| In it�s sixth
year of choosing a select group of savvy executives under the age of 40,
Brandweek highlights what its team of editors believes to be the next generation
of people expected to make their presence felt in the world of marketing.
As part of a group of honored executives associated with |
Keith J. Pierce
President & CEO
|
smaller or less established brands, more modest budgets
or less audacious outcomes, Pierce was chosen due to his hands-on background
of helping launch the Wingate Inn® brand as vice president of marketing,
and now running the entire national hotel chain as president and CEO.
�Mr. Pierce was involved with setting the brand�s
business traveler-focus during its initial launch,� explains Brandweek
reporter Mike Beirne, who nominated Mr. Pierce for the honor. �What
stood out in my mind is that Wingate Inns has maintained that core focus
since inception. The brand began by targeting business travelers
and five years later, it has consistently remained true to its target audience.�
Beirne continues, �Wingate Inns is successful
despite being young and not having a multi-million dollar marketing budget.
The brand reaches its target audience in meaningful ways, such as free
24-hour business centers, a paperless frequent traveler program - U1, and
free guestroom high speed Internet access, that haven�t been duplicated
by the competition. The brand�s success all winds back to the thorough
development planning that went into launching the brand, a planning process
of which Mr. Pierce played an integral role.�
�I�m very honored to earn this recognition in
light of my superb experiences with Wingate Inns since the brand�s inception
in 1995,� says Pierce, who rejoined the hotel chain as president and CEO
in February 2000. �While it�s great to be individually praised, I
also want to thank the numerous people with whom I�ve worked during the
course of my experiences with Wingate Inns. On a grander scale, the
entire Wingate Inn chain should benefit from increased brand awareness
due to the thousands of business executives who read Brandweek on a weekly
basis.�
Wingate Inns is an all-new construction hotel
chain that opened its first franchised hotel in July 1996. Its focused
service, upper mid-market franchised hotels feature sophisticated, consumer-based
technology and comfortable, oversized rooms that were created in response
to business travelers� needs. All Wingate Inn hotels are independently
owned and operated under franchise agreements with Wingate Inns International,
Inc. |
