Agence 14 Septembre x Mandarin Oriental

About Mandarin Oriental Hotel Marrakech

Steeped in the values of the Orient, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group operates a collection of luxury hotels and resorts located in the world’s most prestigious destinations. Located just 10 minutes from the Red City’s famous Medina, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Marrakech opened in 2015 and offers guests spectacular vistas of the Atlas Mountains from its position nestled amongst local olive groves. 

About Agence 14 Septembre

Over 20 years, Agence 14 Septembre has built a global reputation as communications specialists in architecture, design, travel, and gastronomy. Today, it operates offices in Paris, London, Milan, and Tokyo, and boasts a client roster that includes global brands like Baccarat, Pernod, Lexus, Ikea, and Joseph Perrier, to name just a few. From media relations to content creation strategies, and influencer marketing, Agence 14 Septembre is one of Europe’s go-to agencies for high-end lifestyle brands.  

The Campaign: Boost awareness of Mandarin Oriental Hotel Marrakech amongst luxury European travelers

Famed for its spectacular walled Medina that delivers an intoxicating medley of color, aroma, spice, and entertainment, the former imperial city of Marrakech has plenty to offer its visitors. In recent years, its clement weather and proximity to Europe has contributed to its emergence as a prized destination for luxury travelers. Faced with an increasingly competitive market, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Marrakech commissioned Agence 14 Septembre with building awareness of its unique offering amongst its target clientele of French-speaking Europeans.

Challenge #1: Target a francophone audience while demonstrating the hotel’s accessibility from various destinations in Europe

Chief amongst the campaign’s objectives was the imperative of reaching a francophone audience while demonstrating the hotel’s accessibility from various major hubs in Europe. The hotel also wanted to highlight its exclusive culinary expertise and services, which include cookery and mixology classes that take place within the hotel’s private vegetable garden. 

“We used Kolsquare to find a diverse group of lifestyle influencers who were not only based in Paris, but were located across francophone Europe,” comments Agence 14 Septembre Head of Travel Mélanie Rodrigues. 

“We looked for influencers with strong communities in France, but also filtered for city location. The final group of KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders) selected included people from Geneva, Belgium, Nice, and Paris. From the moment we started looking, to the final selection approved by the client, the whole process took about one day, so it was very quick.” 

Challenge #2: Work with KOLs on an informal basis while ensuring the delivery of quality content

Once selected, the pool of five KOLs chosen by Rodrigues and her team were invited to discover the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Marrakech during a three-day visit. Despite commanding communities ranging from 100,000 to 500,000 followers, KOLs were not paid for their time. Neither were they under contract to produce specific amounts of content. 

“We usually work on an organic basis with influencers,” comments Mélanie Rodrigues. “At 14 Septembre, we focus on careful selection of content creators so we can build strong relationships with them. Here, they really stepped up and produced some amazing content, and quite a bit more in terms of volume than we were expecting.”

For Mélanie Rodrigues, the enthusiasm the KOLs brought to the project was down to careful selection of those chosen for the campaign. The focus on Mandarin Oriental’s private vegetable garden — from which it sources fresh produce for the hotel and where guests can enjoy a luxury outdoor dining experience — meant it was important that KOLs and their audiences had a strong interest in both travel and the culinary delights. 

In total, the five KOLs chosen for the event produced 167 pieces of content — including stories, reels and posts — which garnered 3.15M impressions and an impressive €123K in EMV.

“The client was thrilled. They’ve already asked us to repeat the project again this year with a different pool of KOLs in order to reach new audiences,” comments Mélanie Rodrigues.

Taking stock: How running an influencer campaign with Kolsquare delivers results in more ways than one

The Mandarin Oriental Hotel Marrakech campaign was one of the first campaigns which Agence 14 Septembre ran through Kolsquare. No strangers to influencer marketing, the agency had previously used a variety of different tools, including manually searching and collating results, to manage influencer marketing campaigns. 

"From streamlining the casting process, to quantifying the campaign as a whole, Kolsquare was a game-changer", commented Mélanie Rodrigues, "especially when it came to reporting results to the client". 

The abundance of data available through the platform offers agency clients clear, new insights into how and why an influencer marketing campaign has delivered the desired results. 

“The added value of Kolsquare really revealed itself to us when it came to reporting to the client. We’re able to show them the overview of the target reached, estimated impressions, the best content, EMV, etc. It really allows us to demonstrate the real impact of a campaign to the client,” comments Rodrigues. 

“The clients love it as well. For them, having access to audience data like interests and location is very impressive.”

Want to find out how Kolsquare can help you up your Influencer Marketing game and deliver real impact? Book a demo with one of our influence experts today!