Holiday Inn Express turns free breakfast into a sleep-inducing pillow

Holiday Inn Express had a familiar brand asset in its free hot breakfast, but familiarity risked making the proposition feel stale. The team asked whether breakfast could help guests fall asleep as well as wake up, then turned that question into a Breakfast Pillow with hidden speakers.

Real recordings of coffee beans being poured, sizzling bacon, juice and buffet ambience became four selectable soundtracks. The pillow was launched as the hero experience in an Australia-and-New Zealand campaign spanning earned, influencer, owned and paid media, with hotel guests able to use it during stays.