Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts and PGA TOUR pro Rickie Fowler to share secrets for winning on and off the course

New Interactive Video Campaign Featuring PGA TOUR Pro Supports “The Big Win” Promotion From IHG® Rewards Club

ATLANTA, 2014-3-13 — /Travel PR News/ — The modern day business traveler likes to win, both at work and when they’re having fun. To make winning easier, the Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts brand has teamed up with PGA TOUR pro Rickie Fowler to share secrets for winning on and off the course. The upscale hotel brand and Fowler, one of the most recognizable golfers on the PGA TOUR, have crafted a series of interactive videos to tee up the latest round of “The Big Win” promotion from its hotel rewards program, IHG® Rewards Club.

The light-hearted videos, released today, feature tips from Fowler on how to make the next business trip – and round of golf – a success. Using proprietary innovative technology from cloud-based platform Stargreetz that delivers personalized content, the videos begin with Fowler greeting IHG® Rewards Club members by name, providing tips on winning at golf, while highlighting offers from “The Big Win,” a first of its kind promotion that provides each member with an individually tailored set of offers.

“For our Crowne Plaza guests, traveling for work is a necessary part of their career, and they feel like they’re winning at travel when they get rewarded for staying at our hotels,” said Gina LaBarre, vice president, Americas brand management, Upscale Brands, IHG. “This video campaign is a fun way to highlight how we help them win on the road, but we also share a few humorous golf tips from Rickie Fowler. In the spirit of ‘The Big Win’ promotion, we’ve used innovative technology to personalize the videos from Rickie, just like this promotion personalizes offers for our guests.”

In addition to the personalized member videos, the campaign features a shareable element designed to spark interaction among consumers. Rather than helping their friends improve their golf game, IHG® Rewards Club members can “prank” their golf buddies by sending fake tips from Fowler designed to mess up their game. This marks the brand’s third consecutive golf season engaging Fowler, who at just 25 has been dubbed the “next generation of golf.”

“I’m not the typical golfer, and I enjoyed filming something that’s not a typical hotel advertisement,” said Fowler. “It’s nice to poke a little fun at golf sometimes, like pretending that closing your eyes when putting will help you get closer to the hole. Hopefully some of my buddies will take this advice.”

Created with PGA TOUR Entertainment and Ogilvy and shot at Riviera Country Club in Southern California, the videos will be progressively rolled out online starting today and will extend through the end of “The Big Win” promotion on April 30. Current IHG® Rewards Club members and new members can register for “The Big Win” promotion here.

For behind the scenes videos of Fowler on set, visit the Crowne Plaza YouTube page.

IHG, the parent company of the Crowne Plaza brand, is the Official Hotel and Resort Partner of the PGA TOUR, Champions Tour and Web.com Tour, and the Crowne Plaza brand is the title sponsor of the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. The 2014 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial will be held May 19-25 at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, and Fowler has committed to playing in the 2014 tournament. The Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial is the longest running PGA TOUR tournament still held at the original site.

About Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts
Part of the IHG global portfolio, the Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts brand is a dynamic upscale hotel brand located in nearly 65 countries around the world in major urban centers, gateway cities and resort destinations. As the fourth largest upscale full-service hotel brand in the world and one of the fastest growing, the Crowne Plaza brand has a solid foundation for future growth. The portfolio has doubled since 2003 to nearly 400 hotels, and the global pipeline has increased fourfold to nearly 100 hotels. At Crowne Plaza hotels, we help our guests feel energized and productive, with 24-hour business services, wireless Internet access in the lobby, and fitness and leisure facilities. Our Sleep Advantage® program ensures our guests get a great night’s sleep to power through their day. For reservations at Crowne Plaza properties, visit www.crowneplaza.com or call 1-800-2CROWNE. Connect with us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/crowneplaza or Facebook: www.Facebook.com/crowneplaza.

About IHG® Rewards Club
With more than 77 million members globally, IHG® Rewards Club, formerly Priority Club® Rewards, is the first and largest guest loyalty program in the hotel industry. Named Best Hotel Rewards Program in the World nine years running by Global Traveler magazine, IHG® Rewards Club offers sought-after benefits and is easy to use. In addition to unique features like No Points Expiration, No Blackout Dates on Reward Nights, Points & Cash, Flights Anywhere™ and Hotels Anywhere, IHG® Rewards Club members have hundreds of options for point redemption including: Reward Nights, music downloads, brand merchandise and retail gift cards. Enrollment in IHG® Rewards Club is free. Guests can sign up at ihgrewardsclub.com, by calling 1-888-211-9874 or by inquiring at the front desk of any of IHG’s 4,700+ hotels worldwide.

Media Contacts:
Caroline Huston, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts, caroline.huston@ihg.com, +1(770) 604-2495
Amy Bradshaw, Hill + Knowlton Strategies, amy.bradshaw@hkstrategies.com, +1(212) 885-0327

Notes to Editors:

IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is a global organization with a broad portfolio of nine hotel brands, including InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo®, Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn® Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Express®, Staybridge Suites®, Candlewood Suites®, EVEN™ Hotels and HUALUXE™ Hotels & Resorts.

IHG manages IHG® Rewards Club, the world’s first and largest hotel loyalty program with over 77 million members worldwide. The program was relaunched in July 2013, offering enhanced benefits for members including free internet across all hotels, globally.

IHG franchises, leases, manages or owns over 4,700 hotels and 687,000 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries and territories. With more than 1,100 hotels in its development pipeline, IHG expects to recruit around 90,000 people into additional roles across its estate over the next few years.

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group’s holding company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales.

Visit www.ihg.com for hotel information and reservations and www.ihgrewardsclub.com for more on IHG Rewards Club. For our latest news, visit: www.ihg.com/media, www.twitter.com/ihg,www.facebook.com/ihg or www.youtube.com/ihgplc.

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