SWEDEN ON AIRBNB

TitleSWEDEN ON AIRBNB
BrandVISITSWEDEN
Product/ServiceVISITSWEDEN
Category F02. Costs / Creative Performance PR Campaign
Entrant FORSMAN & BODENFORS Gothenburg, SWEDEN
Idea Creation FORSMAN & BODENFORS Gothenburg, SWEDEN
PR FORSMAN & BODENFORS Gothenburg, SWEDEN
Production FORSMAN & BODENFORS Gothenburg, SWEDEN
Additional Company VISIT SWEDEN Stockholm, SWEDEN
Additional Company 2 SMFB ENGINE Oslo, NORWAY
Additional Company 3 AIRBNB San Francisco, USA
Credits
Name Company Position
Jenny E Kaiser Visit Sweden Advertiser Supervisor
Jennie Skogsborn Missuna Visit Sweden Client
Peter Holmberg Visit Sweden Client
Jonas Overödder Visit Sweden Client
Lotta Thiringer Visit Sweden Client
Ann Spennare-Bengtsson Forsman & Bodenfors Account Director
Olle Victorin Forsman & Bodenfors Account Director
Johan Eghammer Forsman & Bodenfors Art Director
Johanna Hofman-Bang Forsman & Bodenfors Art Director
Ted Mellström Forsman & Bodenfors Art Director
Josefin Roxeheim Forsman & Bodenfors Art Director
Marcus Hägglöf Forsman & Bodenfors Copywriter
Pontus Levahn Forsman & Bodenfors Copywriter
Agnes Uggla Forsman & Bodenfors Copywriter
Lycke Ramel Forsman & Bodenfors Writer
Johan Fredriksson Forsman & Bodenfors Designer
Johanna Bringefält Forsman & Bodenfors Account Manager
Jens Odelbring Forsman & Bodenfors Agency Producer
Peter Gaudiano Forsman & Bodenfors Digital Producer
Robert Johnsson Forsman & Bodenfors PR Strategist
Daniel Sjöstrand Forsman & Bodenfors Planner
Jenny Ring Forsman & Bodenfors Music Supervisor
Jeanne Salvanès Airbnb Marketing Manager
Zoe Russel Turner Airbnb Creative Producer

The Campaign

With our target group (travellers) in mind, we decided to present one of Sweden’s most popular tourist attractions, the great outdoors, in a way that makes Sweden different from other nature destinations. We used the Freedom to Roam, an 80-year- old Swedish right protected by the constitution that allows anyone to roam freely in Sweden’s nature. Every lake and mountaintop can be enjoyed as if they are yours – ourcountry is one big home. Since we knew our target group, we knew wherethey hang out online. So we listed the entire country on Airbnb. We launched a film where a Swedish man invited the world to explore this 100 million acres accommodation. On the campaign site people could browse through different listings. All destinations had their own specific descriptions and amenities; a lake became an infinity pool and moss on the ground became carpeting – like a regular Airbnb listing.

The Brief

The overalll budget for this project was 2,8 million SEK, and covered photo shoot on 8 different locations in Sweden, film production, and interviews/text with influencers. The budget for paid media, in this case activation on social media, was 700 000 SEK.

Execution

The way we approached the mission of exciting US travelers about Sweden was based on the need for a PR-driven surprising initiative that could create awareness in the US but that also had potential to reach a global audience. That way, other markets for Visit Sweden could tap into the campaign, use it locally and spread the word. In the end what matters is the creative idea, the right creative idea that really cuts through. Our activation strategy focused on getting editorial coverage for the campaign in the US. Matching our creative idea with the right SoMe-channel, Twitter, meant that we directly got the editorial attention we needed to create awareness about Sweden as an exciting travel destination for the US market. The US editorial coverage would enable us to reach a global audience, which is exactly what happened.

Earned media: $9,7 million Engagements: 1,7 million Articles: 1691 Spread: 138 countries Media impressions: 8,4 billion Organic reach: 700% increase Online conversation: 2346% increase

The Situation

The assignment was to promote Sweden as a brand and to raise awareness of Sweden as a travel destination in the US. We had to bet on earned media in order to really reach out. With Airbnb as a platform and by being the first to list an entire country on Airbnb our bet paid off. The result was that the number of booked hotel nights in Sweden from the US increased by 45 % in July compared to 2016. We launched our campaign 22nd of May 2017. A booking cycle in the US is 45 days.

The Strategy

Even if visitors are few, people are still coming to Sweden from all demographic segments (DINKs, WHOPs etc.) A heterogeneous group, but we found something they all had in common that let us tailor a message to them. The development of digital technologies and fundamental shifts in how people perceive value has disrupted every field of consumption, and transformed the way we plan and experience travel. We called this insight “the evolution from tourist to traveller”, and we wanted to repackage Sweden in to something travellers would love. And love to show off. Sweden needed to be something completely different. We needed to communicate Sweden in a way that resonates with the travellers values. This meant that something like the great outdoors couldn’t be communicated simply on it’s own. Everything needed to be combined with something more, for example Swedish culture or politics.