Airbnb Experiences

While I was not on the Airbnb team and did not present the work to the client, my curiosity sparked into a new product, media offering, and cultural signal for Airbnb.

Situation: #AIRBNBWHILEBLACK was trending and Alton Sterling had just had his right to live taken away from him. The silence felt during this moment was louder than the story. I listened and observed what I did not know and did not understand, and it was A LOT. The opportunity to learn from a world class roster of diverse and critical thinkers at Chiat Day LA offered me a clear tension: We’re divided because we’ve never experienced another’s viewpoint

We are only limited to our willingness and access.

Opportunity: What if the current Airbnb product could be used to share access to a story like Ron Finley’s. An urban space gardner in south LA who’s advocated to the city and won to offer reasonable rights to people living in food deserts so they can eat well. What kind of stories could we learn from Ron’s experience? Airbnb had the infrastructure and monetization already in place

Product Strategy:

Existing Culture: Preconceived cultural notion

New Hook: What’s really going on?

Host Invitation: A credible host that takes you inside

Airbnb Experience: The payoff

Lincoln - National Relaxation Day

The Challenge: Lincoln is viewed as your grandpa’s sedan. In 2020 Lincoln shifted to ‘The Power of Sanctuary’ line meant to shift an aged comfort story to a conversation around wellness. Unfortunately, mentions of the brand are low and outside of a long and successful partnership with Matthew McConaughey there’s very little contemporary attention to Lincoln to change this story.

Our question was, could Lincoln stand out and gain relevance and consideration with younger car buyers? We needed to find a unique transition

Brand Asset Opportunity: Analytics noticed that while Matthew’s career was transitioning, searches for Matthew McConaughey AND motivation were the highest volume actions of YouTube. We set out to compliment a traditional TV campaign spokesman as a mindfulness guide to Lincoln’s own customers seeking sanctuary

Idea: We partnered with Matthew and the Calm meditation app on National Relaxation Day to offer fans of Lincoln and McConaughey a potential 1 to 1 conversation with Matthew on how to bring more value to their wellbeing

Results: unprecedented lifts in consideration, opinion, and engagement with the brand among 35-50 yos