SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 1, 2000 - W | SUITES - this week launches an online-only advertising campaign exclusively utilizing Unicast�s SUPERSTITIAL®, the Internet�s commercial, to attract tech-savvy travelers to the newly opened W Suites - Newark. 

This campaign marks the first time any hotel brand has advertised the launch of a hotel exclusively online. The SUPERSTITIAL-only campaign also raises the bar for targeted, effective advertising initiatives within the hotel and travel category.

Developed by Unicast, the SUPERSTITIAL enables agencies and advertisers to use motion, sound and graphics to create integrated, powerful online advertising experiences that entice and empower users to interact with the brand.  The SUPERSTITIAL is supported by a proprietary, polite delivery system that ensures a consistent, CD-Rom-quality experience without slowing down Web browsing or Web site content delivery, regardless of the user�s connection speed. The resulting return-on-investment is proven to exceed that capable with any other online advertising format.

Designed and coordinated by Grey Direct e.Media and GWhiz! Entertainment, the W Suites SUPERSTITIAL ad will run on various sites across the DoubleClick Business and Tech networks.  The SUPERSTITIAL is approximately 20 seconds in length and showcases the comfort and sophistication of the signature W style while allowing for multiple points of interaction within the advertisement.  The campaign is scheduled to launch the week of August 4.

The W SUPERSTITIAL ad is packaged as an interactive experience, allowing users to access detailed information on the new W hotel�s property. The hotel�s modern, sophisticated designs and its cutting-edge technological features�which include high-speed Internet access data ports in all rooms and conference rooms and The W Living Room high-tech common area�are highlighted.  Users also can click within the ad to learn about a special offer through the �Starwood Preferred Guest� program and to notify friends or travel planners of the new hotel via an email form. Additionally, users can click-through to instantly make their own hotel reservations or to sign up for the SPG program if they are not yet members.

W Hotels, the successful brand of business hotels launched in 1998 by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., opened this new Silicon Valley-based W | SUITES in Newark, California on July 26, 2000.  Set amid the corporate campus of Sun Microsystems/JAVA, the W | Suites - Newark location is intended to lure Silicon Valley visitors with the same combination of modern business amenities and technological sophistication that all W Hotels offer.

�Utilizing the SUPERSTITIAL ad format to spearhead the launch of the new W | Suites captures the essence of the technology-wired W style,� stated Diane Briskin, Corporate Director of Sales & Marketing for W Hotels.  �There is a market for this new generation of technology travelers to stay in the comforts of a W�within Silicon Valley�s high-tech business center, and the cutting-edge solution of the SUPERSTITIAL ad provides the perfect venue to reach the already-wired high-tech business travelers.  W Hotels is the first hotel brand to pioneer an online-only announcement of this magnitude.  We are excited to lead such an important step forward for in the hotel industry.�

�Grey Direct e.Media is committed to providing our clients with the most sophisticated use of technology, while at the same time making sure that the results are meeting our clients� overall objectives�whether that be building a database, making a sale, or extending their reach by adding a viral marketing component,� said Sean Black, VP and Interactive Media Director, Grey Direct e.Media.  �The creative flexibility of the SUPERSTITIAL format enables the delivery of a visually-alluring, interactive ad experience that leaves users with the maximum impact.  What has been most exciting is the ability to deliver a brand message to the consumer in the environment they are comfortable in and can interact with, rather than requiring consumers to leave the Site they are already on in order to interact with the brand.�

�The SUPERSTITIAL is one of the most emotive and sophisticated online formats we work with, and the logical solution for creating an interactive W experience,� stated Michael Domican, head of interactive business development, GWhiz! Entertainment.  �Thanks to the seamless deployment and �polite� delivery of the SUPERSTITIAL, we are able to design an ad that fully expresses the warmth and welcome of the hotel property it represents.�

The first W Hotel opened in New York in December 1998.  This was followed by the 1999 openings of W Atlanta (February); W San Francisco (May); W Seattle (September); W Honolulu - Diamond Head (October); W New York - The Court * The Tuscany (November); and W Los Angeles - Westwood (December).  Openings to date in 2000 have included two properties in New Orleans (March 2000); the brand�s first international hotel in Sydney, Australia (June 2000); and W Suites in Newark, CA (July 2000).  More than 20 W Hotels are anticipated to be opened by the end of 2002, including Union Square NY (November 2000); Chicago (two properties); Miami - South Beach; Philadelphia; San Diego; Mexico City and San Mateo.

About SUPERSTITIAL®s

Unicast�s SUPERSTITIAL is a premium online advertising category, available on hundreds of top Web sites across both the United States and Europe that span 19 vertical categories. National and international partnerships with leading online advertising networks including DoubleClick, Engage, L90, Phase2Media and Real Media continues to accelerate the acceptance of the SUPERSTITIAL across the global online landscape.

Enabling the simultaneous pursuit of multiple advertising goals (including branding, direct response, entertainment and commerce), qualitative and quantitative research proves the return-on-investment produced by the SUPERSTITIAL exceeds that capable with any other online advertising format.  Millward Brown Interactive states the SUPERSTITIAL greatly increases ad interaction and customer acquisition rates while also increasing ad recall and brand awareness. The SUPERSTITIAL is proprietary to Unicast.