Hotel chain Days Inns Canada knows that ‘travelling mom’ is the person in the family who does research and planning for family vacations, says Irwin Prince, president and COO of Days Inns Canada, which operates 90 locations across the country.

And whereas previously the Days Inn marketing strategy was to target the whole family, by sponsoring Shrek movies in cinemas for example, this year the brand is bolstering their communication with women with Summerroadtrip.ca, a microsite developed in partnership with Rogers Publishing titles Chatelaine (French and English), Enfants Quebec, Today’s Parent and Canadianparents.com. A weekly contest for visitors is also complemented by articles provided by the magazines and Days Inn-branded games.

‘We’re just kicking it up a notch, focusing on a very specific segment of the market, but doing a better job of speaking with them and being more meaningful and engaging for them,’ Prince tells MiC. ‘There are more things for moms to take a look at, and some of the articles with respect to packing, travel with pets, travel with husbands…’ laughs Prince. ‘Generally it’s much more engaging, more well-rounded content that’s on the site this year.’

With media handled by The Media Company in Toronto and print creative by Calibre Design and Marketing, also of Toronto, promotions for the contest and website include print ads in the summer issues of the partners’ magazines, radio spots and web banner ads on women-targeting sites like Flare.com, LouLouMagazine.com, as well as Citytv.com.

But Days Inn Canada, for which Toronto-based Realstar Hospitality is the master franchiser, also has a branding cinema campaign running in Cineplex theatres across the country, which directs viewers to the Daysinn.com, a booking site that also promotes SummerRoadTrip.ca.

With a heavy media push in the summer, Days Inn exposes itself to potential business travellers in later months, explains Prince.

‘As they travel as a family in the summertime they’ll see the value we provide and we’ll pick up incremental business in the fall and into winter,’ he says.