Hotels.com #AccidentallyTokyo: Influencer Campaign

Global OTA Hotels.com tasked us with revamping their influencer approach. Using a bespoke influencer POV, we found a way of cutting through the noisy world of online travel content by avoiding working with travel influencers. Traditional influencer marketing takes a top-down approach, starting with an individual to reach their audience. Our approach seeks to first understand our audience and what we can offer them, before identifying influencers to connect with them. Only after we analysed our audience did we begin to think about influencer partners. After researching who digitally represented, inspired and influenced them and we quickly landed on one of Instagram’s rising stars; Accidentally Wes Anderson. Focussing on the style, aesthetic and passion of the community - rather than the personality of the creator - AWA's feed was a new breed of account; and one which is largely under-utilised from a brand partnership perspective. We worked closely with AWA to decide how best to bring the partnership to life in a bespoke and unique way - and the minimalist style, culturally diverse and historic traditions of Japan were the perfect fit. Off the back of the 2019 Rugby World Cup and ahead of the scheduled 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, this was one of the hottest destinations for Hotels.com to be talking about. To bring his audience in on the action of the campaign, using Instagram Story Polls, Questions and Sliders, they became an active part of the planning process and took ownership of the content, ensuring that they were fully engaged with the campaign before he even got on the plane. This approach sees that the fourth - and often the most overlooked party - the audience, were at the centre of the campaign’s direction from the outset. Under the creative guise of Wes Anderson’s unique aesthetic, the creator set out to direct and capture his own content for the very first time. Turning the stereotypical on its head, AWA reinvented the traditional tourist sites and sought out the most symmetrical, captivating and cinematic locations across Tokyo and Kyoto. Reaching over 4 million people and with a grid post engagement rate of 8.7%, the campaign was a success and has been nominated for Best Travel Campaign at the Influencer Marketing Awards 2020.