"Dead Ideaville"

The mourning may be over, but this dead idea will never be forgotten. It was for Crowne Plaza and the assignment was, well one of those "great opportunities".

Crowne Plaza had invested millions of dollars in the complete renovation of their Time Square "skyscraper" hotel, transforming an average quality establishment into a luxurious five star destination. They wanted to get major buzz for their buck. They wanted news of their makeover to be the talk of the town when the hotel re-opened. I think you can figure out where this is going.

Crowne Plaza - "Scale-up” 

Alain Robert, aka the "French Spider-Man" is famous for scaling skyscrapers. Robert has scaled 85 giant structures around the globe including many of the world's tallest buildings. His feats are major events with the global media on hand to capture his every move.

Who better then to check out the new Crowne Plaza up close and personal. The idea was to invite Alain Robert to scale the hotel on the eve of the re-opening.

Nothing is guaranteed, of course, but the media buzz and pr generated from the live event would probably have been overwhelming. As would the viral potential from eyewitnesses filming it on their cell phones and posting online.

But there was actually more to this idea than that just gratuitous publicity. Once he reached the top Robert was to unfurl a banner (which he usually does) that would direct viewers to the Crowne Plaza website, where users could take a full video tour of the luxurious hotel. A much safer way to check out the hotel!

There was also a branded-entertainment component. Crowne Plaza would commission a short film documenting Robert's preparation leading up to the big climb. Think "Man on a Wire". This would have been released some time after the event, most probably to be viewed on the Crowne Plaza website, or a micro-site. Live experience. Viral. Branded-entertainment. What more could you ask for.

So why was it killed? Simply, it was the fear that something may have gone wrong and Crowne Plaza Time Square would become unlucky 86 for Robert. The potential negative blow back was considered too much of a risk.

Just out of curiosity, did you ever hear anything about the re-opening of the new Crown Plaza? Didn't think so.