Radisson scores with decision to suspend Vikings sponsorship

Radisson hotel
Radisson hotel in Lubbock, Tex.
Billy Hathorn via Wikimedia Commons

A decision this week by Radisson Hotels to suspend its sponsorship of the Minnesota Vikings provided the Twin Cities-based hotel chain with a big marketing boost.

Radisson took the action in response to the team's short-lived decision to reinstate star running back Adrian Peterson, who Texas authorities have charged with child abuse for hitting his four-year son with a tree branch, or switch.

Since then, tweets and mentions of Radisson soared online, and people noticed, said Ammiel Kamon, executive vice president of products and marketing for Amobee Brand Intelligence, a digital marketing firm.

"They stood out because of the swiftness and the decisive message they sent. They were rewarded for that by public attention," he said, "in terms of the number of brand mentions and the sentiment around it."

Kamon said Radisson easily received 30 times the attention it typically does.

"The amount of earned media or organic mentions of them being discussed is off the charts relative to their historic baseline," he said.

Meanwhile, Kamon said, the NFL's brand has been taking quite a beating online, with most folks fixing their attention on the troubles of the league and misbehavior of players.

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