Alternative Advertising Techniques - Tourists on Display

And from the, "Wow, that's really messed up file..." Room 501 at the Roger Smith Hotel from Panman Productions on Vimeo. The Roger Smith Hotel in New York City is offering a free stay in one of their rooms - in exchange for being publically viewable. (MSNBC Article.) The room is a replica of a suite on the 5th floor... placed at street level. Occupants must keep the drapes open from 4:30 to 7:30 each day, to give the public a view. It's certainly a good way to get an idea of how "comfy" the real room is, but really the draw is spying in on a couple in their hotel room. The weird factor is the draw, plainly. This is one of those advertising gimmicks (not to be rude, but in all things let us be honest - this is a gimmick with bells on) where I must ask: "What is the objective?" People walking by in New York are, for the most part, residents. It is questionable whether other tourists walking by will then decide to go into the hotel and, on a lark, register a room on this 5th floor. The draw is all of the press of putting tourists on display like zoo animals. And the press is where the hotel hopes to get its business - so really, it isn't important that the drapes remain open from 4:30 to 7:30, what's important is that MSNBC and USAToday report that guests must keep the drapes open. You know: Gimmick. Perhaps it goes back to our sick fascination with reality, or "reality," as it is shown on documentary television programs, or "reality TV," that this would make sense to some. It's probably how the hotel manages to find people to stay in the room, too: "A free room, just for having strangers watching me through a window? Sign me up!" I don't think this will last too long as a promotion, though, because again the story isn't focused on the hotel's objective: Promoting rooms for guests to stay in. The hotel will get press, but it will be focused more on the willing victims and less on the rooms. Though I have to admit, if I were in that room, I would absolutely make up a one-man show to perform in the window, just to weird out the foot traffic passing me by. How great would that be to tell people, "Yes, I was in New York last month, performing my original production of, 'Mark Twain sings the songs of Black Flag?"

About the Author: Eric Reid

I am the Social Media Services Manager for Off Madison Ave. I've been with the company since 2006, when I was hired to do SEO, and link building in particular. When social networking sites started cropping up, at first I started using them to create backlinks - but they weren't the best for that, given all of the "nofollow" attributes. However, I did see the potential for all of the direct referral traffic they represent. Since then I've been actively pursuing both tactics for clients: Links that can help them for search, and social postings that get them involved in the conversation. It's about the coolest job you could ever get. ;)