Fairfield Inn & Suites recently unveiled a YouTube video featuring D.C. United soccer players kicking a ball around the brand’s new-look lobby to the upbeat pop song ‘Shake it Up.’

The video is a key element of Fairfield’s integrated marketing campaign, ‘Staying is Believing,” and has been viewed over 12,000 times in the past three weeks. The brand, which unveiled its contemporary and colorful lobby and guestroom redesign in January, has the largest pipeline of any Marriott brand.

Named after a Marriott family farm in Virginia, Fairfield Inns debuted in 1987 and the brand added the suites option in 2000 and has really taken off since. Shruti Buckley, the brand’s vice president, estimates the majority of Fairfield Inn and Suites locations opened in the past four years and make up approximately half of the nearly 600 Fairfield properties. “It’s really about great heritage,” says Buckley. “It’s home grown with warm, hardworking roots. This quiet little sleeper…let’s leverage it, let’s kick it up a notch. And it’s working. Owners love it, guests love it.”

The partnership with D.C. United, one of the top teams in Major League Soccer, looks to take advantage of the brand’s family-oriented, hardworking feel. “Our guests can associate themselves with these professional players,” Buckley says. “They’re on the road, need access to the Internet, great services and they don’t have a lot of time, so they need to make sure everything is working and right. There’s a nice tie-in between travelers and professional sports.” Even more so with soccer, at least in this country where the majority of players aren’t making over $100,000, so value is still a top priority.

The video—featuring some of the D.C. United’s most prominent players goofing around with a soccer ball—showcases Fairfield’s colorful, contemporary and spacious new lobby. More than 50 locations already feature the new design and another 150 are expected to open in the next few years, Buckley says. She calls it the “Green Tea Décor Package,” because it evokes a calming, revitalizing and inspiring feel. Bright and lively colors–apple green, bright orange and navy blue—highlight the redesigned public space meant to be both flexible and functional.

“The new lobby isn’t just a place to check in and check out,” she says. “Now you can get work in, socialize. We’re taking the opportunity to build the lobby into a more comprehensive experience.”

Marriott continues to be at the forefront of what was once non-traditional marketing. “It’s all about where people spend their time and how they’re engaging,” says Buckley of the video and brand’s website. “The way people are communicating now is different than five years ago. (YouTube and the Internet) are a great way to attract an audience, build awareness and reach new demographics.”

Web resource: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBsHxgiQD4k; http://stayingisbelieving.com/