Kids Go HoJo with Sega

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Kids Go HoJo with Sega was a Sega of America-sponsored marketing campaign for the American hotel/motel chain Howard Johnson's, produced by Californian marketing firm Strottman.

History

Born from a venture between Sega of America and the American chain of hotels and motels Howard Johnson's, Kids Go HoJo with Sega was a unique summer promotion intended to increase room sales at the company's properties by making the chain seen more enticing to the children of possible lodgers. The promotion ran in all Howard Johnson's across the United States of America and Canada over three periods: From May 24th through September 6th, 1993, from May 27th through September 5th, 1994, and from May 27th through September 4th, 1995.^[1] During the promotion, all the company's hotels, motels, and inns were equipped with life-size cutouts of Sonic the Hedgehog displayed in the lobby for guests to take souvenir photographs with.

Sega provided Howard Johnson's properties with Sega Game Gears and a small 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.

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^[2] advertising campaign, including national television, radio and print, as well as local promotional activities. It was created by American Marketer Michael Berreth^[3]^[4] of Irvine-based advertising agency Strottman International Inc.^[5]^[6] (founded in 1983 by Kenneth James Strottman, former Vice President of Marketing at Mattel, Inc.) and won a CSPA Award of Excellence for Best Worldwide Traffic-Building Promotion, with Howard Johnson's becoming a leader^[7] in mid-level lodging segment due to a 9% increase in room sales.

Rentable hardware and software

List of rentable hardware

List of rentable software

FunPacs

Kids Go HoJo Fun Club

Children staying at Howard Johnson hotels could sign up for a complementary membership in the Kids Go HoJo Fun Club, which notably including a free subscription to Sega Visions magazine.