Marriott releases 'Two Bellmen Three'

Dive Brief:

Marriott's Two Bellmen short film series has proven to be one of the more successful content marketing efforts in recent memory. The third installment, "Two Bellmen Three," premiered yesterday, according to a company press release shared with Marketing Dive.
The action short is set in Seoul, South Korea, around the JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul and includes actors and stuntmen William Spencer and Caine Sinclair as the titular bellmen.
The second installment in the series, Two Bellmen Two, was 19 minutes long and racked up millions of views on YouTube. The new short runs over 35 minutes and is available for viewing on Marriott’s official YouTube channel, Marriott.com and other digital platforms.

Dive Insight:

Marriott’s example might be on the high end of content marketing strategies, but the core vision is clear — meet younger demographics where they want to engage and recognize that linear TV ads aren’t sufficient for certain types of brand messaging anymore. Marriott’s Content Studio has probably found out that creating successful short films can also just be a fun way to promote the brand, given how quirky Two Bellmen is.

The Two Bellmen Series, produced by Marriott's in-house Content Studio, has grown from an experimental content marketing effort into a sort of business all its own, showing how high-quality, highly sharable brand creative can be turned into must-see viewing.

"Two Bellmen Three" is the most ambitious offering yet, and almost looks like content marketing on steroids, stretching to almost 40 minutes in length. Whether this will test the patience of consumers, or hurt the video's viral potential, remains to be seen.

David Beebe, VP of global creative & content marketing at Marriott International, explained in the press release that millennials “plan and travel differently” and access information through peers on social media conversations. The Two Bellmen series intends to create those conversations on social media while delivering the message of Marriott’s value proposition as a luxurious, personalized hospitality provider.