First eMarketing Campaign for ME Hotels & Resorts an Unprecedented Success

May 8, 2009 (Miami, FL) – LGD Communications, a full-service advertising, marketing and branding agency headquartered in Miami’s Design District, is proud to announce its receipt of a South Florida Interactive Excellence (SoFIE) Award for the most effective email marketing campaign of 2009 in recognition of "Valentine’s Day at ME Hotels & Resorts." The company finished second in two other categories.

"As a first-year entry, we’re proud of our team and pleased to be recognized by our peers in the local interactive community," says Len Dugow, LGD President & Creative Director.

Staged biannually by the South Florida Interactive Marketing Association (SFIMA), The SoFIE Awards recognize innovative leaders in interactive marketing. Winners were announced at the SoFIE Awards Gala, held on May 1 at Gulfstream Park’s Sport of Kings Room in Hallandale, FL. LGD’s winning campaign for ME Hotels & Resorts generated open rates over 20% and a click-through rate of nearly 40%. The hotel chain, with luxury properties in Mexico and Spain, reported a near-sellout of online packages during the month of February thanks to LGD’s interactive strategy.

"We did an A/B test with two versions of the creative as well as multilingual options," says Sheryl Cattell, Director of Interactive Strategy for LGD. "We were able to generate great results, but more importantly, analysis of click-throughs revealed best practices for this client, which will increase the success of future ME campaigns."

Over more than two decades, LGD has established its expertise in hospitality marketing, having branded clients such as ME by Melia and Gran Melia (together boasting more than 20 hotels and resorts worldwide), and developed marketing for The Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons, Hawks Cay Resort, Pink Sands on Harbour Island, Sagamore Hotel, The Shore Club and many more.

Most recently, LGD was retained by Z Ocean Hotel South Beach to re-brand and market one of the most acclaimed boutique hotel properties on Miami Beach. The company has also aggressively expanded its client portfolio, applying the LGD touch to categories such as wine and spirits, high fashion, nightlife and more.

ABOUT SFIMA
The South Florida Interactive Marketing Association (SFIMA), founded in 2002, is one of 12 Interactive Marketing Associations in the U.S. It is a nonprofit forum dedicated to the exchange of ideas, information and best practices to help members grow their interactive marketing activities and successes. The organization is the primary interactive marketing voice in South Florida. For more information visit SFIMA.com.

ABOUT LGD
Along with print, outdoor and other "traditional" media, LGD has over the past several years expanded its expertise in email marketing, video and web communications. The agency takes brands from concept to seamless execution across a range of platforms. LGD’s expertise extends beyond real estate and hotels to service categories such as consumer goods, fashion, beverage companies, the motion picture industry and many more clients.

More than two decades on, LGD Communications remains a world-class agency renowned for always finding the pulse of a great brand and delivering it to the right consumers. Every great brand has "it" – that magnetic quality you can’t define. LGD knows how to find a company’s "it" and deliver it to people it fits.