NMG Network’s Living TV Generates Record Viewership Boosting Interest in Halekulani Hotel and Hawaii During Pandemic
HONOLULU, Hawaii, July 9, 2020 — More travelers have Hawaii on their minds thanks to Halekulani Living TV.
A record number of viewers in 2020 have made the online and in-suite video streaming network from NMG Network a welcome breakout content marketing success story for the hospitality industry, notably Waikiki luxury resort Halekulani and its sister property Halepuna.
Unique views of Living TV programming have increased more than 112% over all of 2019 so far this year through the end of June, while unique visits rose 509% in the second quarter over the first three months of 2020.
Through June 2020, unique visits to HalekulaniLiving.TV have surged 942% versus the same period last year, while viewership of content has skyrocketed 1,891% during the same frame.
June marked the fourth consecutive month of record traffic for the brand’s streaming channel.
Connecting with Guests
With captivating imagery and a luxurious aesthetic, Living TV connects guests with the traditions, culture, art, style, and food of Hawaii.
Its strong performance comes as Halekulani was forced to join all hotels in Hawaii and pause operations from March through August due to the coronavirus pandemic.
A multi-channel media program that includes more than 35 compelling short-form documentaries and the award-winning Living magazine, Halekulani has been able to use Living TV as a powerful platform to connect with guests before, during and after their stays.
That’s key as more people plan their future travels, with Hawaii ranking high as a top destination in surveys and searches, according to Travel + Leisure, Expedia and Booking.com.
Through its engaging mix of content, Living TV has played an instrumental role in increasing booking consideration for Halekulani and Halepuna, and has helped convert audiences into guests.
Audiences spend on average nearly two minutes per visit to HalekulaniLiving.TV (up 26% over all of 2019, as of June 2020), far exceeding the average of 32 seconds for most branded content on other media channels. Returning visitors spend an even more impressive 3 minutes per session.
In addition to showcasing what makes Hawaii unique, Living TV has provided luxury brands, including Georg Jensen, Harry Winston, Cartier, Gucci, Hermes and Tory Burch with a prominent opportunity to reach affluent travelers.
Outside of the United States, Living TV has also significantly increased exposure for Halekulani in important source markets like Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, as well as across Europe, most notably in France, the Netherlands and Finland. HalekulaniLiving.TV is available in English and Japanese.
And Living TV has boosted engagement with Halekulani’s email newsletters, increasing repeat visits to its websites and improving the overall guest experience with authentic storytelling.
“We are absolutely thrilled with the success of Halekulani Living TV and how it has enabled our guests to explore and enjoy the beauty of Hawaii even when they aren’t able to stay with us,” said Peter Shaindlin, Chief Operating Officer of Halekulani Corporation. “We look forward to helping travelers live well through the authentic stories that make Hawaii such an iconic place to visit.”
Discover the Real Hawaii
Developed to help enhance audiences’ knowledge of Hawaii, audiences can learn about Hawaiian culture and experience a spearfishing adventure with Makani Christensen of Keawe Adventures and learn how Kailua-based photographer Kenyatta Kelechi revives an obscure form of portraiture, wet plate photography, to capture the multiculturality of Hawaii’s families. They can take a virtual tour of the bountiful gardens at Manoa Heritage Center and discover how the Hawaii Potters’ Guild has become an iconic organization in the Honolulu arts community.
The seventh season features stories on the art of preservation in the islands and how the Hawaiian culture is staying connected to its roots during modern changes.
Previous seasons, which are also available online with accompanying articles, have covered a Honolulu club dedicated to the legacy of the Japanese kendo sword, the traditional Hawaiian practice of kapa cloth making, and the centuries-old practice of collecting sea salt.
Content featured on Living TV corresponds with each issue of Living magazine and is accessible in-room, on the Halekulani website and via a dedicated landing page, and is shareable via social media.
Halekulani Living TV is getting noticed in other ways, too.
In June NMG Network was presented with an Emmy® Award for, “In Prose & Palms,” a short film about W.S. Merwin and The Merwin Conservancy, it produced for Living TV. It was the first of two Emmys® for the company.
Living TV was recently recognized as “sophisticated” by Brides magazine, which said the channel “is so much more than your average virtual tour,” calling it, “a celebration of Hawaii’s diverse culture that will have you both in the Aloha spirit in no time.”
“The growth of Living TV is a testament to the power of great storytelling, and serves as a powerful example for how hotels can better engage with their guests with the kind of high-quality content audiences seek,” says Jason Cutinella, founder and CEO of NMG Network. “We’re thrilled that our channel for Halekulani can serve as a much-needed success story for the hotel industry at this time.”
About NMG Network
NMG Network is a collection of cloud-based TV channels including Halekulani Living TV, available in-room at Halekulani Hotel and Halepuna Waikiki by Halekulani; Real Hawaii, available in-room in more than 23,000 Waikiki hotels; FLUX TV and Lei TV, available online, onboard Hawaiian Airlines, and in select hotel rooms; HALE TV, available at Ko Olina Resort; and HŌKŪ TV, available at Hawaii Marriott Resorts. NMG Network also includes a diverse portfolio of publications for travel and luxury real estate partners. View at NMGnetwork.com.
About Halekulani
Since its inception in 1984 as one of the world’s finest and most acclaimed independent luxury hotels, Halekulani has received more than 500 accolades, awards, and honoraria. The property has been named a winner of Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards, ranking #1 hotel in Hawaii. Halekulani is home to SpaHalekulani, House Without A Key, Lewers Lounge, Orchids and La Mer, Hawaii’s longest, consecutively ranked AAA Five Diamond, Hawaii’s only Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star Restaurant and the longest running recipient of Wine Spectator’s Best of Award of Excellence on Oahu since 2008. For 20 years, Halekulani has maintained a strong commitment to arts and culture through exclusive alliances with Oahu’s most iconic cultural venues. Halekulani is operated by the Hotels and Resorts of Halekulani, a brand management division of the Honolulu-based Halekulani Corporation, which also oversees the new Halepuna Waikiki by Halekulani, opening October 25, 2019. Halekulani is a member of The Leading Hotels of the World and is aligned with Tokyo’s legendary Imperial Hotel.