Marriott International is signing up YouTube video producers to help it develop video content to appeal to the "next generation of travelers" and boost new business.
The video content has been commissioned and produced by Marriott’s Global Content Studio, which creates and shares digital and print content and recently has announced several new production and development deals.
One such filmmaker is the U.K.'s Jack Harries, who has 3.8 million sucscribers to his JacksGap channel on YouTube, which features video "born from a love of traveling and telling a good story." Marriott’s deal with the YouTube star will result in three short films.
The hotel chain has launched a series of monthly webisodes called Marriott Rewards’ Year of Surprises, which premiered oOct. 31. Each episode will feature a celebrity giving the "surprise of a lifetime" to "communities across the world." The first is fronted by NBA basketball star Jordan Farmar.
Marriott is investing increasing amounts of money into its content strategy through its Global Content Studio.
"These deals expand both the depth of our content play as well as its breadth," said David Beebe, Marriott’s vice president of creative and content marketing, "by reaching into a new content area where few brands — and no other hospitality brands — have ventured before."
This story first appeared on marketingmagazine.co.uk.