April 30, 2026

Campaign Chemistry: Hyatt’s Anna Tomicevic

39 minutes

In an era when we are more connected yet more distracted than ever, the greatest luxury isn’t just a five-star suite — it’s quality time.

This week on Campaign Chemistry, we sit down with Anna Tomicevic, VP of global brands for Hyatt’s Inclusive Collection. With a career spanning from Marriott to overseeing 11 distinct brands at Hyatt, Tomicevic has a front-row seat to the shifting tides of the travel industry.

From the rise of “zero-proof” cocktails for Gen Z to the integration of AI in trip planning, Tomicevic shares how Hyatt is moving beyond “table stakes” hospitality to curate experiences that actually matter — whether that’s sound healing, swimming with turtles or leaning into the conversation card trend to facilitate conversation. We also dig into the brand’s Time Here Is Worth More campaign, inspired by Hyatt’s Time Rich Report, which revealed a staggering 82% of travelers are craving more quality time.

The sound bite

"We are in the industry of happiness."

The key takeaways

AI is transforming the discovery phase across travel. Consumers are increasingly turning to generative AI such as ChatGPT for travel inspiration and initial research. Marketers must monitor how their brands show up in these AI-driven search engines and reshape their top-of-funnel discovery strategies accordingly.

Anchor complex portfolios with a master brand. Managing 11 different brands within a single portfolio can dilute messaging. Hyatt used its loyalty program, World of Hyatt, as a powerful master umbrella to connect these diverse offerings and present a clear, unified value proposition to the consumer.

Do the research. Hyatt didn’t guess what its consumers wanted; the brand partnered with Wakefield Research to uncover hard data points (i.e., 82% of people crave more quality time and they spend over 17 hours a week mindlessly scrolling on screens) and it directly fueled its Time Rich campaign.

A great marketing campaign shouldn’t just be an advertisement. It should actively reshape the product experience. Hyatt used the Time Rich campaign as a platform to physically alter on-property guest experiences, focusing on real-world presence and connection.

Audit and amplify what you already do well. Sometimes you don’t need to invent a new product; you just need to market the existing ones better. Through an internal audit, Hyatt discovered incredible, on-brand experiences already happening at their properties — like swimming with turtles or sound therapy under a sacred tree — that it simply wasn’t talking about enough.

Use strategic partnerships to enhance the brand mission. To execute its goal of fostering human connection, Hyatt is developing specific partnership pillars. For example, the hospitality brand is partnering with a brand to introduce “connection cards” with conversational prompts at their resorts, actively giving guests a tool to put their phones down and connect.

Adapt to generational behavioral shifts. While all-inclusive resorts are famous for free alcohol, younger generations are shifting toward lower alcohol consumption. Forward-thinking marketers track these demographic shifts and adapt their offerings, which is why Hyatt is actively expanding its “zero-proof” beverage space to meet this new consumer demand.

Meet the consumer where they are. Recognizing that modern travelers rely heavily on community forums, Hyatt began testing native ad placements on Reddit to insert itself authentically into the travel discovery conversation.

With 70% of U.S. households streaming their content, CTV is a vital channel for lifestyle and travel brands. Hyatt leaned heavily into CTV for its recent campaign and saw massive engagement, hitting a 99% video completion rate.

Standard search bars can be limiting and frustrating. By upgrading its website with an AI-powered search function, Hyatt allowed users to search by specific desires — such as “lazy river” or “golf course” — reducing friction in the booking process and catering to highly specific traveler intent.

campaignlive.com

Music - Take you Out by Lucid Tides, courtesy of Triple Scoop.

What we know about advertising, you should know about advertising. Start your 1-month FREE trial to Campaign US.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

...more