The Watergate Hotel

Statement of Communication

Simply put, the primary goal was to increase bookings at The Watergate Hotel during Washington DC’s competitive spring season (March - April 2025).

In order to accomplish this goal, The Watergate Hotel needed to find a way to differentiate their marketing from many competing DC hotels and capture the attention of potential customers. But how? With a not-so-logical combination of cherry blossoms and pandas.

1. Cherry blossoms. During spring’s “peak bloom”, thousands of Japanese Yoshino cherry trees—lining the shore of DC’s tidal basin—create a jaw-dropping explosion of pink and white.

2. Pandas. That’s right, pandas—the big, cuddly, black-and-white, bamboo-munching bears. During the spring of 2025, Washington DC’s Smithsonian National Zoo was welcoming the return of giant pandas.

Armed with attention-grabbing blossoms and bears, the goal was to tap into the buzz of cherry blossom season, and the return of pandas in order to increase spring bookings. The Watergate Hotel’s homepage hero image showcased a vintage white convertible overflowing with cherry blossoms at the hotel’s entrance. Meanwhile, paid social ads displayed stuffed panda teddy bears, panda cookies, and panda pajamas in The Watergate’s luxurious rooms and suites. Static and carousel ads, link ads, display banners, and seasonal RSAs were also deployed, using bold imagery and luxury-driven copy to align with The Watergate’s brand voice.

Once the campaign had successfully captured attention, the next goal was to serve the target audience with mid- and lower-funnel ads highlighting high-value offers such as the hotel’s "Suite Dreams and Drive & Stay Packages." The goal was to use multiple channels to serve the target audience with bold, enticing messaging at different stages of their journey, from dreaming to booking.