Announcement posted by Switched on Media 11 Oct 2010
He’s squeezing himself back into tight footy shorts, but this time it’s not the AFL Warwick Capper is looking to score for – it’s online accommodation provider Quickbeds.com.
In a cheeky campaign promoting “hotel prices almost as hot as he is” Quickbeds is out to remind Australians it has never been easier to book accommodation online – and they’re staking their reputation on the infamous eighties football icon.
It’s a bold move designed to take their brand to the top of the highly competitive online cheap accommodation market, currently dominated by Wotif.com.
Backed by parent company Flight Centre, Quickbeds has thrown its cap into the ring with a multimillion dollar website refresh and nationwide outdoor and TVC campaign starring Capper.
Quickbeds General Manager John Feenaghty said the fresh campaign and faster, more user friendly web site was in response to the growing corporate and leisure demand for booking accommodation over the internet.
“In the last 10 years we have seen the figures rise from less than one per cent using online services to more than 40% by 2009. Quickbeds is simply meeting those customers where they want to transact,” Mr Feenaghty said.
“On-line research tells us to expect this to double by 2015. Already dollar figures for last year alone show on-line booking sites accounted for $3 billion worth of Australian accommodation sales.”
Mr Feenaghty said that the corporate market has played a major part in the online bookings boom: “It’s not hard to see why a time and cost-saving model is proving so popular with the business world. The speed and convenience of being able to search thousands of hotels and book rooms from the comfort of your desk holds obvious appeal for time-poor businesspeople, particularly those who are booking dozens of rooms every month.
“Recent developments in technology within our industry have made the booking process even more straightforward for corporate customers. Quickbeds.com’s new site includes a free, dedicated corporate facility through which customers can log in and access extensive data on their business’ booking history as well as produce tax invoices and reports at the touch of a button.”
Although it may appear an unlikely pairing, the decision to use Capper to front the campaign is all part of a bigger plan to draw attention to Quickbeds’ cheap and easy hotel deals.
“In order to stand out against the crowd of booking engines now vying for market share, a strong brand personality is now a prerequisite. When we were developing the new direction for Quickbeds.com, we knew that being just another“me too” engine wasn’t going to get us where we wanted to be – at the very top of the tree as leaders in our industry.
“With this in mind, we’ve developed a fun, cheeky personality for Quickbeds.com - one that our target audience can identify with and through which they can gain a real sense of who we are as a brand.
“We are confident “cheap and easy” is what today’s modern travellers seek from their accommodation booking experience. No laborious searches, no hidden extras, no booking fees and no fuss,” he said.
The tongue-in- cheek campaign, featuring billboards with Warwick Capper promoting hotel deals that are “cheap and easy - just like me” will roll out across the country this month. Among the key selling points Capper will be helping to promote are Quickbeds’ no booking fee policy, rooms bookable up to 99 days in advance and its range of exclusive “sheet hot deals” starting from $99.
“Warwick Capper has always been a little irreverent. Those tight shorts, the product of the 80s – even the fact he is a little of a himbo (male bimbo) – reinforces the fact anyone can log onto our site and find a deal that suits them – it’s not rocket science,” Mr Feenaghty said.
Media enquiries, requests for images and interviews with John Feenaghty to Red PR: Laura Walls on (07) 3252 5735 or 0401 477 032