Graduate by Hilton Found Its Back-to-School Campaign in the Chaos of College Move-In Day

College move-in day is chaotic and emotional for students and parents alike, and Graduate by Hilton built its back-to-school campaign around that shared experience. “Order of the Stay,” developed with social-first agency Movers+Shakers, frames move-in weekend as orientation for a fictional, not-so-secret club. The hero film plays like an initiation video, complete with an oath and a narrator.

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That particular eventful undertaking spans the audience Graduate serves. The brand speaks to “everyone from high schoolers going through that campus visit process to parents and alumni,” says Stacey Murray, Senior Director of Lifestyle Brand Marketing at Hilton. The campaign leans on how those groups feel on the same day. “You can be so excited and so anxious and nervous about something at the same time,” Stacey says.

Taís De Jesús, Senior Social Media Manager at Movers+Shakers, served as strategist and community manager on the campaign. The agency began with Motto in 2025 and now handles Graduate, Motto and Canopy Hotels.

“Order of the Stay” is the agency’s first Graduate campaign. It extends the hero film into a creator program and short-form spots across the brand’s social channels.

Graduate Built the Concept on Move-In Truths That Students and Parents Share

The team started by asking which “travel truths and college truths” show up during the season, Taís says. Some team members drew on their own memories of college. They landed on “Order of the Stay,” a concept built on that move-in chaos.

Stacey says the team wanted something that represented “the various perspectives of that universal experience.” Movers+Shakers presented a few campaign concepts, and Graduate quickly narrowed to this one because “this feels really right for the brand and at the right time.”

Taís says the goal on social was to make the campaign entertaining first, with Graduate part of the storytelling. The film treats an experience that can be “a little traumatizing or chaotic,” she says, in “a ridiculous way.”

The Hero Film Needed a Narrator Who Could Play Serious and Funny at Once

Actor and social media influencer Clayton Farris plays the narrator the team calls “Dr. Graduate.” Taís describes the character as “the source of truth, the teacher with all information” in what she calls “a not so secret society.”

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Taís says Clayton combines comedic talent with the instincts of a digital creator, and the role called for someone who could “be overly serious, but also be a little funny.” The team already had a script, she says, and leaned on what his comedy looks like online so his humor and style came through.

The agency’s influencer team had worked with Clayton before, Taís says, and he “seemed very excited.” She adds that the role let him show acting range as he moves into that space. Stacey says the team used him as actor talent in the film.

Graduate and Movers+Shakers Took Under Three Months From Kickoff to Launch

Planning began at the end of May and creative strategy followed in June, Taís says. She puts the span from kickoff to launch at under three months, timed for August back-to-school season.

Once Graduate picked a concept, Movers+Shakers led creative strategy and pre-production, and Hilton’s team weighed in to make sure the brand was represented accurately, Stacey says. Her team’s input came as tweaks, such as “what if we thought through this lens.” On casting and talent, the agency brought options and recommendations, and the two sides went back and forth.

The team shot the hero film in one day at a single Graduate property that stayed in operation as a hotel, Stacey and Taís say. Stacey was on set and says Clayton arrived straight off a red-eye and was ready to go. It is the third campaign Hilton has run with the same Movers+Shakers creative and production leads, she says, and “we feel very confident in them owning what they’re doing, but they’re also letting us weigh in.”

Creator Content and Paid Spots Carried the Story Beyond the Hero Film

The team wanted to build “a whole world” around the concept, Taís says, so the rollout began with a teaser meant to raise questions about the space and the man at its center. The hero film then introduced the full concept, and short-form creator content and paid media kept the story going. “We didn’t want anything to feel like another version of the same ad,” she says.

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The creator program features a senior reflecting on move-in day, a design-focused creator exploring Graduate’s interiors and a parent recreating the move-in experience. Stacey says the program adds perspectives and shows more of the portfolio, since the hero film was shot at one property and “each property is so unique.” The design creator also ties into Graduate’s partnership with Pottery Barn Dorm, she says.

Taís says the paid assets, among her favorite pieces, feature the rules of the “Order of the Stay” and move-in tips. They were recorded separately from the hero shoot and made social first. Community management was also a big part of the plan, she says, since the team wanted every piece to feel natural to social.

Graduate Sets Awareness Goals and Treats College Milestones as Demand Drivers

Stacey says the campaign’s primary goals were awareness, video views, engagement, and broader consideration. It taps travel moments around Graduate properties, and “these college milestones create meaningful demand for Graduate,” she says.

Graduation weekend shows how that works, she says. A few weeks after 2026 graduations, “the books for 2027 are open; they’re already booked.”

Stacey says the broader goal was an “evergreen experience” that runs from move-in day to graduation to reunions. “We serve as the backdrop for some of life’s biggest moments,” she says.

Graduate Answered Comments Asking If the Campaign Was AI Within 48 Hours

Stacey saw one comment asking whether the campaign was AI-generated right away and told her team, “We need to respond.” She says the comments mattered because Graduate designs each hotel to reflect the town it sits in. The real setting looks like what a prompt for a college setting in New Haven, next to Yale’s campus, might produce, she says, and the team wanted to set the record straight.

Taís says the team created and got approval for two posts in less than 48 hours, using behind-the-scenes footage that Stacey, the production team, and others captured on the shoot. “Sometimes your audience gives your next content idea. You just kind of have to pay attention to what they’re saying,” she says.

The episode shapes how the agency plans, Taís says. She cites the balance between a strong creative idea and staying flexible once it goes live, and says the next campaign will build in more opportunities for audience engagement.

Graduate Is Exploring More Perspectives and Formats for ‘Order of the Stay’

Stacey says the team discussed whether the concept could carry future moments, including episodic and more serious content, but it is “nothing we have fully confirmed.” She would add more perspectives, including the sibling left at home with mom and dad and a grandparent watching a third generation head to campus. Taís floats homecoming or alumni weekend as possible settings, saying the concept “has so many legs.”

Stacey says the lesson applies across Hilton’s brands. College tentpoles repeat every year, from back to school to graduation to football, so the work is finding new ways to tell the story that fit Graduate.

Marketers, herself included, often reach for the unexpected to win attention, she says, and staying true to the brand can resonate just as much. “You don’t always have to reinvent every time,” Stacey says.