The hotel chain is creating a content production studio to entertain customers (and millennials).

The brand as publisher. So many papers and articles that talk about it. So many people are seeing it as the future of content publishing.

And it makes sense.

To produce and publish content that works, you need an audience. If you are a niche brand, a small audience will do. But otherwise, you need a large reach so that the budget will actually make sense.

Marriott is launching a new content production arm that aims to rival lifestyle media brands. Their goal is top produce web series, short films, TV shows, music events and movies.

Why are they doing it? To appeal to next-gen travelers. A much different audience, millennials, that was born with on-demand access to mostly-free content.

Marriott already has the infrastructure to publish content, with their closed-network in-room channels, websites, mobile platforms, etc. (they are, after all, the world’s largest hotel company)

But they also have a 45-million strong loyalty program membership that they can reach out to on an ongoing basis. That is a massive audience already at their reach.

Beebe, VP, content marketing says:

 “While content is just part of the overall travel experience we provide, we believe Marriott can become the world’s leading publisher of travel lifestyle content for the next generation. Our goal is to produce engaging content that builds communities of people passionate about travel that will drive commerce.”

Marc Graser, over at Variety, has done a great overview of the announcement and the initial plan. An article that details a bit more where they are coming from and what the initial content projects are. Take a minute to read it, well worth it!