Media Maven: In Conversation With Emily Justice
What do you get when you combine one person's love for connecting people with a passion for creating unforgettable experiences? A marketer who knows how to make every guest feel like a VIP.
Meet Emily Justice, Senior Marketing Manager at Silver Hotel Group. From coordinating Eras Tour takeovers to managing an entire portfolio of properties, Emily brings equal parts creativity and calm to the chaos of hospitality marketing.
In this conversation, Emily shares the real value of social media in the hospitality space, why the best campaigns start with authenticity, not just aesthetics, and more. Whether you're a fellow Swiftie or just looking for a fresh perspective on building brand experiences that stick, Emily's story is full of inspiration– and a few glittery surprises.
Cleo: What was your "this is it" moment– when you knew marketing/media was the space for you?
Emily: I’m not sure I can pinpoint one exact moment - I’ve had the privilege of being a part of so many super cool projects and campaigns over the course of my career it’s actually quite difficult to choose one. But, what I will say is that growing up, I was always that kid who was forcing my friends and family to pose for photos and videos that I was editing together for fun, documenting all our family vacations on my little cameras and iPads, basically telling visual stories any way that I could. So when I got older and found out I could do that for a living through marketing, it was almost a no brainer for me to go into this field!
Cleo: As the Senior Marketing Manager at Silver Hotel Group, you carry a lot of responsibility when it comes to the number of hotels you look after. How do you manage it all?
Emily: I get asked this a lot and my immediate reaction is always to laugh and just blame it on the fact that I think I’m actually crazy and just thrive on chaos, but, in reality, I do believe it’s because of the incredible team around me. As corny as it is, it makes a huge, huge difference to work with a group of people who have your back just as much as you have theirs. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the support and guidance of my colleagues at Silver Hotel Group, and I really do mean that. No matter how busy, exciting or stressful our jobs may feel at times working in such a fast-paced industry, we always have each other to lean on and that makes the heavy workload feel way less intimidating and a lot more fun!
Cleo: What has working in marketing, primarily in the hospitality industry, taught you about the importance of having a social media presence?
Emily: The amount of people I speak to on a daily basis that say they rely on social media for their travel and food recommendations, in and of itself, speaks volumes to the importance of having a social media presence in hospitality. However, the one thing I always like to remind myself and our team is that having a presence is one thing, but having a meaningful presence is the true game-changer. Our audience comes to our businesses for an experience, so it is our job to make sure we sell them that experience before they even book the reservation or step through the front door. Storytelling on platforms that our guests are actively seeking recommendations on is key!
Cleo: What’s a time you had to advocate for marketing’s role in a broader business decision?
Emily: I think influencer marketing is the most common area of marketing that requires constant advocacy from the marketing team when it comes to the broader business. People love to roll their eyes at the thought of giving creators free things in exchange for posting content to their channels, but it truly plays such a large role in maintaining your brand awareness in a world where social media content feels almost infinite. It’s one thing to tell your brand story and market your business to your online audience through your owned channels, but people really do seek out “real people” to speak to their experience with brands as there is a level of authenticity that comes with seeing a real human recommend a product or service.
In an industry like ours, where meaningful experiences and human connection are so deeply entangled in the hotel or restaurant experience, it’s so important to maintain good relationships with influencers and include them in your marketing strategy. That being said, though, there are definitely still creators out there that really do just want a free room or a free meal. So my advice here is to make sure your marketing team seeks out influencers and creators who truly resonate with your brand, have an audience that are actively engaged with the type of product or service your business provides, and are genuinely interested and excited about working with you! It’s okay to say no to an influencer collaboration if it doesn’t 100% align with your goals.
Cleo: What’s something junior marketers should stop worrying about?
Emily: My favourite quote that my colleagues and I say to each other all the time is “we work in PR, not ER”. We’re not saving lives out here. Nobody’s life is going to be in danger if that IG post you scheduled failed to go live over the weekend. Nobody is going to die if you had a bad day at home and it slipped your mind that the deadline to submit the creative for that project was due yesterday and you missed it. Life happens and we’re all human beings. A year from now nobody will remember you for the typo you made in that email newsletter - but they will remember the type of team member you are and the stories we tell to our audiences!
Cleo: What are some of the most exciting projects you’ve worked on so far?
Emily: I’m sure we all remember the iconic Eras Tour that graced Toronto with its’ presence in November 2024… as a tried and true Swiftie and SHG’s designated Taylor Swift expert, I had the absolute pleasure of leading the charge on all of our Toronto hotels’ Eras Tour activations when Queen Taylor came to town. I truly have never been more excited to work in the hospitality industry than I was during that concert run. People travelled to our hotels from all over the world, and I knew we had to create experiences for them that they would never, ever forget. I helped come up with themed menus, pick out decorations, design custom merch and keepsakes, create playlists, make friendship bracelets - all because my favourite artist was performing the biggest concert tour in history right in the heart of our city. Participating in such a massive cultural moment was so much fun. I got to witness the teams at all of our properties embrace the Swifties with open arms, even if they weren’t fans themselves. I got to share my personal passion with all of my colleagues and it meant the world to me to see my two worlds collide in such a beautiful, exciting and glittery way!
Cleo: How do you stay inspired or avoid burnout in a high-pressure role?
Emily: The best part about working in the hotel industry is that if you love to travel, the perks are amazing! I have always loved to travel and aspire to explore new countries/cities around the world, but since being in this role, I’m able to view travel in such a different light. Now, when I stay in a new place, I notice things that the average guest may not pick up on, which I guess can be seen as really exciting OR really annoying, but personally I see it as exciting! If I’m heading out on a vacation, I’m able to take inspiration from hotels and restaurants I visit in other cities and bring home a refreshed point of view on things that we may or may not already be doing in our own businesses. I’m really lucky that the industry I work in has a natural sense of excitement, even to the general population.
Cleo: Lastly, what’s your favorite way to take a break from work?
Emily: Concerts. There is nothing I love more in the world than live music. Living in Toronto, I feel very lucky that pretty much every artist in the world will have a stop on their tour here if they plan on coming to Canada. I think my absolute perfect day would be leaving the office right at 5 p.m. on a hot, sunny Thursday in July and heading to Budweiser Stage for the evening with some friends to enjoy a country concert on the lawn, with a wine guitar in hand!