I’m in Boston this week getting ready to speak at the Internet Retail Conference and Exhibition with a few members from the PMN’s Gen Y panel. Our session, “The Email Immune Generation: Getting Your Message to Gen Y,” is going to be interesting to say the least. We’ll be previewing some preliminary results from our next study with attendees. In fact, I spent most of my Acela trip up here building the slides for Thursday’s presentation and pondering my next blog. After checking in at the Westin Boston Waterfront the topic was quickly settled.

When we started the Participatory Marketing Network we made a conscious decision not to name the association or focus its efforts on one medium. What we wanted to do is talk more about what we think is a movement from push and permission marketing to participatory marketing. As we’ve said before, participatory marketing is really about marketing with your customers rather than at them. It’s about people getting actively involved with your brand, engaging them in a dialogue and encouraging them to become advocates for your brand. We also made a point of stressing that participatory marketing is any marketing that encourages participation including contests, print ads, TV and social media. Over the course of the last 8 months, we’ve highlighted nearly 20 brands who have built some really innovative programs. Some of the most successful programs reviewed have also managed to reinforce the brand promise and value proposition.

However, taking it one step further is Westin Hotels. What Westin is doing at the Westin Boston Waterfront serves as an example of how a brand can build a participatory marketing program and even operationalize it to build a truly differentiated customer experience. The program doing just that is Westin’s “running concierge” program. Within minutes of arriving in my room I received a voicemail for Westin’s “running concierge,” Paul Dryer, inviting me to join him and other guests on a 3 mile run to familiarize myself with the city and refresh my mind and body with a great morning workout. What this program does so well and different in my mind is that it is not just about using customer data, it is about using public-facing employees to help engage customers to participate with its brand. At the same time, the program reinforces Westin’s core positioning and marketing messages (relax, renew, refresh, etc.) and provides a level of service and value one would expect at five star hotels.

Hats off to the Westin Boston Waterfront! In fact, I can't wait to come back. The only thing that will be different next time is that I’ll be sure to bring my running shoes.