The kids are taking Brian McGuinness to school, and there’s no other way he’d want it. The 41-year-old senior VP behind Aloft, Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide’s stylish lifestyle brand, has learned a lot from his team of forward-thinking twenty- and thirty-something Gen Y ambassadors.   “It’s the mindset that we go after,” he said. “Whether the individual is 28 … or they’re 58 and they fit into the psychographic, it’s really about that traveler that is the early adopter, who waits in line for the iPhone or has it shortly thereafter. … It’s the tech-savvy individual who is connected all the time … It’s the person who is interested in high design.”

Those needs are reflected in Aloft’s design and infrastructure. The central lobby exudes a bar-type ambiance, with the centrally located front desk doubling as DJ booth, from which associates control lighting, playlists and streaming content that flickers from a wall of four flat-panel TVs. Each branded hotel is fitted with Cat-6 cabling to fuel free and lightning-fast Wi-Fi access throughout the property, while televisions in each loft-style guestroom feature jack packs so guests can hook up their iPods, iPads and other gadgets.   Guest needs also are reflected in how Aloft reaches out to its current and potential Gen Y-oriented customer base. Four-page color spreads in USA Today or The New York Times certainly have their place, McGuinness said, but Aloft’s target psychographic requires a finessed experience in programming—something at which the brand’s young teams excels.

Late last month, for example, Aloft announced its Project Aloft Star campaign—a music competition that solicited amateur artist submissions via videos on Facebook. Within the span of a few weeks, the hotel brand’s Facebook followers jumped from 4,000 to more than 14,000.   “That calculates out to be a 350% increase in a fan base and people who are now tracking what we’re doing and how we’re doing it,” McGuinness said.   Other promotions have followed similar viral channels. He and his team push campaigns on Twitter, MySpace and more, all while keeping a careful eye on TripAdvisor ratings.

“That’s how you build brand evangelists and brand loyalists,” McGuinness said.  For the full article from HNN/STR click here….