Exclusive: Hard Rock Gets Top Honors

What do American Express Co., Blu-ray, Bounty, Campbell’s soups, Dunkin’ Donuts , “Grand Theft Auto IV”, Häagen-Dazs and The Hard Rock Hotel have in common? They are all part of Advertising Age Honors the Top 50 Brands of the Year. Morgans Hotel Group says it’s spending more than $1 billion to upgrade the legendary Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas. Marketing success include; Cable channel TruTV this month aired a behind-the-scenes look at one of The Hard Rock’s most successful innovations, the notorious Rehab Sunday pool parties. Rehab generates its own revenue stream — $6 million in 2007 and so far up 18% this year. The events are part of what one media outlet calls the great pool-party proliferation of 2008. The Rehab parties have even inspired an energy drink, Rehab recovery supplement, marketed by Coca-Cola Co. The property has worked with music critics and agents to attract the right musicians to appear at Hard Rock. An in-house pop-culture magazine, HRH, is a revenue producer and distributed in all Morgans properties and has become the most succeful in-room book in Las Vegas.