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GROUP 5 1:00-2:15

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Agenda

  • About Airbnb

  • Business Situation

  • Target Consumers

  • Creative Developments

  • Media Plan

  • Conclusion

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About Airbnb

Founded: 2008 (AirBed & Breakfast)

Founders: Joe Gebbia, Brian Chesky, and Nathan Blecharczyk

Airbnb is a trusted community marketplace for people to list, discover, and book unique accommodations around the world”

Main Idea: Create revenue from unused space for the hosts and find unique and wallet-friendly living quarters for the consumer.

Airbnb institutionalized the idea of a “sharing economy” with

locations in over 34,000 cities and 190 countries.

“People thought Airbnb was about renting houses. But really we’re about home”

–CEO Brian Chesky

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Airbnb was the first of its kind...but other businesses are catching on.

One of a kind in terms of the traditional hotel industry

Goal:

Need to reposition Airbnb brand to a place of unparalleled uniqueness, increase purchase for category users and gain new customers

Business Situation

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Competitors

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Perceptual Map

Upscale

Casual

High Cost

Low Cost

Hostels

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Key Challenges

  • People are more familiar with the traditional ways of lodging, such as staying at hotel chains like the Hyatt, Marriott and Holiday Inn

  • Create a stronger brand loyalty and top of mind awareness

  • Engage women to consider Airbnb as a lodging destination and to build trust

  • Virtually identical functional benefits and similar

interfaces for competing companies

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End Game

Airbnb needs to establish a unique positioning within this rapidly expanding industry

Functional benefit is no longer enough → needs to offer consumer something more

Increase customer base by standing apart from the crowd and emphasizing more than the “just a place to stay” aspect

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Target Consumers

C U L T U R A L

A D V O C A T E S

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Cultural Advocates

Psychographically they are …

  • Immersive travelers who live in the moment
  • Culturally sophisticated
  • Adventurous and full of life
  • Loving and accepting of one another
  • Seek and embrace social interaction and activities
  • Crave a fulfilling life and are scared of coming up short
  • Enjoy art, beauty, and creativity

Demographically they are…

  • Millennials (18-34)
  • City dwellers
  • Mostly college-educated
  • More liberal in nature
  • Women

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Reviews of Airbnb

“The hotel is a finely tuned, generic product.”

“Hotels can put you in any room they want to, not necessarily the one you looked at on their website. With Airbnb you get what you pick.

“Staying with a host as we are now can be a great way to get to know an area and - in this case - get lots of language practice”

“To me, hotels are a little bubble, a world in itself. Great

when your mind is focused on business; really dull and

uninspiring if you are there to experience the culture.”

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Insight

Airbnb needs to stand out in an industry where all competitors are offering an identical functional benefit

AND

Our target craves social interaction and expects customization

AND

Experiencing new cultures and the promise of adventure motivate

them.

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Positioning

To cultural advocates, Airbnb promises an unparalleled

cultural immersion because of our flexible,

customizable havens that provide a sense of

belonging.

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Creative Approach

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-Create a general interest and increase customers since Airbnb is a new type of lodging option.

-Determine certain months to further push the awareness of Airbnb to consumers during “cultural high” times.

-Target the millennials (18-34) who live life immersively and are culturally sophisticated

-Insights to choosing Airbnb over others are that they are allowed to choose their stay and immerse themselves into the culture, thus feeling welcomed to a another home

-Our promise is to have flexible, customizable havens that provide a sense of belonging

Creative Strategy

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Celebrity Endorsement

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The Ellen Degeneres Show

Media Approach for “The Ellen Degeneres Show”

The BIG Idea:

Create a funny and light-hearted documentary of Ellen’s staff using Airbnb for the weekend to further gain the trust of women.

Reason’s Why...

  • 3.9 million viewers per episode
  • 13 million followers
  • Women 18-34
  • The culture that Ellen has created with her show

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Ad Campaign: Leave your camera behind

By immersing oneself into the lives of their hosts, you no longer need your camera to capture every moment because you are living it.

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Ad Campaign: Find a place to belong

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Find a place to stay…

Find a place to belong…

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“Find a place to belong” Print Ad

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Media Plan

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  • Utilize web
  • Emphasis on print ads
  • Focus on gaining viral and WOM coverage
  • Schedule media around planning schedule of target audience

Promotional Strategy

Desire

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Web

Social Media

Web Pages

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Print

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Email

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Scheduling Flowchart

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Conclusion

  • Target Rationale: Cultural advocates have a need for the functional benefits of Airbnb and competitors, but they crave the emotional benefit only Airbnb can offer
  • Promise: Airbnb promises an unparalleled cultural immersion because of our flexible,customizable havens that provide a sense of belonging.
  • Media Approach: create interest, increase web traffic, boost booking by utilizing media with a strong visual component, exploiting millennial media habits, and keeping the emphasis on the emotional benefit versus functional

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Questions?