Airbnb is a trusted community marketplace for people to list and discover unique accommodations. To engage local influencers and raise brand awareness in Los Angeles in 2013, Airbnb created the experiential campaign, 'Hello LA'. Hello LA featured celebrity hosts providing consumers access to curated awe-inspiring experiences only available via Airbnb.

Transforming a local success into an activation strategy, Airbnb set out to create compelling, press-worthy 2014 experiences focusing on:

-Building brand awareness and maximizing media coverage

-Establishing Airbnb at the center of pop culture by providing access to the most interesting people, places and experiences

-Engaging and supporting creative communities/influencers

Hello LA featured celebrity-curated, bookable, pop-up listings, affording consumers the ability to spend the night in unique places like The Viper Room and Hollywood Forever Cemetery. The campaign also featured awe-inspiring experiences ranging from a 2,000 person concert in Hollywood to an intimate farm-to-table dinner in Venice.

Using 'Hello LA' as a catalyst, Airbnb leveraged brand equity at the Sundance and SXSW festivals. The 'Airbnb Haus' at Sundance welcomed film influencers to partake in activities and serial chats. At SXSW, the 'Airbnb Park' showcased artist-curated pop-ups from Snoop Dogg, Capital Cities and Allen Stone – also featuring one-of-a-kind, interactive programming.

Airbnb touched 500,000 participants over 15 event days garnering impressions exceeding 574 million (press) and nearly 400 million (social):

Hello LA: 72 million press impressions and 42.2 million Facebook impressions.

Sundance: 99 million press impressions, 4.2 million Twitter impressions and 1,574 PR Newswire hits.

SXSW: 403 million press and +300 million social impressions. Snoop’s 'Wake and Bake' brunch drove media attention, picking up 122 stories.

Attracting enthusiastic engagement and massive EARNED MEDIA, Airbnb built long-lasting relationships with local communities, inviting the public into premiere events with unfettered access. Reinforcing the brand promise of 'creative hospitality', Airbnb now stands at the intersection of pop culture events and unique experiences.

Each activation engaged consumers with people, activities and accommodations they’d never otherwise experience, illustrating the Airbnb lifestyle of creativity, adventure, and sharing.

Hello LA:

Celebrity pop-ups and 35 events connected press/influencers with Airbnb’s creative community featuring: Angelica Huston’s curated Harvest Dinner, Moby’s album party and James Franco (Hollywood Cemetery).

Airbnb Haus @Sundance:

Communal hub offered Wi-Fi, craft coffee and vintage games while being a hotspot for filmmaker chats, comedy and story performances.

Airbnb Park @SXSW:

Integrating music/design/technology, Airbnb featured 3 celebrity pop-ups plus themed events including: Snoop Dogg’s 'Wake and Bake' Brunch and an intimate campfire performance with Allen Stone.