To address JW Marriott’s brand challenge – engaging more meaningfully with discerning business travellers – the campaign needed to go beyond conventional hospitality messaging. In partnership with Economist Impact and Digitas UK, JW Marriott launched Stay in the Moment, a multi-platform initiative that spotlighted the brand’s core pillars of mindfulness, nourishment and connection. This strategic direction was underpinned by a deep understanding of audience mindsets across key international markets.

Leveraging our extensive knowledge of The Economist’s audience behaviours and content performance, we identified clear regional preferences among C-suite and high-frequency business travellers in the UK, Germany, UAE, and Saudi Arabia. UK executives valued efficiency and face-to-face networking. German audiences prioritised precision, sustainability and service detail. In Saudi Arabia, luxury, discretion,and cultural sensitivity were essential, while UAE decision-makers sought innovation, exclusivity, and seamless global access. These insights directly informed localised editorial strategies and content positioning.

The campaign content was housed on a bespoke, visually rich digital hub and aligned with JW Marriott’s three core themes:

• Being Mindful and Present: Demonstrated how JW Marriott’s spaces enhance mental clarity and reduce stress.
• Being Nourished: Promoted holistic well-being with expert insights on nutrition and fitness.
• Being Together: Celebrated the renewed value of face-to-face interactions and the brand’s role in fostering meaningful business connections.

The content was supported by hyper-targeted digital amplification across LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram, focusing on frequent business travellers in leadership, sales, consultancy and executive roles. High-impact placements in The Economist further reinforced trust and brand alignment.

The result was a culturally attuned, insight-led campaign that brought JW Marriott’s brand values to life, positioning the hotels as the natural choice for modern business travellers seeking both purpose and presence.

EI Studios (the custom content division of Economist Impact) created three dynamic multimedia experiences featuring diverse, authentic voices – from neuroscientists and nutritionists to executive chefs and wellness experts – to create genuinely engaging storytelling that appealed to business travellers. This human-centered approach, combined with sophisticated cinematography featuring calming colours and fluid camera movements helped align the viewing experience with the themes of meditation and calm. Stylish locational videos showcased JW Marriot’s brand pillars – demonstrating the brand’s unique approach to hospitality.

Slideshow 1. Being Mindful & Present (tailored for UK market preferences)
Explored how mindfulness can benefit business travellers by reducing stress and sharpening focus. It highlighted JW Marriott’s thoughtfully designed spaces and offered practical tips for bringing mindfulness into work trips.

• “Supercharge your mental focus” featuring neuroscience insights
• “Master the art of brain balance” with mindfulness practices
• “Making travel time count” showcasing productivity techniques
• “Discover spaces designed for relaxation” highlighting JW Marriott’s thoughtful design

Slideshow 2. Being Nourished (resonating with European wellness priorities)
Emphasised holistic nourishment for business travellers & covered topics such as intuitive eating, fitness on-the-go and benefits of mindful nutrition, plus how these amenities could enhance business travellers’ well-being and performance.

• “Fuel your success: how to eat smart” with nutritional guidance
• “Eating well: from garden to guest” featuring executive chefs
• “Mindful eating for life on the road” with wellness experts
• “Enhance your day with mindful nutrition” showcasing JW Marriott’s culinary philosophy

Slideshow 3. Being Together (emphasising hospitality for Middle Eastern audiences)

Focused on the renewed importance of face-to-face interactions in the business world. It examined the value of in-person networking and techniques for building meaningful connections – highlighting how JW Marriott facilitates connections through its event spaces and networking opportunities.

• “Connect to succeed: the in-person advantage” with business insights
• “How to create connections that count” featuring networking tips
• “Make your meetings meaningful” highlighting premium meeting spaces
• “Nature’s boardroom: where ideas bloom” showcasing unique venue experiences

The multimedia format allowed for rich storytelling through seamlessly integrated video interviews, ambient hotel footage, animations and audio soundbites. Each slideshow functioned as a mini-documentary, educating viewers while subtly showcasing JW Marriott’s unique offerings.

Regional customisation ensured content hierarchy matched local interests – mindfulness content featured prominently for UK audiences, while Middle Eastern versions emphasised exclusive amenities and personalised service.

This approach positioned JW Marriott not as a hotel chain but as a curator of transformative experiences, with content that provided genuine value to the target audience.

Bespoke, visually-led formats:

With a content-rich programme, the amplification strategy needed to be equally varied and engaging. EI Studios produced a range of formats designed to capture the attention of time-pressed business travellers and showcase the breadth of the Stay in the Moment campaign. This included mobile-first tap stories, social media edits and custom ad formats tailored to audiences in key markets.

Extensive promotional advertising across The Economist premium channels guaranteed JW Marriott’s branded content reached business travellers in their key markets. The media plan included print advertorials, display, geo, audience and contextually targeted advertising, re-targeting, mobile, newsletters, and digital edition sponsorships and hyper-targeted social media promotion on Meta and LinkedIn.

Strategic Amplification
The campaign was amplified through a strategic digital and social media campaign across key channels, including The Economist’s website, Meta and LinkedIn, ensuring it reached and reinforced brand credibility among high-value audiences effectively.

• Audience targeting across business travellers, high-net-worth individuals, and business decision makers in core markets (UK, Germany, Saudi Arabia, UAE).
• Targeted digital media across The Economist’s website, including premium takeovers and audience extensions.
• Social media advertising on Meta and LinkedIn, optimised to reach high-net-worth individuals and business decision-makers.
• Print advertorials in The Economist, marrying stunning imagery with a compelling short-form summary of the programme themes. Designed to capture attention, the ads featured a QR code to take readers directly to the content hub. These were timed to capture the attention of The Economist print readers – who spend 104 minutes on average reading the paper each week.

The campaign achieved remarkable success, positioning JW Marriott as the definitive choice for mindful luxury business travel while delivering exceptional engagement metrics that far exceeded industry benchmarks.

Record-breaking engagement
Unprecedented user engagement. Visitors’ time spent significantly outperforming two comparable luxury hospitality campaigns. Users actively interact with multimedia content through navigation, audio controls and “read more” functions.

Exceptional media performance
The campaign delivered consistently strong performance with geo targeting proved highly effective. UAE audiences showed highest engagement rates, while balanced traffic distribution across target markets demonstrated successful regional optimisation.

Thought leadership & brand affinity
The campaign positioned JW Marriott as a mindful luxury haven, resonating with business decision-makers and high-net-worth business travellers.

Brand lift survey feedback:

Mindfulness & Well-being
JW Marriott is recognised as a leader across all five measured statements among the exposed group, outperforming other brands. It received the highest ratings for promoting mindfulness, innovative well-being programmes and experiences, and a strong reputation in hospitality. These perceptions saw significant uplifts when compared to the control group.

Audience Resonance
Survey participants targeting high-value business travellers. The content was highly relevant to this audience. They said the content was relevant; made them more interested in the brand; liked the content style and found it informative.

The Stay in the Moment tagline is received extremely well. Respondents find the content appealing and agreeing that it aligns with JW Marriott’s brand ethos.

Stay in the Moment