Red Roof Loves Country!

Leveraging its guests’ love for Country Music and the growing power of the industry, Red Roof, America’s leader in economy lodging, is launching a branded entertainment, multi-media Red Roof Loves Country Road Trips campaign targeted at Country Music fans and followers. Television network Great American Country (GAC) will feature Red Roof along with platinum-selling Country Music stars Phil Vassar and Little Big Town in a series of 30-second promos. Red Roof’s dedicated interactive website, www.redrooflovescountry.com, will showcase the artists’ songs in a series of three-minute broadband films. The spots are produced by Rink Entertainment, a pioneering branded entertainment and television production company.

The Red Roof Loves Country Road Trips campaign will include promotions and contests on 250 radio stations. Red Roof will also award thousands of prizes including a Toyota Prius and mortgage payments for one year to lucky winners in a sweepstakes that will run parallel to the Red Roof Loves Country Road Trips campaign.

“This comprehensive multi-media campaign is a first for Red Roof,” says Red Roof CEO Joe Wheeling. “We are helping our guests, many of whom are Country Music fans, to manage this difficult economy with Red Roof Loves Country Road Trips rate discounts, free gas cards, free room nights at selected Red Roof properties, Budget Travel Tips and other financial stimulators.”

Country Music sensations Phil Vassar and Little Big Town have signed on as Brand Ambassadors for Red Roof, creating a musical bridge among Country Music devotees, Red Roof guests and the consumers who balance both worlds. “Red Roof knows its guests,” insists Wheeling. “They love Country Music, they love football; they are patriotic and hard working. Red Roof Loves Country is our way of giving back to our core customers, connecting them to the music and artists they love.”

As Ambassadors, Vassar and Little Big Town will be fully integrated into the Red Roof Loves Country Road Trips campaign. Both the musician and the band are prominently featured on www.redrooflovescountry.com in on-the-road Short Films and interviews. Guests booking rooms at Red Roof or staying at the hotel will hear Vassar and members of Little Big Town’s voices when they are placed on hold or request a wake-up call. Vassar and Little Big Town will also be featured on hundreds of Red Roof Loves Country Road Trips posters and oversized postcards with their tour schedules cross-referenced with nearby Red Roof locations. Vassar will also be making appearances at select Red Roofs – meeting and greeting fans and guests. “A hot shower and a clean bed, it’s what I want most on the road,” says Vassar, and as he Road Trips across the country this summer, Red Roof is fulfilling all his travel needs.

Also, fans will be able to check out Vassar and Little Big Town in two short films on www.redrooflovescountry.com. Vassar, who has always appreciated the service that men and women of the U.S. military have provided this country, gets his chance to give something back to one very deserving U.S. military couple, who are making a weekend getaway to Nashville for their 4th anniversary and are big fans of his music.

In this short film, we learn about the struggle to be apart with one spouse at home and another serving overseas and how special the time is when they are able to be together. While in Nashville, the couple stays at Red Roof – their economical home away from home. Little do they know the big surprise that awaits them: A surprise performance and personal meeting with one of their musical heroes, Phil Vassar.

In their short film, Little Big Town sings their hit song, “I’m With The Band,” to two avid ‘weekend warrior’ fans. As the hit song proudly states, “I was born with a suitcase in my hand… I always know who I'm with, I'm with the band.” Members Jimi, Karen, Kimberly and Phillip sing the song in appreciation for the dedicated fans that take road trips across the country each weekend to see the band perform. Those very fans have helped vault Little Big Town to Country Music’s stratosphere. The group decides to give two deserving weekend warriors a night they will never forget. LBT band member Phillip says, “Our fans are very special to us and Red Roof accommodates all their needs as they Road Trip across the country with us. Red Roof provides comfort at a great price and we can all appreciate that.”

Emerging Country Music band KingBilly will also participate in the Red Roof Loves Country Road Trips campaign. The band will be featured in a signature GAC Shortcuts segment (brief snapshots of the band) in addition to future on-air content with Red Roof branding woven into the narrative. The KingBilly band will also be staying at Red Roofs as they tour in the next few months, staying close to the fans who have supported their burgeoning career.

Red Roof is rolling out the red carpet over the next few months, driving consumers to www.redrooflovescountry.com and welcoming Country Music fans and summer travelers to check out their Redesigned and Rededicated renovations - multi-million dollar upgrades of their properties across the country. Red Roof is the destination of choice for Country Music lovers.

About Red Roof

Red Roof is a leader in the economy hotel market with both franchised and corporate-owned properties, serving millions of guests each year. The company and its hotels are known for a warm and welcoming spirit, along with higher-end amenities at an economy price. With coast-to-coast locations, Red Roof has nearly 350 properties. Currently completing a $250 million renovation, every Red Roof will feature Smart-by-Design®, value-added amenities that are simple and economical, yet meet the needs of Red Roof’s most frequent guests. Red Roof recently unveiled its All-Inclusive King Room, offering guests an enhanced communication package with other top-flight room amenities. The Columbus, Ohio-based company has more than 4,500 employees. For more information or reservations, call 800.RED.ROOF (800.733.7663) or visit redroof.com.

About Great American Country

Great American Country is the leader in country music entertainment. GAC delivers to viewers the widest variety of country music, its artists and the lifestyles they influence. GAC broadcasts original country music programming, country music performance specials, live concerts and music videos, and is the exclusive television home of the Grand Ole Opry. GAC is available in more than 54 million households and online at http://www.GACTV.com.

GAC is owned by Scripps Networks, the leading developer of lifestyle-oriented content for television and the Internet, including HGTV, Food Network, DIY Network and Fine Living Network. Scripps Networks is based in Knoxville, Tenn., with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit, Atlanta and Nashville, and is owned by The E.W. Scripps Company (NYSE:SSP), a diverse media concern with interests in newspaper publishing, broadcast television, national television networks and interactive media. Scripps operates daily and community newspapers in 16 markets, 10 broadcast TV stations, Scripps Howard News Service, United Media and Shopzilla.com.

About Rink Entertainment

Rink Entertainment is a full-service film/TV production company that has been telling thoughtful, inspiring stories for all mediums of entertainment since 1992. The company is dedicated to serving the needs of its clients in the broadcast television, film, Branded Entertainment and music industries by developing and delivering positive, uplifting projects in tune with their unique, creative vision. Rink Entertainment has been awarded multiple Emmy, Grammy and Telly awards and nominations.

Rink Entertainment was early to recognize the needs for and promises of today’s Branded Entertainment and responded accordingly by launching its own Branded Entertainment Division. This division serves to connect audience members with a sponsoring interest by engaging them with extended entertainment offerings wherein the sponsor’s brand is creatively present. In exercising its storytelling strengths, Rink Entertainment has demonstrated the merits of Branded Entertainment not only applied to particular commercial products but also in the rich potentials of program promotions (important to producers and programmers of media outlets) and musical talent development and promotion in the Country Music industry.