HOMEAWAYARLANDA

TitleHOMEAWAYARLANDA
BrandSWEDAVIA & HOMEAWAY
Product/ServiceHOMEAWAYARLANDA
Category A05. Travel, Transport & Leisure
Entrant FLB EUROPE Stockholm, SWEDEN
Idea Creation FLB EUROPE Stockholm, SWEDEN
Idea Creation 2 SWEDAVIA Stockholm, SWEDEN
Idea Creation 3 HOMEAWAY London, UNITED KINGDOM
PR FLB EUROPE Stockholm, SWEDEN
PR 2 SWEDAVIA Stockholm, SWEDEN
PR 3 HOMEAWAY London, UNITED KINGDOM
Production FLB EUROPE Stockholm, SWEDEN
Production 2 SWEDAVIA Stockholm, SWEDEN
Production 3 HOMEAWAY London, UNITED KINGDOM
Credits
Name Company Position
David Becker FLB Europa Strategic Advisor
Linná Hagström FLB Europa Account Executive
Björn Lundvall FLB Europa PR Specialist
Björn Lundevall FLB Europa Creative Director
Siri von Zeipel Vincent FLB Europa Account Manager
Åsa Öhman Swedavia PR Manager
Yvonne Bonanati HomeAway Senior PR Manager Northern Europe

The Campaign

While we know that the offering at airports is rarely given accolades, we know that there is enormous interest in flying and airports in general. So we started to look at opportunities to try to link our offering to the interest in and fascination with airports that actually exist. The old air traffic control tower at Stockholm Arlanda had sat unused for over 10 years – with panoramic views of the runways and 35 square metres of space, which, to say the least, could be a spectacular home if it were filled with the best that Stockholm Arlanda has to offer: furnishings from stores, beauty products from well-known brands from the Tax Free Store and breakfast, lunch and dinner from the best restaurants. It would be a spectacular and communicative showroom with the best that Stockholm Arlanda has to offer – where we could even let people stay.

Execution

Given the high level of security that is maintained in an airport, which means it is not possible to rent out such space on permanent basis, it was decided that five winners from different countries would get a chance to spend one night in the control tower at Stockholm Arlanda. HomeAway produced dedicated localised contest pages, hosted on the HomeAway website. Press material such as images, films and localized texts was produced, and the plan for roll-out in different phases and from different angles was executed. No media purchases were made for the initiative; great focus was placed on media relations in Sweden and internationally. Swedish and international media were also given the opportunity to visit the control tower. 13 journalists from 9 countries travelled to Stockholm to see this spectacular home. Even Reuters – the world’s largest international news bureau – visited the control tower during the launch.

For both Swedavia and HomeAway, the apartment in the control tower entailed creative brand activation in which the products of both companies were the sole focus of the communication. Media outlets ranging from USA Today to Condé Nast have covered the project and reported how Stockholm Arlanda has prize-winning chefs and pastry chefs such as Pontus Frithiof and Ronny Latva on hand, and that people can shop in stores such as Designtorget and Design House Stockholm at the airport. Formulaic negative articles about the airport’s offering have been replaced by enormous media coverage and subsequent interest that highlights this offering in a positive tone in an interesting context. HomeAwayArlanda has a reach of more than 25 million in Sweden, with more than 50 media outlets providing coverage about the apartment in the control tower. Globally, the reach was an astounding 1.5 billion, spread across more than 350 articles from 17 countries. International media outlets such as The Telegraph; Harper’s Bazaar, Elle Decor, NBC, FOX, Architectural Digest and Esquire are among the media that have reported on this spectacular apartment while showcasing Stockholm Arlanda’s offering and noting that HomeAway provides the most unique places to stay.

The Situation

Swedavia operates ten airports across Sweden and works continuously with brand-building activities for Stockholm Arlanda Airport’s offering in food & beverage and retail. At Stockholm Arlanda, there are strong brands as well as distinguished restaurateurs, but it is often hard to get stories about them across. To showcase the airport’s offering, Stockholm Arlanda joined forces with HomeAway, world leader in vacation rentals. Together they created the most spectacular stay at an airport the world had ever seen, filled with products available for purchase at the airport. HomeAwayArlanda was an instant media hit, resulting in a global reach of 1.5 billion.

The Strategy

To increase the potential of the project, we looked for an international partner with an established infrastructure to realise the project with. We contacted HomeAway, which offers more than 2 million places to stay in over 190 countries. The project coincided with HomeAway’s kick-off of pro-active PR and Marketing efforts in the Nordic region and now Swedavia and HomeAway had a joint case contributing to the two companies’ business goals in a cost-effective way: HomeAwayArlanda. To create the best possible conditions for a strong, visual case, well renowned designer and artist Cilla Ramnek was contacted and tasked with decorating the apartment with products that could be purchased from shops located at the airport. The apartment turned out o be a flightspotter’s dream, a once-in-a-lifetime experience for people around the world with a fascination with flying and airports in particular, and spectacular accommodations in general.