How to get through to a decision maker...

Let's call this an open experiment. I'm trying to find that elusive decision maker at Choice Hotels International who can decide whether they want the 'good' publicity I can generate, or if they just choose to ignore it and me completely. I'll share the step by step developments and we can learn together what works (and what doesn't).

Recap: I'm trying to find a lodging 'sponsor' to help defray the costs of this trip, and at the same time, make a monetary donation to the charity.

So, as I look at the route (or the many, many proposed routes) I see that there's a common thread among nearly every stop along the way: Choice Hotels International brand hotels are within 15 miles of each nightly destination, if not right there. So that makes them a logical target for sponsorship. But just because it's convenient for me, doesn't mean it is for them. So off I go to their website and -score!- I learn that Choice Hotels Foundation has a mission statement that says they support tourism ventures wholeheartedly. I figure this is as touristy as it's gonna get. After all, I'm aiming this whole project at folks who may make similar trips in the future (those would be tourists). So, yes, CHI is certainly a good target. But it's not as easy as picking up the phone and calling my local franchisee and saying, "what do you think?". I have to contact the headquarters (that's hard to find in itself from the CHI website). AND I have to figure out which person is the right one to contact. Big businesses are great, but sometimes that makes it easier to pass the buck.

So I find the media relations contacts (two of them). I figure that Heather Soule, the seemingly junior of the two, would more likely be the hands-on person, the one who really makes things happen. Her email address heather_soule@choicehotels.com is listed on the site. I use it.

That was on Wednesday, August 19, 2009. Now it's nearly 3 weeks later and nothing, not even an email back saying to go and pound sand.That's okay. As a person who has their email address listed all over our website for 'general feedback' I can tell you that I get an awful lot of email that doesn't belong to me. I pass it along, and rarely do I tell the sender that I've passed it on. So I'm just as 'guilty' as Heather.


For all I know, she's passed this to the proper person, who promptly trashed it. Heather: I'm not blaming you.

So this weekend I putter around the net and find some contact names for the head of marketing at CHI: Bill Carlson, Senior VP of Marketing and Chris Malone, Chief Marketing Officer. This time, instead of email addresses, I get snail mail addresses. The dead-tree version of my note will go out to these fine gentlemen tomorrow.

(this isn't them)

Hopefully they will see the value in being a lodging sponsor and donate some appreciable money to the charity.

I'll let you know how it goes. Remember, this is an experiment. I'm sure I could resort to stalking, harassing and name-calling, but I'd rather not. Not again. (ha ha)