We worked on properties all over North and South America, from the elegant Crowne Plaza in Anchorage to the Holiday Inn Express Puerto Montt, which sits in the shadow of snowcapped moutains AND overlooks the Pacific. We wrote about hotels that offer amenities and breathtaking city views, and we wrote about hotels on the flat and windy plains, just off the highway.
Along the way, we’ve interviewed general managers, sales and marketing directors, assistants, front desk clerks and even a few owners. Dynamic writing, careful research and personal interviews with hotel staff resulted in work that garnered genuine enthusiasm and compliments from these very busy folks:
• From Idaho: Your contribution in creating new content does honor to me and this hotel. It has been a sincere pleasure to work with you on this project. I hope you and your family may have the opportunity to visit the area again. As I had said before, I would be delighted to host your stay if you come to McCall.
• From Mission Bay, CA: Excellent job! I’m a well above average writer myself and can tell that your team does this on a truly professional basis. Thank you very much for the terrific new rewrites!
• Key Largo chimed in with: Your team did a great job of capturing our hotel ambiance and onsite amenities.
• And my favorite: Thank you for taking our rough draft and making a diamond from our lump of coal!!!
2,606 is a big number. It represents almost all of North, Central and South America! But it is a milepost, not a stopping point. So many companies and organizations need the content strategies that are our specialty.
Three years from now … how can we celebrate a similar milestone with you?
Kathleen Gossman
EVG Editor
