Title | #HOSTWITHPRIDE |
Brand | AIRBNB |
Product / Service | ACCOMODATION SERVICES |
Category | A09. Use of Digital and/or Social |
Entrant | URBAN Sydney, AUSTRALIA |
Idea Creation | URBAN Sydney, AUSTRALIA |
Production | URBAN Sydney, AUSTRALIA |
Production 2 | RAWKUS Sydney, AUSTRALIA |
Name | Company | Position |
---|---|---|
Jonas Katzellenbourg | URBAN | Director, Planning and Strategy |
Katie-Jane Michael | URBAN | Senior Account Director |
Iason Sarris | URBAN | Digital Art Director |
Ryan McDonough | URBAN | Managing Director |
Gavin McDonough | URBAN | Creative Director |
Diane Carson | URBAN | Senior Producer |
Holly Dover | URBAN | Account Manager |
Trent Peppercorn | URBAN | Agency Producer |
Jason Alexander | URBAN | Agency Producer |
Have you ever heard of Airbnb darling? Turns out some people haven’t! Using some subtle satire and more glitter than a Mardi Gras parade float we brought the hosting journey to life for one premium property owner, Fanny.B.Good (played by acclaimed Sydney drag queen Verushka Darling). Through her story we were able to bring to life the unknown features of the Airbnb platform, letting everyone #HostWithPride during Mardi Gras. We capitalised on the friendly rivalry between Fanny and her best ‘frenemy’, Diedre Demetrius, to further show the benefits and protections that hosting on Airbnb provides. Although, never seen, and always talked about ,Fanny and Diedre are in a quest to become the best Airbnb hostess- EVER!
We deliberately timed the series to run in the 2 months prior to Mardi Gras, recognising that the decision to become a host can take some time. This also allowed plenty of time for new properties to be added to the platform in the peak time when guests were sure to be looking. Our series followed the hosting journey chronologically, from discovery to deliberation to debuting as a host on the platform. We ensured interest in the series by frontloading the number of episodes released, giving people a taste of the glamorous life of Fanny.B.Good including her frequent visits to her hairdresser to the almost stars, Jazzy. Due to the level of engagement with the campaign, we increased our targeting from our Sydney focus and opened the campaign up to Melbourne which meant the series took of faster than slices of Fanny’s Opera House Pavlova.
This work represents a significant shift in Airbnb's marketing strategy in capitalising on the potential of the Australian market. We have looked to capture the spirit, sequins and sass of Mardi Gras, to help promote our brand message. Our goal was focus on bringing the brand to life through this prism and making something that would stand out!
Our social campaign hinged relied on clever targeting, this meant being super local and super relevant. To aid this we developed a sophisticated targeting strategy based on geo-location, lifestyle indicators and third party demographic data. This targeting strategy was based off our research into the geographic area surrounding the campaign route. We also recognised early on that the series was a fantastic tool for encouraging member-get-member activity by providing them a tool to explain and showcase their own hosting experiences through social conversations. We engaged with every conversation to help potential and current hosts in their quest to host guests for Mardi Gras. Sydney’s LGBTQI community became advocates for the series and spread the message to their friends and family. Because no one wants to be a Diedre!