Starting a new conversation within travel

OUR CHALLENGE
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Global vacation rental company (HQ in Austin), HomeAway VRBO was the first to market with a 5 year headstart but lost its global leadership to Airbnb in 2013. In 2014, they hired us to transform and relaunch the brand. HomeAway VRBO was outspent by 19x VS Airbnb. Yes, 19x. So disruption was not a choice but a necessity.

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WHAT WE FOUND
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A Global study revealed that the number one reason to book a holiday wasn’t to get away, but to get away from other people. HomeAway was uniquely placed to help address this. Unlike Airbnb & hotels heavily “shared” offering, HomeAway only listed whole properties. No sharing. No strangers.  No ‘other people’.

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WHAT WE DID
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We defined HomeAway’s brand purpose as ‘We Champion Whole Holiday” and got the world to question sharing. This new direction saw  the brand create magical experiences through partnerships, fame stunts and global campaigns. The brand became famous for challenging the sharing economy and the likes of AirBnb and hotel chains, asking people why they would ever share their vacation with strangers.

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OUR RESULTS

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OVERTOOK AIRBNB IN FIVE MAJOR MARKETS (US & CANADA, FR, DE & NORDICS)

$3.9BN EXPEDIA 2016 ACQUISITION (30x 2013 VALUATION)

OVER 100M IN EARNED MEDIA. ROI $14.1

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