Before they arrive, visitors to the Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts are enticed by a slew of virtual and real experiences. There are wine tastings on Twitter, the mobile hot-chocolate bar in Chicago and the opportunity to release floating lanterns at a Thai property’s tropical festival of lights.

“We create personal experiences,” said Susan Helstab, a 25-year veteran of Four Seasons. Named VP-marketing three years ago, she oversees global sales and marketing from the company’s Toronto headquarters.

Ms. Helstab spends two-thirds of her time visiting the 35 countries where Four Seasons operates. Traveling to exotic destinations like Bora Bora is simply part of the job.

With half of Four Seasons’ marketing budget devoted to digital channels, its launch of a revamped website this month is a milestone. It will incorporate user-generated reviews — still somewhat unusual for luxury brands. Marketers in the category have historically guarded their brands and trademarks closely.

“We’ve taken a leading position in creating different kinds of engagement opportunities,” Ms. Helstab said.

One example is the Twitter wine tastings. Introduced two years ago, the event attracted 14 of Four Seasons’ 86 hotels last year. “You can get the wine yourself, and taste it and listen to the description and evaluations [on Twitter], or you can go to the participating hotels,” Ms. Helstab explained.

By: Frederic Colas

Read More: http://adage.com/article/cmo-interviews/seasons-embraces-digital-marketing-virtual-experiences/232055/?utm_source=digital_email&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=adage <http://adage.com/article/cmo-interviews/seasons-embraces-digital-marketing-virtual-experiences/232055/?utm_source=digital_email&amp;utm_medium=newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=adage>

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