No Chocolate On The Pillow, But A Pearl.

Upscale hotels leave a chocolate on your pillow. Tom Civitano was determined that The Plaza Hotel would never be a typical upscale hotel. His standard was “Legendary.”

The budget, however, would barely pay for chocolates. Tom’s idea: A Pearl!
He approached Mikimoto, the famous purveyor of the world’s finest pearls. He told the CEO of Mikimoto all about the Plaza Hotel’s clientele, including how much they were spending on jewelry

The Mikimoto brand simply had to have access to these potential customers! But, as Tom explained, it wouldn’t do to degrade the experience of Plaza guests with mercenary advertising such as brochures in their rooms. No, what was needed was an extraordinary gesture, a gift at once seductive and magical, a Pearl on the Pillow.

And it happened! Each time a guest stayed at The Plaza, he or she would find a new pearl, and a note with a $250 gift certificate and invitation to have the pearls strung into a necklace at Mikimoto.

Of course, the joint promotion was legendary and covered as a fairy tale come true in all media. And it worked wonders in driving revenue and loyalty for the hotel and new customers to Mikimoto.