The made-in-Memphis Holiday Inn chain has been revamped, and the $1 billion in updates include a new logo, tinted lighting and a system-wide scent, according to this piece from the Houston Chronicle (scroll past the story about Krystal’s loyalist — and former Memphian — Angela Sims-Quinty for the details). The Holiday Inn update also includes INNTunes, a pre-programmed system that pipes music into all 3,000 hotels worldwide.
Reading about INNTunes reminded me of the legacy of Holiday Inn Records, a vinyl label started by hotelier (and Holiday Inn founder) Kemmons Wilson, music producer Sam Phillips, and Holiday Inn sales manager D. Wayne Foster in 1961. Sure, INNTunes won’t be releasing records by the likes of Charlie Feathers, Ironing Board Sam, and the Climates, but it’s an intriguing idea nonetheless.
I caught up with Eric Nicolas, Director, Global Brand Management, Holiday Inn Brands, to ask him about the INNTunes program:
Flyer: What is the criteria for picking songs?
Nicolas: The music program at Holiday Inn was designed and developed by a company called Rock River. The sound strategy is to create a “Holiday Inn sound” that enhances the on-property experience and strengthens the emotional connection with the brand by leveraging external resources who bring deep knowledge of and experience with music and the proven ability to balance the three key brand factors in the effective selection of on-brand music: Brand Personality Traits, Target Demographic and Target Need State.
