One of the most overused--and I mean to the point of horrifying cliché, roll your eyes, overused--terms in marketing these days is:
Community
It seems that "community" is the panacea, the cure for all that ails your sales, your recognition factor, your success. The magic formula: devise some premise for a "community," let 'em talk among themselves and find a way to sell 'em something on the sly.
Problem is that most of these "communities" are as natural as Pam Anderson's boobs. And equally as relevant to the product/service to which they are tied.
Well, here's one that connects. Big time.
Check out www.behospitable.com, Hilton Hotels' program collecting and connecting stories about the kindness of strangers. Uber-positive message. Warm. Interesting. International in scope, but "next door" in spirit. And a solid dovetail to the corporation that's sponsoring it.
No dopey prizes. No silly stunts. Just some great stories (many of them pushing the Pow! meter into the red zone) about people doing good and raising the "be hospitable Index."
The end result--solid linkage, on multiple fronts, to a company renowned for its "hospitality." (Not to mention way more relevant than Sheraton's well-meaning but off-base Bookends program.)