When Motto by Hilton approached Movers+Shakers earlier this year, the challenge was clear: few Zillennial travelers even knew the brand existed. For a hotel line built on compact design, connectivity, and local immersion, awareness was the missing link. The agency’s task was to embed Motto into the cultural conversation, making it not just a place to stay, but a character in travelers’ stories.

“Motto is such a new brand,” says Jose Serra, Associate Strategy Director at Movers+Shakers. “While they’ve been around for a hot minute, a lot of young travelers aren’t aware they exist. Our job was to spread brand awareness, put them into the cultural zeitgeist, and establish relevancy.”

What began as a conventional hospitality brief quickly became something else entirely. Within a few months, the partnership between Hilton’s micro-hotel brand and the award-winning creative agency known for campaigns with e.l.f. Beauty, Adobe, and Staples had produced “Motto Guest Quests,” a social-first experiment that fused influencer storytelling with gamified travel.

Jose Serra

Building a Story Travelers Could Play

Launched across TikTok and Instagram in September, the campaign plays off the “main character” energy familiar to younger travelers who document their journeys online. The core idea: every stay at Motto can become a “side quest” in a traveler’s personal plotline.

The centerpiece is a trio of hero videos, set in New York, Philadelphia, and Rotterdam, built around a choose-your-own-adventure format. Viewers watch the story unfold from a first-person perspective and are prompted to make decisions that shape the outcome. Each installment features a creator-sidekick pairing: comedian Hannah Berner, creator Connor Wood, and reality-TV personality Kordell Beckham, all guiding audiences through Motto’s properties and the surrounding neighborhoods.

Jose says the concept emerged from observing how younger audiences use social media to romanticize daily life. “There’s so much content where people pretend they live somewhere: visiting the coffee shops, sitting in parks, finding hidden gems you wouldn’t see on a travel website,” he explains. “We realized this traveler already treats themself as the main character. Why not build a campaign that matches that energy?”

That insight, paired with the rising online vernacular of “side quests,” provided the creative spark. “We were seeing those conversations everywhere of people calling random adventures their side quests,” Jose adds. “So we said, let’s make it our own. Let’s call them ‘Guest Quests.’”

Aligning Brand and Behavior

For Sarah Gerrish, Senior Director of Influencer Marketing at Movers+Shakers, the concept clicked because it mirrored Motto’s brand philosophy. 

“Motto strategically chooses the best locations for their properties,” she says. “It’s not about luxury. It’s about putting you in the heart of the city so you can go out and explore. That’s why the side-quest idea fits so naturally. The hotels are the launchpads for adventure.”

According to Sarah, the hospitality sector is notoriously crowded, dominated by loyalty programs and standardized experiences. Her team sought to cut through that noise with a creative model grounded in entertainment. “We specialize in fun, culturally relevant content,” she says. “Motto wanted to define its identity, and we wanted to use influencers in a way that felt fresh. This campaign does both.”

That cultural strategy, she adds, is what made Movers+Shakers stand out. Founded in 2016, the Los Angeles-based agency has worked with clients spanning consumer packaged goods, beauty, fashion, and tech. The agency has been named the “#1 Fastest-Growing Agency” by Adweek, Ad Age’s “Best Small Agency,”  and Fast Company listed it among the “Most Innovative Companies in the World.”

Sarah Gerrish

Casting the Right Characters

Selecting the right mix of creators was central to the campaign’s credibility. “It’s always a challenge when a brand hasn’t really partnered with talent before,” Sarah says. “People are going to align that talent with your values. So we had to find the right fits, and I think we nailed it.”

The team looked for influencers who could bridge traditional and social media, drawing press attention beyond TikTok and Instagram. “Our goal was to get earned media, not just social buzz,” Sarah notes. “That meant choosing people who were already talked about in the media.”

Each leading creator brought a distinct audience and reason for selection:

• Hannah Berner, a touring comedian and former reality-TV star, represented the New York market.
  
• Connor Wood, known for his sharp observational humor, was paired with Philadelphia.
  
• Kordell Beckham, athlete, reality-TV personality, and social favorite, fronted the Rotterdam story.
  

Beyond the headline talent, seven additional creators extended the campaign to other Motto properties. While Sarah jokingly refers to them as “micro-influencers,” many command audiences in the hundreds of thousands. “It wasn’t about follower size,” she says. “It was about location and local pride.”

From Strategy to Production

Movers+Shakers handled most production in-house, a decision that streamlined creative control and preserved continuity across locations. “For the hero talent, Connor and Kordell, we owned production fully,” Sarah says. “Our clients were on set, and it was collaborative. But because we handled editing and creative direction internally, we didn’t go through endless review rounds.”

In Rotterdam, a local production partner supported logistics, while the agency’s editor traveled to every shoot to maintain consistency. “We wanted each video to feel like part of the same world,” Sarah says.

That cohesion extended to the influencer content as well. Before filming, each creator joined concept calls to align on tone and logistics. “It’s a co-creation process,” Sarah says. “We never just hand them a brief. Because they’re shooting in hotels, reshoots would be impossible. So we make sure everything’s clear upfront.”

While creators had freedom in delivery, one element was fixed: the mystery. “The hotel picked the adventures,” Sarah explains. “We wanted them to be surprised. That spontaneity is what made it fun.”

Gamifying Travel for Social Engagement

The campaign’s interactive layer used TikTok’s Story Selection Ads, allowing viewers to choose between two possible adventures. The approach blended familiar social behaviors with light gamification. 

“Choose-your-own-adventure isn’t new,” Jose says. “But for a new brand, it’s a way to make people care. You’re inviting them to play the story, not just watch it.”

Movers+Shakers paired the creative with a multi-format media rollout. Shorter six-second cuts were developed for paid placements, while organic content amplified reach across both TikTok and Instagram. “This was Motto’s first major TikTok campaign,” Jose notes. “They didn’t even have a TikTok account before. So this was a big moment to build that community.”

The campaign began teasing in early September, seeding hints in fan communities tied to each influencer. “We started dropping comments on fan accounts,” Jose says. “Kordell’s fans are incredibly loyal, so we built curiosity before anything went live.” Beckham’s video launched first, followed by Berner’s and Wood’s, with supporting creators rolling out over the following weeks. “It was intentional; a big splash, then momentum,” he says.

Measuring the Quest

Performance tracking combined native analytics, third-party tools such as Rival IQ and Creator IQ, and manual sentiment analysis. The teams monitored engagement rates, views, and community growth daily during launch week. 

“We looked at comments closely,” Jose says. “The sentiment told us a lot about how people were responding to each creator and location.”

As of late October, the campaign remained active, with formal reporting underway. Early metrics, Sarah says, are promising. “All three hero pieces are driving strong engagement,” she notes. “And people are literally asking for more episodes.”

That organic response, Jose adds, has been the most validating metric of all. “When you see comments saying, ‘We want to see more of this,’ that’s the best thing you can read,” he says. “It shows there’s potential to build on it. Maybe a series, maybe a franchise.”

Rewriting Hospitality Marketing

The hospitality sector has long relied on glossy photography and loyalty incentives, as Sarah and Jose point out. “Guest Quests” breaks that mold by merging entertainment, interactivity, and fandom. 

“We’re proud that it came from an insight rooted in culture,” Jose says. “Fandom is such a big part of how people experience the internet now. We used that to guide guests through a hotel brand they might not have known before.”

For Movers+Shakers, the project highlights how social storytelling can transform a traditional category. “When talent loves the idea, you can feel it,” Sarah says. “Hannah doing the worm in a hotel lobby, Kordell trying to surf in a canal. None of that was scripted. They were genuinely having fun. And that’s what audiences respond to.”

The campaign, she adds, is already shaping future conversations between brands and creators. “It’s been so validating to see Gen Z audiences commenting not just on the story, but on the execution, the editing, the gamification. They notice the effort. That tells us we’re on the right track.”

As reporting wraps and Motto considers its next move, the collaboration stands as a case study in how social creativity can turn hospitality marketing into a cultural moment. “For a new brand, that’s a really good sign of what’s to come,” Jose concludes.

Checkout Our Latest Podcast