Kids Go HoJo with Sega

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Kids Go HoJo with Sega was a unique summer promotion, born from a venture between Sega of America and the American chain of hotels and motels Howard Johnson's^[1] which runned from May 24th through September 6th 1993, and subsequently from May 27th through September 5th 1994 and from May 27th trough September 4th 1995^[2] in all Howard Johnson Hotels and Inns across the United States of America and Canada.

Sega provided Howard Johnson Hotels and Howard Johnson Inns with Sega Game Gear portable video game consoles and a library of video game titles for guests to play at no charge, free VHS cassettes like Sega Game Gear Tips Volume 1 and Sega Game Gear Tips Volume 2, which contained hints and tips for several Sega Game Gear games and a collectible series of Kids Go HoJo Sonic the Hedgehog FunPacks which contained puzzles, games, booklets, and toys to amuse children while they were traveling. In addition, children could sign up for a complementary membership in the Kids Go HoJo Fun Club and get a special membership gift, most precisely, a free subscription to Sega Visions magazine, worth a 14 dollars retail value. All Howard Johnson Hotels and Howard Johnson Inns were equiped with life-size cutouts of Sonic the Hedgehog displayed in the lobby for souvenir picture-taking.

The summer promotion was supported by a 3.500.000^[3] dollars advertising campaign, including national television, radio and print, as well as local promotional activities. It was created by American Marketer Michael Berreth^[4]^[5] of Irvine-based advertising agency Strottman International Inc.^[6]^[7] and won a CSPA Award of Excellence for Best Worldwide Traffic-Building Promotion, with Howard Johnson's becoming a leader in mid-level lodging segment due to a 9% increase in room sales.