Airbnb Campaign Proposal

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Airbnb’s Campaign Proposal 2016 Overstep Communications Nicolette Ambrosio Kaylee Naden Janelle Kelly Wonjae Choi Liuming Guo

Transcript of Airbnb Campaign Proposal

Page 1: Airbnb Campaign Proposal

Airbnb’sCampaignProposal2016

OverstepCommunications

NicoletteAmbrosio KayleeNaden JanelleKelly

WonjaeChoi LiumingGuo

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OverstepCommunications157MissionStreetSanFrancisco,CA94127March22,2016

JonathanMildenhallChiefMarketingOfficerAirbnb,Inc.888BrannanStreetSanFrancisco,CA94103

DearMr.Mildenhall:

AttachedinthisbookletisAirbnb’sCampaignProposal.Enclosedyouwillfirstfind

anExecutiveSummaryandIntroduction,followedbytheoverallMarketingProblem,which

discussesthatlackofawarenessandsecurityconcernspreventtravelersfrombookingan

Airbnb.Afterthat,youwillfindadetailedSituationAnalysiswithaSWOT.Next,thereisan

explanationofthetargetaudienceforthiscampaign.Thetargetaudienceismillennialsin

theU.S.,China,andKorea,andthereissupportingevidencefrombothPrimaryand

SecondaryResearch.Finally,youwillencounterourMarketingandCommunicationGoals,

alongwithbriefCreative,Media,andPromotionalStrategies.Here,itwillexplainthatthe

advertisementsneedtoreduceskepticismandraiseawarenessinorderforthetargetto

becomeamemberofAirbnb.

Ifyouhaveanyquestions,pleasecontactOverstepCommunications.

Sincerely,

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TableofContents

ExecutiveSummary..............................................................................................................................................1Introduction..............................................................................................................................................................2MarketingProblem...............................................................................................................................................3

SituationAnalysis..................................................................................................................................................4CompanyAnalysis...........................................................................................................................................4ConsumerAnalysis..........................................................................................................................................6MarketAnalysis................................................................................................................................................9ProductAnalysis...........................................................................................................................................10

CompetitiveAnalysis...................................................................................................................................11SWOT..........................................................................................................................................................................16

Strengths..........................................................................................................................................................16Weaknesses.....................................................................................................................................................17Opportunities.................................................................................................................................................20Threats..............................................................................................................................................................23

TargetAudience...................................................................................................................................................27SecondaryResearch....................................................................................................................................27PrimaryResearch.........................................................................................................................................29Methodology..............................................................................................................................................29ResultsandImplications.......................................................................................................................30

SynthesisofPrimaryandSecondaryResearch...............................................................................40TargetRecommendations........................................................................................................................41ProblemsandOpportunitiesAssociatedwithTargetAudience..............................................42CampaignGoals....................................................................................................................................................46MarketingGoals............................................................................................................................................46CommunicationGoals................................................................................................................................47RecommendedCreative,Media,andPromotionalStrategies...................................................51CreativeApproach......................................................................................................................................51

MediaStrategy..............................................................................................................................................52PromotionalStrategy.................................................................................................................................54

Summary..................................................................................................................................................................56

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References...............................................................................................................................................................57Appendix..................................................................................................................................................................69SimmonsOneViewTables........................................................................................................................69

Questionnaire.................................................................................................................................................75FocusGroup....................................................................................................................................................81

SPSSOutputs..................................................................................................................................................83Photos...............................................................................................................................................................90Charts................................................................................................................................................................91

OstrowModel................................................................................................................................................92

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ExecutiveSummary

Airbnbwasfoundedin2008bytwofriendsandallowstravelerstorentspacesfrom

hosts,orpeoplewhohavevacantspaceintheirhomes.Whilerelativelynew,Airbnb’s

currentworthis$25.5billion(Carson,2015).OverthefewyearsAirbnbhavebeen

operating,theservicehasgeneratedmuchattention.Morethan60billionindividualshave

usedAirbnbin34,000citiesand190countries.Further,therehavebeen2millionlistings

worldwide(Airbnb—RecappingDay1ofAirbnbOpen,n.d.).

Inspiteoftheirsuccess,Airbnbstrugglestocommunicateapositivebrandimageto

potentialnewusers.Thisdisconnectislargelybasedonmistrustofthecompanyandis

affectingthenumberofpeoplewhodecidetobecomemembers.OverstepCommunications

recommendedtofocusonstudentsandprofessionals,18to34-years-old,becauseour

researchshowedthatthesetwogroupsusetravelsitestobooktravelaccommodations.

ExpandingintotheChineseandKoreanmarketsprovidesmultipleopportunitiesfor

Airbnbbecauseofagrowingnumberofinternationalanddomestictouristsintheseareas

(TravelChinaGuide,2015;StatisticsKorea,2015).Ourresearchshowedthattherearenot

anysignificantdifferencesseenbetweenstudentsandprofessionalsamongthedifferent

markets,exceptforChina.Thus,theproposedcampaignOverstepCommunications

constructedfocusesontargetingmillennialsinAmerica,China,andKorea.Additionally,the

ChineseandKoreanmarketswillpushAirbnbtodevelopamoretrustingpersonality,as

thesetwoaremostconcernedwiththetrustworthinessoftheservice.

Lastly,theproposedcampaignwillrevolvearoundincreasingthenumberofpeople

whosignuptobecomemembers.Theadvertisementswillincludeinformativeand

emotionalappealsandbeplacedonlinethroughbanneradvertisementsandsocialmedia.

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Introduction

Whenbookingtravelaccommodations,therearemanysourcesused.Asfoundin

ourresearch,peopletendtolookforaccommodationsthathavegoodsecurityinthearea

andthatareclean,suchasthemultitudeofonlinesourcesavailable,andthisserviceisan

upandcomingformofoneoftheseservices.Airbnbprovidedifferentalternativestohotel

accommodationsduringtravels.HostsofAirbnbrentoutroomsortheirentirehomesto

peoplelookingforadifferentaccommodationwhentravelingtoanewdestination.

Foundedin2008,Airbnbhasgrownsignificantly(AboutUs,n.d.).TheybeganinSan

Franciscoanddestinationscannowbefoundallaroundtheworld(Airbnb,n.d.).Currently,

thereareAirbnblistingsin34,000citiesand190countries(AboutUs,n.d.).Theserviceis

becomingmorepopular;however,therearestillafewchallenges.

SinceAirbnbwerefoundedin2008,thecompanyisstillrelativelynewandthisis

apparentintheknowledge,orlackthereof,theservice(Harris,2015).Airbnbisaservice

that,whileconvenient,alsodrawssomeskepticismfromconsumers.Thegoalistoreduce

theskepticism;togetmorepeopletosignuptobecomemembers.Thatway,memberswill

beabletosearchforawidevarietyofdifferentoptionsandincreasetraffictoAirbnb’s

website.

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MarketingProblem

Airbnbcontinuetogrowandriseinpopularity.Lastyear,theyvaluedat$25.5

billion(Winkler,2015).Yet,Airbnbfacesmanyproblemsthatpreventthevaluationfrom

increasing.ThebiggestchallengeAirbnbencountersislackofawareness.MorganStanley

conductedasurveyandofthoserespondentswhohavenotusedAirbnbbefore,59%said

thattheyhavenotheardofAirbnb(Harris,2015).Therefore,theproblemneedstobe

addressedinthiscampaignsomorepeoplesignuptobecomeamemberandthevaluation

ofthecompanycanincrease.

Additionally,Airbnbusersandnon-usershavesecurityconcerns(Harris,2015).In

thesamestudybyMorganStanley,32%ofrespondentshaveprivacyconcernswhile27%

havesafetyconcernswithAirbnb(Harris,2015).Securityissuespresentahugechallenge

forAirbnb,especiallyfornon-userswhoaremostlikelynotgoingtotrytheservice.

Consequently,Airbnbneedstoassureconsumersthattheycanbejustassafewhenstaying

inanAirbnblistingaswhenstayinginahotel.

Allinall,Airbnb’sfuturecampaignneedstoaddresstheseconcernsinorderto

accomplishtheirmarketinggoal,whichistogetthetargetaudiencetosignuptobecome

activemembers.

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SituationAnalysis

CompanyAnalysis

History

Asmentionedpreviously,Airbnbwasfoundedin2008when27-year-old

roommates,JoeGebbiaandBrianChesky,werestrugglingtopaytheirrent.Accordingtoan

interviewfeaturedinTheTelegraphbyJessicaSalter:

TheyhadmetfiveyearsearlieratRhodeIslandSchoolofDesign.Whentheyheard

abouthotelsrunningoutofroomsduetoadesignconferenceinSanFrancisco,

GebbiaandCheskyjumpedontheopportunity.Theyrentedoutthreeairbedson

theirliving-roomfloorandcookedtheirguestsbreakfastthefollowingmorning.

Afterthestayprovedtobesuccessful,GebbiaandCheskycreated

AirBedandBreakfast.com,receivingrentersjustsixdaysafter:“a30-year-oldIndian

man,a35-year-oldwomanfromBoston,anda45-year-oldfatheroffourfromUtah

sleepingontheirfloorfor$80anight.”Thetwoyoungmenrealizedthiswebsite

couldgrowintosomethingamazing(Salter,2012).

BothGebbiaandCheskywantedtobeentrepreneurs,butneitherhadadesireto

createmore“stuffthatendsupinlandfill,”socreatingawebsitethatwouldallowpeopleto

rentsomethingthatalreadyexistedwasagreatidea(Salter,2012).Afterenlistingformer

roommate,NathanBlecharczyk,theybegantoofficiallydevelopthewebsite.Insummer

2008,PresidentObamawasduetospeakinDenverattheDemocraticNationalConvention

and80,000peoplewereexpectedtoattend(Salter,2012).Withanothershortageofhotel

rooms,Gebbia,Chesky,andBlecharczykfinishedandlaunchedthewebsitetwoweeks

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beforetheconference.Theyhad800listingswithinaweekbutwerenotmakingany

money.Theyoungmendecidedtostartsellingboxesofcerealbrandedas“ObamaO’s”and

“Cap’nMcCain”for$40each,selling800andmakingaround$30,000(Salter,2012).

In2009,investorPaulGraham(theco-founderofYCombinator,astartupmentoring

program)gavethecompany$20,000infunding,leadingtoanother$600,000fromventure

capitalists(Salter,2012).Afteraddingachargeofupto15%forbooking,thetriowas

makingenoughmoneytopayforlivingexpensesbyApril.Afterinvestinga“significant

amount”ofmoney,actorAshtonKutcherbecametheirStrategicAdvisor.Thecompany

receivedafurther$112millioninventurefundinginJuly2011.Airbnbprovedtobea

significantsuccess(Salter,2012).

SalesandProfits

Asstatedabove,Airbnbreachedavaluationof$25.5billion,afterfinalizinga$1.5

billionfundinground(Carson,2015).AccordingtoBizCarsonfromBusinessInsider,the

$25.5billionexceedshotelchainMarriott($21billion)anddoublesthevaluationoftravel

siteExpedia.Airbnbseesthemselveshaulingin“$10billioninrevenueby2020,with

profitsof$3billionbeforeinterest,taxes,depreciationandamortization”(Carson,2015).

In2015,Airbnbexpected$850millioninrevenueandanoperatinglossofabout$150

million,whilestrivingtoexpandtheirmarkettonewlocationsanddealingwithregulatory

issues(Carson,2015).Therehasbeenrecentsuccesswiththecompany’sexpansionto

Cuba,wheretherearemorethan2,000listings(Carson,2015).

However,Airbnbcontinuestofaceregulatoryissues.Forabriefperiodoftime,it

becameillegaltouseAirbnbinNewYorkCity(Carson,2015).Afterthemotionwas

overturned,Airbnbsharedthattheyarewillingtopaytaxes,astheydoforSanFrancisco

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andWashingtonD.C.(Carson,2015).ThesuccessofAirbnbisevidentsinceAirbnbstarted

asaone-roomlistingandhasexpandedintohundredsofthousandsoflistings.

Unfortunately,thecurrentmarketingproblempreventsAirbnb’sconsumerbasefrom

expanding.

ExisitingConsumerAnalysis

Airbnb’scurrentconsumersaresegmentedintotwospecificgroups:hostsand

travelers(Deep,2015).Thisparticularmixallowsthecompanytosuccessfullyfunctionasa

sharingeconomy-basedsystem;asystembuiltuponanin-depthmethodofconnecting

individualsaroundtheworld.AsofFebruary2016,Airbnbhasattracted60millionusers

and640,000hosts(Airbnb-RecappingDay1ofAirbnbOpen,n.d.).Hostsprovidetravelers

withacozyaccommodation,andsometimesfoodtoeat.Simultaneously,travelersuse

Airbnbasaservicetofinda“homey”placetostayin,sometimes,anewforeignsetting.

Ofthe640,000hosts,54%arefemaleand46%aremale(Buhr,2015).Astudy

conductedbyformerWhiteHouseNationalEconomicAdvisor,GeneSperling,foundthat

“themajorityofhostsareworking-classfamilieswhorentouttheirprimaryresidencefor

about66daysayear,”increasingtheirannualincomeby14%(Buhr,2015).Interestingly

enough,Airbnb’sHeadofGlobalPolicyandPublicAffairs,ChrisLehane,sharedinanarticle

fromTheNewYorkTimesbyMikeIsaacthat“99percentofpeopleonAirbnbinNewYork

Cityareusingitasaneconomiclifeline"(Isaac,2015).Seventy-twopercentofAirbnbhosts

inNewYorkCityusethemoneytheyearnfromrentingouttheirspacetostayintheirown

home(Heath,2015).BenPopperfromTheVergeintervieweddescribedhowanAirbnb

hostrentedfiveunits,butonlyhadoneunderhisnameandestimatedanincomeof

$500,000(Popper,2015).Onaverage,Airbnbhostsannuallyearn$7,350(ora14%raisein

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annualincome)fromtemporarilyrentingouttheirspace(Heath,2015).Basedonthis,

Airbnbclaimstobehelpingthemiddle-classfamilysupplementtheirincomethroughthe

site(Burh,2015).Althoughgeneratingasteadyflowofrevenueisimportanttohosts,

buildingtrustisjustascrucial.Hostshopetodevelopatrustingrelationshipbetween

themselvesandpotentialusers(Airbnb,2014).

Duetothelackofunderstandingofapplicablelawsthatareenforced,hostsare

accusedof“cheating”thesystemoftaxdollars(Williams-Alvarez,2014).Inorderto

comfortablyandsafelyparticipateinthegrowingsharing-economy,travelersandhosts

needtounderstandthelaws.Sincelawsindifferentcitiesandstatesarecontinuingto

change,thisisalong-termproblem.

Fortravelers,Airbnbisanexcitingget-awayfromtheregularmonotonouspattern

oflife.Travelersseizetheopportunityto“takeadvantageofahigherqualityofitemsor

servicesthantheywouldotherwiseafford,”(Hughes,2016).CheskysharedwithConde´

NastthattherearefivespecificwaysinwhichtravelersuseAirbnb:neighborhood

sampling,visitingfamilyandfriends,introducinggrandparentstotheirnewgrandchildren,

takinglengthyvacations,andexploringnew“quirky”locations(Cohen,2014).

Movingtoanewcityisbothexcitingandterrifying.Oftentimes,individualswould

liketogetafeeloftheareaduringallhoursofthedaytodecidewhetherornotaplaceis

forthem.Cheskyclaimedsettingupamonth-stayinthatnewareaisaperfectwaytogeta

clearfeelonthelocation(Cohen,2014).HeaddedmanyusersuseAirbnbspecificallyfor

saidreason(Cohen,2014).

Further,stayinginanextendedfamilymember’shomeprovestobeaninteresting

experience.Forsome,stayingwithfamilyiscomforting,butAirbnbgivesuserstheoption

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ofbeingabletogetawaywhenitisnolongercomfortingbutsuffocating.Cheskysaidhe

noticedpeoplebookinghousesinthesameneighborhoodastheirfamilymembers(Cohen,

2014).AhostinNewYork’sTribecaneighborhoodtoldCheskythatmostofherguests

werefamilymembersofotherresidentsinherbuilding(Cohen,2014).Additionally,after

havinganewbaby,mostparentsofteninvitetheirownparentstohelpoutwithhousehold

choresandtakingcareoftheinfant.Whengrandparentsstayinthehome,theycanbecome

overbearing,soitisnotsurprisingthatnewparentsareusingAirbnbtobooktheirparents

ahomeduringtheirstay.Throughthis,everyoneisgivenmoreprivacy(Cohen,2014).

LastminuteandspontaneousbookingsmakeupAirbnb’sbusinessbutChesky

indicatedthatextendedstaysaregrowing,aswell(Cohen,2014).AccordingtoChesky,“ten

percentofourbusinessislong-termstays,anditisgrowing...Icouldeasilyseethatbeing

15to20%,”(Cohen,2014).HebelievedthisspecificareaiswhereAirbnbshinesbrightest.

Cheskyencouragedpeopletothinkofhowtheymayfeelafterstayingatafriend’sfor30

days,orahotelfor30days.UsingAirbnbforanextendedstaycertainlyseemsmore

appropriate(Cohen,2014).

Intermsofage,thecompanyhasattractedagreatamountofinterestfrom

millennialsaswell.EMarketerfound“aNovember2012surveybyJWTIntelligence[stated]

morethanhalfofmillennials(thoseages18to34)saidtheywoulduseapeer-to-peer

servicelikeAirbnb—afarhigherpercentagethanGenerationXandbabyboomers”

(eMarketer,2014).However,studiesdoshowthat10%ofAirbnbhostsareovertheageof

60and1millionAirbnbusersarealsoovertheageof60(Airbnb-CelebratingAirbnb’s60+

HostCommunity,n.d.).

Surprisingly,Cheskydisclosedthatmanypeoplewantunusualplacestostay,“like

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boats,treehouses,handmadehomes,andyurts.”Headded“[Airbnbis]probablythelargest

marketplaceforboats,”andtheirmostpopularlistingsaretreehouses(Cohen,2014).

Airbnb’sappisknownforfindingsuchlocationsunderneaththeir“Discovery”section,

“whichfeaturesprivateislands,windmills,hauntedhouses,andevenbusesyoucansleep

in”(Cohen,2014).ItispreciselylistingslikethesethathaveallowedAirbnbtoattractsuch

auniqueanddiversegroupoftravelers.Theseindividualslookforadventureand

excitement.Travelerskeeptheirendofthesharing-economybargainastheyfindthenew

waystocreatelong-lastingmemorieswhilehelpingtheircommunity.

MarketAnalysis

Airbnbhave2,368employees(450ofwhichareinEurope)andispositionedasthe

world’s3rdmostvaluableprivatelyheldstartup(Gamba,2015;Byrne,2015;Alba,2015).

ThisnotionwassolidifiedbyAirbnb’sfinanceroundinJune2015.AccordingtoDaveyAlba

inWired,their$1.5billionfinancingroundwasoneofthelargestprivatefundingrounds

ever(Alba,2015).TheyarecurrentlybehindUber,whoispositionedasthe1stmost

valuedprivatelyheldstartup(valuedat$62.5billion)andthenXiaomi,asmartphone

manufacturerthatsellshigh-enddevicesatlowprices,positionedin2ndplace(valuedat

$46billion)(Alba,2015;Seifert,2013).

InNewYorkCity,Airbnbhavemadeagreatimpression.Airbnbshareontheir

publicblogthatthemedianhome-sharingincomeforanAirbnbhostinNewYorkCityis

$5,110(Popper,2015).AccordingtoAirbnb’swebsite,“78%ofAirbnbhostsinNewYork

earnlow,moderate,ormiddleincomes”and“36%[(freelancers,part-timeworkers,or

students)]haveunsteadyincomes”(Airbnb,2015).Further,thereare“13,800active

listingsinBrooklyn,13,400activelistingsinOuterManhattan,5,300activelistingsin

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CentralManhattan,2,500activelistingsinQueens,430activelistingsintheBronx,and200

activelistingsinStatenIsland”(Airbnb,2015).

Aspreviouslymentioned,Airbnbispresentlyactivein34,000citiesand190

countries.Theirlistingsareespeciallypopularamongbusinesstravelers,witha2015

“annualgrowthrateof261percentdomesticallyand249percentinternationally”(Yeung,

2016).ThemostpopularU.S.cityforbookingisSanFrancisco,Californiaandthemost

popularinternationalcityisVancouver,Canada(Yeung,2016).

Moreover,AirbnbhopetoexpandintotheChinesemarket.BlecharczyktoldThe

FinancialTimesthatthedemandinChinatotravelincreasedexponentiallylastyear(Shead,

2016).AirbnbtargetChinesetouristslookingtotravelinternationally(Horwitz,2015).

AccordingtoHorwitz,Airbnbbecame“‘strategicpartners’withChinaBroadbandCapital

andSequoiaCapitalChina,andislookingforaCEOtoheadupadomesticbranch”

(Horwitz,2015).AsFritzDemopolousstated,“domesticChinesetravelisprobably80to90

percentoftheoveralltravelmarket”(Horwitz,2015).Airbnbmustadapttheirbusiness

modeliftheywanttoeffectivelyreachChinesetravelers.

ProductAnalysis

Travelersoftenwishtofindnew,interestingaccommodationswhenbookingtheir

travels,andthesearewhatAirbnboffer.Stayinginhotelscangetredundantandboring,so

theoptionsofferedbyAirbnbprovidenewexperiencesfortravelers.TheratesofAirbnb

canbemoreaffordablethanthetypicalhotel,whichallowsformoreexplorationand

experiencegainedfromthetraveldestinationoftheconsumer.Athightraveltimes,likethe

summer,hotelpricesaremorelikelytogoupandaremoredifficulttobookduetothehigh

demandofconsumers(Okura,2015).Airbnbcanhelpsolvethisissue.

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WhileAirbnbisstillgrowing,theproblemofbookedhotelsorhighpricescanbe

alleviatedbybookinganAirbnbroomorhome.Thewantsandneedsofpeopleare

changingandtheyarelookingfordifferentexperienceswhentheytravelanditis

importantforproviderstobeawareofthesechanges(Parente&Strausbaugh-Hutchinson,

2015,p.102).Airbnbprovidesthesetypesofexperiencesandallowsthesatisfactionofthe

wantsandneedstooccur.Travelerswanttobeabletoenjoythemselveswhiletheyare

awayandnotworryabouthowmuchmoneytheyarespendingoverall.Bybookingan

Airbnb,theseconsumersareabletosavesomeoftheirfundsforotherexperiences.

Airbnb’sbrandessenceisbuiltupbymanyaspects.Thebrand’spersonalitycanbe

describedasyoung,adventurous,innovative,boldandvisionary(Parente&Strausbaugh-

Hutchinson,2015,p.168).Theyalsooffermanyattributesandbenefitstotheirconsumers

thathelppositionthemselvesbetter(Parente&Strausbaugh-Hutchinson,2015,p.168).

Someattributesincludeaffordabilityandvarietyofoptions,inwhichcasesconsumerscan

selecttheaccommodationsmostrelevanttotheirwantsandneeds.Thebenefitsgained

includethesatisfactionofsavingmoneyandofhavingchoiceswhenbooking

accommodationsfortravels.

TheessenceofthebrandAirbnbbuildsallowsconsumerstocreatemental

connectionstothebrandthatwillprovideanopportunitytocreatetopofmindawareness.

Inaddition,loyalcustomerswillcontinuetousetheservice(Parente&Strausbaugh-

Hutchinson,2015,p.103).ThesementalconnectionswillbringconsumersbacktoAirbnb

andencourageotherstousetheservice.Withagoodbrandessence,Airbnbwillbeableto

growtheirconsumerbaseandincreasemembershipontheirsite.

CompetitiveAnalysis

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Sinceaccommodation-sharingisanewerconceptcomparedtotraditional

accommodationreservations,Airbnbhasbothindirectanddirectcompetitors.Travelers

mainlyuseonlinetravelagents,suchasExpediaandstilluseotherrentingsiteslike

HomeAway(Harris,2015).Ontheotherhand,ChinahasAirbnbimitatorsthatarevery

similartoAirbnbanditsbusinessmodel,likeXiazohu(CIWTeam,2015).

Expedia

Expediaprovidestravelerswithanonlinetrip-planningresource.Theseresources

allowtravelerstobookalloftheirtravelaccommodations,includingairlinetickets,hotel

reservations,carrentals,cruises,andvacationpackages.Expedialaunchedin1996and

currentlyresidesinNorthAmerica,Europe,andAsia/Pacificregion(Hoover’s-Expedia,

n.d.).SimilartoAirbnb,Expediaofferaccommodationsthatappealtobothleisuretravelers

andbusinesstravelers,inadditiontoprovidingalargevarietyofoptionsrangingfrom

modesttoluxuryaccommodations(GlobalNetworkofBrands,n.d.).AccordingtoHoover’s,

Expedia’ssalesin2015was$6.67billionandthenetincomewas$764.47million.While

Expediaofferdifferenttravelaccommodations,93%oftherevenueisgeneratedjustfrom

leisuretravelsand70%oftherevenueisgeneratedfromhotelreservationsalonein2014

(Hoover’s-Expedia,n.d.).

Intheirbook“AdvertisingCampaignStrategy:AGuidetoMarketingCommunication

Plans,”DonaldE.ParenteandKirstenL.Strausbaugh-Hutchinsonexplainedthatitis

essentialtoidentifywhatconsumersconsiderwhenpurchasingaproductorservice

(Parente&Strausbaugh-Hutchinson,2015,p.113).Outof50participantsthattookour

questionnaire,14participantspreferredExpediatobetheironesourcetobooktravel

accommodationsformanydifferentreasons.ParticipantsdescribedExpediaaseasytouse

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aswellasasourcewithgooddeals.Someparticipantsalsoindicatedthatoneofthe

advantagesofusingExpediaisthattheyprovideavarietyofoptionsthattheuserscan

comparewithotheroptions.

PastadvertisementsfromExpediahavealargefocusonemotionalappealsand

togetherness.TheadsExpediahaveusedcomefrommultiplemediaoutlets:television,

radio,newspaperandinternet(MPA—theAssociationofMagazineMedia,KantarMedia,

2016).Onetelevisioncommercial,forexample,showedafatherwhowasconstantly

travelingforbusinessbutalwaysbroughthisdaughterbackadifferentanimalstatueor

plushtoy.Oneday,hesavedupenoughExpediarewardspointssohecouldtakehis

daughtertoAfricatoexperiencearealsafariasopposedtothemakeshiftoneshedisplayed

onherwindowsill(180LA,2014).ThismakesExpediaareasonablecompetitorofAirbnb

becauseExpedia’smainfunctionasatravelwebsiteishotelreservations.

HomeAway

HomeAwaypresentuserswithanonline,travelwebsitethatallowsuserstobook

vacationrentalsinover190countries.UnlikeAirbnbthatallowuserstobookprivate

roomswithinahome,HomeAwayprovidetravelerswiththewholevacationrental.

Accordingtotheirwebsite,HomeAwayare“committedtohelpingfamiliesandfriendsfind

theperfectvacationrentaltocreateunforgettabletravelexperiencestogether”(Company

Information,n.d.).FoundersBrianSharplesandCarlShephardstartedHomeAwayin

Austin,TexasinFebruary2005,butthecompanywaspreviouslynamedWVRGroup.The

namechangedtoHomeAwayinMay2006(CorporateTimeline,n.d.).However,Expedia,

Inc.acquiredHomeAwaywithalloftheirbrands:VRBO.com,VacationRentals.com,

BedandBreakfast.com,amongothersthatareforeignwebsites(Expedia,Inc.,2015).In

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2014,saleswere$446.76millionandthenetincomewas$13.38million,with60%of

revenuefromtheUnitedStates,15%fromFrance,and12%fromtheUnitedKingdom

(Hoover’s-HomeAway,n.d.).

HomeAway’spastadvertisingincludestelevision,newspaper,internetandoutdoor

mediaoutlets(MPA—theAssociationofMagazineMedia,KantarMedia,2016).Amajor

focusoftheiradvertisementsistheideaofwholesomeliving,havingthewholefamily

togetherinoneplaceforthemselves,likerentingoutanentirehomeinsteadofoneroom

andsharingitwithothers(Saatchi&Saatchi,2016).Anotherdepictionofthewholefamily

beinginoneplacetogetherwasshownintheiradvertisemententitled“Biscuit,”inwhicha

familydogtraveledfarandwidetofindhisownersonvacationinaHomeAwaylocation

(Saatchi&Saatchi,2015).

TheyareacompetitorbecausetheyoffersimilarserviceslikeAirbnb,allowingusers

tohaveanalternativetohotelreservations.Similarly,HomeAwaygrowinpopularityin

Europe,justlikeAirbnb,andtheyaretryingtoexpandtotheChinesemarket(Hoover’s-

HomeAway,n.d.).

Xiaozhu

XiaozhuofferChinesetravelersanonline,accommodating-sharingservice,which

resembleAirbnb.Launchedin2012byfounderChenChi,Xiaozhuhadahardtime

successfullylistingdifferentaccommodations;however,afterafewyearssincethelaunch,

Xiaozhuraisedmorethan$60millioninSeriesCroundfundingandofferedover30,000

homesinmorethan200Chinesecities(Yimin,2015).Xiaozhuhaveaverysimilarbusiness

modeltoAirbnbbutafterafewyears,Xiaozhuadjustedtheirbusinessmodelinorderto

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accommodatetotheChinesemarket.Forexample,XiaozhuworkedongettingtheChinese

tobemoreacceptingoftheideaofaccommodating-sharing(Fung,2015).

Beingaforeigncompetitor,advertisementsbyXiaozhuweredifficulttofind.While

theymayoutputdifferentadvertisementsamongdifferentmediaoutlets,therewereno

resultsfoundofwhatmediaareusedandwhattheadvertisementsentail.

Becauseoftheclosesimilaritiesinbusinessmodelsandbusinessconcepts,Xiaozhu

directlycompetewithAirbnb.Airbnbneedtoaccommodatetothe“peculiaritiesofthe

Chinesemarket”and“cultivateconsumerhabitstowardsaccommodation-sharing”in

China,inordertobesuccessfulinanew,foreignmarket(Yimin,2015).

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SWOTAnalysis

Strengths:

Firstandforemost,Airbnbarepartofagrowingeconomicmovement:thesharing

economy.Thesharingeconomyis“asocio-economicecosystembuiltaroundthesharingof

humanandphysicalresources,”(Matofska,n.d.).WhatmakesAirbnbsospecialisthatthey

encompasssomeofthemanyaspectsthatarecrucialtocreatingasuccessfulsharing

economy,oneofthosebeingpeople.Airbnballowforpeopleallovertheworldto

communicateinwaysthatweneverthoughtpossible.Throughthis,Airbnbcreatean

authenticexperience(atarelativelyreasonableprice)peoplecannotreceivewhenbooking

ahotel.

Additionally,thefounders’simpleideaofpurchasingandrentingoutthreeair

mattressesintheirapartmentnotonlyhelpedthemwiththeirrentdilemma,but

encouragedthemtoexpandonthatconceptandcreateacompanythatisflourishingtoday.

Becausetheyareanewcompany,Airbnbhavebeenabletobuildandcreatenewwaysto

out-dothehotelindustry.Oneofthesewaysincludesproviding24/7customerservice.

AccordingtoGetHuman,thisserviceisstrictlyforAirbnbusersandallowshostsor

travelerstocallanytimetoreportanissue;askaquestionaboutbilling,sales,ormore;or

shareacomment(AirbnbSupportChannelsCompared,n.d.).Withanaveragewaittimeof

approximately15minutes,Airbnbdotheirbesttotryandbetherefortheircustomersina

timelymanner.Further,theynowofferhostprotectioninsurance(nowcovering$1billion

perbooking)(Airbnb-HostProtectionInsurance,n.d.).

Inadditiontotheirnewness,Airbnbaresleekandmodern,radiatingatrendyimage

forthetypicalyoungconsumer.Theeffortless,minimalstyleofthewebsite,easy

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accessibilityoftheAirbnbapp,andthepopularityofthecompanythemselvesattractthe

youngercrowd.Thereisnoneedforstudentstopayanexorbitantlyhighamountofmoney

totraveltotheirdesireddestinationifpeoplearewillingtorentoutaspaceintheirhome,

ortheirentirehome,foradecentlowprice.

● 24/7Customerservice

● Offersuniquetravelingexperience(directrelationshipbetweentravelersandlocals)

● Offershostprotectioninsurance(accordingtoAirbnb,theirinsurancenowcovers$1

billionperbooking)

● Modern,trendyimageforyoungerconsumers

● Significantlygrowingnumberofconsumers

● Generallylowerpriceswhencomparedtostandardhotelrates

● Partofsharingservicesohostandrenterbenefit

● Companyisagreatinvestmentforpotentialinvestors(increasedvaluationof

company)

Weaknesses:

Yet,inspiteofthemanystrengthsAirbnbhave,theysufferfrommanyweaknesses.

Airbnbhavestruggledwiththelawmorethanonce.In2015,Airbnbwereaccusedof

breakingPropositionF(casuallyknownastheAirbnbInitiative)inSanFrancisco,which

wouldhaveessentiallytoughenedregulationonshort-termrentalofresidential

apartmentsandhomes,(Lien,2015).Tougherregulationswouldmeaninsteadofthe

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allowed90daysinayearlimitforrenting(orunlimitedrentingifthehostispresent),

hostswouldonlybeabletorentouttheirspacesfor75days(Lien,2015).

PropositionFwouldfurtherrequirehostsandplatformstoprovidereportsthat

wouldincludethenumberofnightsthespacewasbeingrented,andthenumberofthe

nightsthehostwouldbepresent(Lien,2015).Interestedparties,likenon-profitsand

housinggroups,wouldbeabletosuehostsandplatformsforviolatinganysetrules(Lien,

2015).Thiswouldbeagreatchangefromthecurrentstancewhichgivesindividualsthe

righttosuebutnotparties.Finally,peoplewouldnotbeabletorentoutnewadditionsto

theirhomes,forexample,addinganewkitchenorbathroomtoagarage(Lien,2015).

Moreover,Airbnbactasdirectmiddlemenbetweenhostsandtravelers.Whilethe

companyprovidesinsuranceforhosts,Airbnbdonotguaranteethesafetyofsaidhostsor

rentersoreitheroftheirpossessions.Rightlyso,thisnotionpushesmanytofeelskeptical

aboutthecompany,ratherthancomfortable.Asaresult,Airbnbrelyheavilyonthequality

oftheirhostsandtravelers.

Further,Airbnbdonotrequiretheirhoststoprovidetravelerswithservicesthey

mayreceiveiftheychoosetostayinahotel.Theseinclude:arrangingorservingbreakfast

inthemorning,aspacetoparktheircar,andcomplimentarytransportation.OnAirbnb’s

blog,theydomentionthattheremustbeahighlevelofcommunicationbetweenhostsand

travelerswhensettingupastay.Theystated,“fromthemomentaguestinquiresabout

yourlistingtothetimeofbooking,itiscriticaltostateyourHouseRulesandtheamenities

youofferupfront”(Airbnb-SettingGuestExpectations,n.d.).Doingsowillprevent

misunderstandingsandguaranteemorepositiveexperiences.

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Disabledindividualsencounterissueswhenusingthesharingservice.BruceGolding

shared“[handicapped]travelerswhousethecontroversialroom-rentalservicecouldbein

forarudeawakeningwhentheyarriveintheBigApple,asaslewofNewYorkCity

apartmentstoutedas‘wheelchairaccessible’arereallyobstaclecoursesfortheinfirm”

(Golding,2014).AlistinginAstoria,Queensfeaturedanarrowspiralstaircasetothe

secondfloor;alistingfora“cozy”apartmentinEastVillagefeaturedasteepwooden

staircasetoitssleepingloft;andanotherlistinghadametalladder(Golding,2014).

Individualsshouldbeawarethatfalselylabelingalistingas“wheelchairaccessible”puts

disabledpersonsindiresituations.InalettersenttoauthoritiesfromtheDisabledIn

ActionofMetropolitanNewYorkGroup,advocatesfordisabledpersonsaccusedAirbnbof

violatingtheAmericansWithDisabilityAct,“alongwithcityandstatelawsthat‘requireall

privateandpublicentitiesprovidingpublicaccommodationstoofferanequalopportunity

forpersonswithadisability’”(Golding,2014).Airbnbcontinuetoworkonthisgrowing

problem,makingsuretohelpguestsfindappropriatelistingstomeettheirneeds.

Finally,theideaofAirbnbislargelysusceptibletopotentialcopycats.Forexample,

Xiaozhu.cominChinaareessentiallytheexactsameconcept,buttargetedtowardsChinese

consumers(Fung,2015).ThishurtsAirbnbdirectlybecausetheyarechoosingtoexpand

theircompanytoChina,arapidlygrowingmarketthatisfulloftravelers.WithXiaozhu

beingrightinthecenterofthis,theyactasdirectcompetitortoAirbnb.

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● PropositionF→SanFranciscolawthatallowsAirbnbtohavehostsinthisarea

● Safetyofselfandpossessionsisnotguaranteedfortravelers

● Originalideabutsusceptibletopotentialcopycats(Xiaozhu.com,forexample)

● Airbnbisdirectmiddlemanbetweenahostandthetraveler

● Reliesheavilyonqualityofthehost;badreviewsdirectlyaffecttheprogressionofthe

company

● Noteasilyaccessiblefordisabledindividuals

● Newnessmeansskepticismfrommany

● Doesnotincludeallservicessomehotelsmayincludelikeparking,breakfast,travel

accommodations,etc.

Opportunities:

Still,AirbnbcantackleopportunitieslikeexpandingtheirmarkettoChineseand

KoreanaudiencesbeforeXiaozhu.BlecharczyksharedthatAirbnb’snewfoundfocuson

Chinaisduetoanincreaseindemandinthecountry(Horwitz,2015).Becausemuchofthe

ChinesetargetaudieceisunbiasedtowardshotelsandAirbnb,theywillapproachAirbnb

withafreshperspective.Also,Chinahasalargesupplyofvacanthomes--morethan50

millioninurbanChina--whichhavebecomehotspotsforvacationuse(Jim,2015).

InKorea,Airbnbhavebeenmetwithresistance.Introducedinthecountryin

January2013,Airbnbweredeemedan“illegalactivity”(Leem,2016).InWillAirbnbBe

FeasibleinKorea?,Yoon-KyungLeemmentionedaKoreansurnamedJungwasfined

700,000won,Koreancurrency,(100,000wonpertraveleraday)forviolatingthePublic

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HealthControlAct.Yet,theKoreangovernmentisbecomingawareofthebenefits

associatedwithAirbnb(andtheimportanceofkeepingupwiththerestoftheworld)andis

movingtodevisepoliciesintherentlodgingservice(Leem,2016).

OneofthemanyreasonsAirbnbareagrowingcommodityisbecauseoftheir

affordability.Airbnballowconsumerswhoenjoytravelingtovisitanewplaceandstay

withahostwhohasbeen

screenedbythecompany.

AccordingtoAlanHenry’s

articleabout

Priceconomics,research

showedthat,onaverage,

peoplecouldsave“closeto

50%overahotelroomby

rentingaprivateroomonAirbnb,andcloseto22%byrentinganapartmentoverahotel

room”(Henry,2013).Ofcourse,savingswillvarydependingonthechosencity.

Additionally,thereisgreatpotentialforAirbnbtocollaboratewithtravelagencies.

InanarticlewrittenbyMathildeKhlat,sheclaimedinSeptember2014Airbnbwere

“making[their]firststepsintheworldofWorkCouncilsbysigningacommercial

partnershipwithProwebCE”(Khlat,2014).Throughthispartnership,Airbnbhopeto

gatheragreaterunderstandingoftheirbusinessconsumersinordertocatertotheirneeds.

ItshouldbenotedthatAirbnbhavealreadydedicatedapagetobusinesstravelersontheir

website.TheFranceDirectorofProwebCEsharedthat“businesstravelersrepresent10to

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20%of[their]clientele.Itisanaxisthatisdeveloping,frommajorcompaniestosmaller

enterprises”(Khlat,2014).

Airbnb’spopularitycontinuestospillintothepop-culturerealmthroughcelebrities.

FortheWorldCup2014inBrazil,famoussoccerplayer,RonaldinhoGaúcho,puthishome

onAirbnbfor$15,000aday(Lang,2014).SingerBeyoncérentedaluxurioushomeinLos

AltosHills,Californiafor$10,000anighttostayatbeforeandafterherSuperBowl50

HalftimeperformanceinFebruary2016(Chan,2016).Pantherfootballplayer,Roman

Harper,placedhishomeonthesiteaswell.Fanswereabletorentouttheextravagantsuite

for$5,000.Inspiteofthehighprice,Harpersharedthattheproceedsweretogotocharity

(Mandell,2016).AndwhilethismayseemlikethefirsttimeAirbnbhavebeeninvolved

withcharity,itisnot.In2014,HurricaneSandyvictimsfoundthemselveswithoutahome;

withoutaplacewheretheycouldlaytheirheads.Ontheirwebsite,Airbnbsharesthat

1,400Airbnbhostscametotherescueandofferedaidtothevictims,whetheritwasa

warm,home-cookedmealorlistedtheirspacesforfree(Airbnb-AirbnbDisasterResponse,

n.d.).Sincethen,theyhaverespondedtovariousemergenciesaroundtheworld:“SanDiego

inresponsetomajorfires;Serbia,Bosnia,andCroatiaforpeopleaffectedbytheBalkan

floods;andLondon,Sardinia,andColoradoafterseriousfloodinghittheseregions”

(Airbnb-AirbnbDisasterResponse,n.d.).

● Potentialtoreachforeignaudiences,specificallyinChinaandKorea

● Chinahasalargesupplyofvacanthomes

● Dissatisfactionwithhotelsduetohighprices

● Couldexpandtotravelguidesandbeusedbytravelagentsinlieuofothersources

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● CelebritiesareusingAirbnb(Beyonce,NFLplayerfromthe50thSuperBowl,and

Ronaldinho)

● Charityopportunities

Threats:

Unfortunately,Airbnbstillfacemanyissuestoday.Asmentionedbefore,theiridea,

whileinteresting,iseasilyreplicated.However,Airbnb’suniquesellingproposition(USP)is

thattravelerscanexperienceanotherculture,lifestyle,oranewcitybybookinganAirbnb

listing.Airbnbprovidetravelerswithanexperiencetheywillneverforget.HomeAwayand

XiaozhuarejustacoupleofthegrowingamountofcompetitorsforAirbnb.HomeAway

providethetravelerwiththeentirehomeandXiaozhuareslowlybutsurelygaining

momentuminChina,ruiningAirbnb’splanstocapturetheincreasingamountofChinese

travelers.Xiaozhu’sstrengthlargelycomesfromtheirin-depthunderstandingofthe

Chinesemarket.

Withabusinessmodelbasedsolelyoncommunicationbetweenrentersandhosts,

andAirbnbactingasthemiddlemen,complicationsareboundtoemerge.Theirfirstmajor

problemwasin2011whenahostnamedEJwroteablogpostexplaininghowher

apartmentwasransackedbyarenter:

Theysmashedaholethroughalockedclosetdoor,andfoundthepassport,

cash,creditcardandgrandmother’sjewelryIhadhiddeninside.Theytook

mycamera,myiPod,anoldlaptop,andmyexternalbackupdrivefilledwith

photos,journals…myentirelife…Thedeath-likesmellemanatingfromthe

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bathroomwasfrightening(andstillis)andthebathroomsinkwascaked

withacrustyyellowsubstance(Bradford,2014).

ThisspecificincidentleadAirbnbtoenacttheircurrentinsurancepolicyforhosts.

Unfortunately,circumstances,suchastheonepreviouslymentioned,cannotbecontrolled

byAirbnbanddrawnegativeattentiontothecompanyandtheirconsumers.

Airbnb’seffectisglobal,butsoaretheregulations.Theprocessofpostingahomeon

thesite,hopingsomeonebecomesinterested,andcollectingmoneysoundssimplerthanit

actuallyis.ManyofthecitieswithAirbnbaccommodationsalsohavemanylocal

regulationsinregardstorentingoutahomeforbrieforlengthyperiodoftime(Williams-

Alvarez,2014).Forexample,in2014,agreatmajorityoftherentalsinNewYorkCity

(70%)wereconsideredillegalbecausehostsweredishonestandcheatingNewYork

officialsoutoftaxdollars.InNewYork,AttorneyGeneralEricSchneidermanreleaseda

reportonAirbnb,andstatedthatthecompany“likelyowedmillions”inunpaidtaxes

(Williams-Alvarez,2014).Atthesametime,NewYorkStateandNewYorkCity“imposea

numberoftaxesthatmayapplytoAirbnbhosts--liketheNewYorkCityHotelOccupancy

taxof5.875%”butbecausehostsarenotofficiallyoperatingashotels,theydonotpaythe

tax(Williams-Alvarez,2014).

Somegetawayunscathed,butothersarenotsolucky.NigelWarren,forinstance,

“wastoldbycityofficialsthatheowed$7,000infinesbecausehisAirbnbhostingviolated

thecity'sillegalhotellaw,”theMultipleDwellingLaw.Thelawprohibitsrentalsoflessthan

30daysin“ClassA”multipledwellings,oradwellingthatisoccupiedbythreeormore

familiesforpermanentresidencepurposes(Williams-Alvarez,2014).Theexceptiontothis

ruleisthatusersmayhostsomeonewhilethehost(oraroommate)ispresentduringthe

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stay.Eventually,Warren’sfinewasoverturnedafteritwasbroughttolightthathis

roommatewaspresent(Williams-Alvarez,2014).

Essentially,itisextremelyimportantforhostsandtravelersaliketobeawareofcity

lawsandregulations.Comfortableaffordablehousingisunderstandablyinhighdemand,

andthemainreasonAirbnbarewhotheyare.However,ifAirbnbwanttocontinuetobe

relevantforalloftherightreasons,regulationsmustbeacknowledgedandfollowedto

ensurethesafetyofallpartiesinvolvedandtohelpprotectneighbors(Williams-Alvarez,

2014).

Lastly,Airbnb’slogohascomeunderfiremanytimesforitsseemingly“sexual

undertones”andanalarminglyglaringresemblancetotheexistinglogoofan11-year-old

ITautomationcompany,AutomationAnywhere,whohavesincechangedtheirlogo

(picturedontheleftintheimage)(Carr,2014).

Somebelievethelogolookslikeaheartmadeout

ofabentpaperclipandothersseegenitalia

(men’sorwomen’s,asnooneiscompletelysure)

(Carr,2014).InFastCompany’sarticleaboutthe

logo,AustinCarrreportedthatAirbnb’snewlogo

wasmeanttocombine“elementsofaheart,a

locationpin,aswellasthe"A"inAirbnb”(Carr,2014).Carraddedthelogowasdesigned

tobecustomizable.Itissimpleandcanbeeasilydrawn,butneverdrawnthesameway

twice,“areflectionofAirbnb'suniquecommunityofhosts”(Carr,2014).The“Bélo”,the

uniquenameforAirbnb’slogo,isthe“universalsymbolofbelonging”(Carr,2014).

AccordingtoAirbnb’sblog,Cheskywrote“it’saniconicmarkforourwindows,ourdoors,

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andoursharedvalues.It’sasymbolthat,likeus,canbelongwhereverithappenstobe”

(Chesky,2014).Allintentionsaside,Airbnb’slogoissueprovesthatbrandingisagreat

challengeinthedigitalage,withtheinterneteasilyaccessibletomany.

● Becauseideaiseasilyreplicated,thereareagrowingamountofcompetitors

● Somepeoplehavenegativeexperienceswithhostsandorrenters

● Lawsuitsandfinesfornotfollowingtherulesandregulationsforcertainareas

● Controversiallogoandbranding

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TargetAudience

SecondaryResearch

Tochooseatargetaudience,thereweremanysourcesusedtodeterminewhatthe

bestoptionswere.SarbjitNahal,HeadofThematicInvestingofBankofAmericaCorp.in

Londondiscussedthatmillennialsareusingexperiencestohelpshapetheiridentitiesand

creatingmemoriesthattheycansharewiththeirfriends,whichincludessportingevents,

thesharingeconomy,andtraveltonameafew.Inaddition,asurveybyHarrisPolland

EventbriteInc.foundthat“78%ofmillennialswouldratherpayforanexperiencerather

thanagood”(Costa,2016).

Thechosentargetaudience,adultsages18-34,includes67.6millionpeople

(SimmonsResearchOneView,n.d.).Inthistargetaudiencethefocuswasmillennialsof

bothprofessionalandstudentstandingbecausetheyareknowntotravelfrequently.InJuly

2014,AirbnblaunchedBusinessTravelonAirbnb,whichisa“servicethathelpsbusiness

travelers’searchandbookaccommodations”(Fuscaldo,2015).Consideringthis,itis

importanttoinvestigatewhetherthereisadifferenceinproductusebetweenthetwo

targetsegments.

InadditiontoAmericanmillennials,KoreanandChinesemillennialswerechosenas

well.Airbnbareaglobalservice,whoarereallytryingtobreakintotheAsianmarket.Itisa

largepopulationandhasanincreasednumberoftravelers.Itshouldbenotedthatwhile

AirbnbarestartingtoestablishthemselvesinChina,theyhaveyettobecomean

establishedsourceinKorea.AccordingtoLeeWoo-young,Gebbiashared“Koreawas

growingfasterthananyotherAsianmarketinitsaccommodationinformationsharing

service”(Lee,2013).Therehasbeena758%growthinthesharingeconomyintheKorean

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market(Lee,2013).Airbnbcontinuetomakeeffortstoappealtothismarketbyproviding

Korean-languageservicetoincreasethenumberofKoreantourists.Thisinformationisan

integralpartindevelopingthecampaignstrategy.

SimmonsOneViewallowsforanunderstandingofwherethetargetaudiencecanbe

foundandwhattheirtravelhabitstheyarelikelytobe.AccordingtoSimmonsOneView,

adultsbetweentheagesof18-34aremorewillingtobooktravelaccommodationsthrough

asitetheyareunfamiliarwith[Table1inAppendix](SimmonsResearchOneView).Being

thatAirbnbisnotwell-known,thisisahelpfulconcept.Ofthisagegroup,59.4%have

traveleddomesticallyinthelast12months[Table2inAppendix]and37.9%[Table3in

Appendix]havetraveledtoforeigncountriesinthelastthreeyears(SimmonsResearch

OneView,n.d.).Thisshowsthatthetargetaudienceislikelytotravelandneedhotel

accommodations,whichprovidesAirbnbtheopportunitytoexpandtheirbusiness.

However,65.7%of18-34-year-oldsreservehotelsandmotelsastheirtravel

accommodations[Table4inAppendix](SimmonsResearchOneView,n.d.).

ImplicationsforCampaignStrategy

Withthisinformationandknowledge,thestrategyisguidedindirectionsthatwould

bebotheffectiveandethical.Thisknowledgewillhelptodevelopastrategythatorients

itselfinawaythatwillhelpAirbnbreachtheirtargetaudience.Thetargetaudiencetravels

oftenandwiththisinmind,thestrategywillleantowardstheirhabitsandallowfor

primitivetargetingbeforetheybooktheiraccommodations.

Finally,sincethecompanyistryingtoestablishthemselvesintheAsianmarket,

OverstepCommunicationssuggestthatthecampaignshouldalsotakeplaceinKorea.That

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way,Airbnbwillexposethemselvestoawholebrandnewmarketandtakeadvantageof

attractingawholenewtargetaudience.

PrimaryResearch

Methodology

Thepurposeoftheprimaryresearchwastoexploreconsumers’decisionmakingin

hotelaccommodations,todiscoverconsumers’perceptionsofthebrand,andtolearnabout

productuseandfuturebehaviorintentions.Theoverallgoalofourresearchwastoseeif

thereareanydifferencesintravelhabitsandAirbnbusebetweenstudentsandfull-time

professionals.OverstepCommunicationsdevelopedaquestionnaireandconductedfour

focusgroupsinordertogaininsightfuldata.Boththequestionnaireandthefocusgroup

questionsareintheAppendix.

Thesamplingframeforthequestionnaireconsistedof50millennialsaged18-34.

Morespecifically,OverstepCommunicationsequallydividedmillennialsbyusingquota

samplingintofull-timestudentsandfull-timeworkingprofessionalssinceAirbnbis

appealingtobusinesstravelers.OverstepCommunicationsusedaconvenientsampling

techniquetoobtainmostofourparticipants.Also,OverstepCommunicationsuseda

snowball-samplingtechniquetoobtainmoreparticipantsforthestudy.Thequestionnaire

consistsofdifferentformats,includingopen-endedquestions,multiple-choicequestions,

andratingscales.StaffofOverstepCommunicationsconductedtelephoneinterviewsand

thesurveyswereconductedbetweenFebruary24,2016andMarch3,2016.Afterdatawas

collected,OverstepCommunicationsusedSPSS,astatisticalsoftware,toruntestsand

analyzethedataaswellasperformcontentanalysesonallopen-endedquestions.

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Inadditiontothequestionnaire,OverstepCommunicationsdevelopedasampling

frameforthefocusgroupinasimilarmanner.EightKoreanmillennialsandeightChinese

millennialswerechosentoparticipate,alsoequallydividedintofull-timestudentsandfull-

timeworkingprofessionals.StaffofOverstepCommunicationsusedconvenientsampling

toselecttheparticipants.Therewerefourseparatefocusgroupsthatwereforeachgroup:

fourChinesestudents,fourChinesefull-timeprofessionals,fourKoreanstudents,andfour

Koreanfull-timeprofessionals.ParticipantsengagedinaSkypevideocall,andeachwere

performedinChineseorKorean,andthentranslatedintoEnglish.TheChinesefocus

groupstookplaceonFebruary26,2016andFebruary27,2016whiletheKoreanfocus

groupstookplaceonFebruary27,2016.Questionsfocusedonconsumers’decisionmaking

forhotelaccommodations,productuse,andfuturebehaviorintentions.Afterfocusgroups

werecompleted,OverstepCommunicationssummarizedalloftheresponses.

ResultsofQuestionnaireandImplicationsfortheCampaignStrategy

Afterperformingavarietyofdifferentstatisticaltesting,includingt-tests,chi-

square,andcorrelations,ourresearchwillprovidesignificantinsightforAirbnb’s

campaignstrategy.OverstepCommunications’researchdeterminedthattherearenot

manysignificantdifferencesbetweenstudents’andprofessionals’usesofAirbnb’sservices.

TravelHabits

Oneofthefirstthingsparticipantsindicatedweretheirtravelhabits.Bothgroups,

studentsandprofessionals,travelforbusiness,leisure,andtovisitfamilyandfriends.Our

dataindicatethattherearenotanysignificantdifferencesbetweenprofessionalsand

studentswhentravelingforbusiness,leisure,andfamilyorfriends[Output1inappendix].

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However,asseenontheleft,ourdatadescribethatonaverage,participantstravelmoreto

visitfamilyandfriends[Output2inAppendix].Yet,ofalloftheparticipants,asawhole,

travelforbusinesslessthantheytravelforleisureortovisitfamilyandfriends.

Itwasalsodiscoveredthatparticipantshavedifferentexpectationsfromeachofthe

travels.Inordertodeterminewhatthosegainswere,OverstepCommunicationsconducteda

contentanalysisoneachoftheopen-endedresponses.Forbusinesstravels,threethemes

wererevealedfromtheresponses:experience,connections,andother.Participantswantto

gainevenmoreexperienceabroadinanotherlocation,whilenetworkingfrompeoplein

differentlocations.Forleisuretravels,responseswerecategorizedintorelaxation,

experience,entertainment/fun,visitation,andother.Oneparticipanttravelsforleisure“to

exploreanewcityandsometimescountriesandcultures,andtotrydifferentfood,thatismy

numberone,andalsomeetdifferentpeople.”Anotherparticipantstatedthat“traveling

makesyoudiscoveryourself.”Therewasacommontrendamongpeoplewhotravelfor

leisure:respondentshopetogainrelaxationduringthetrip.Somedescribedthatleisure

travelshelpsthemescapefromthestressthatcomesfromschoolorwork.

Finally,forvisitingfamilyandfriends,responseswerecategorizedintofour

categories:bonding,catchingup,seeingthem,andother.Participantsdescribedthatby

visitingfamilyandfriends,theycanbuildbetterrelationshipsandremainincontactwith

them.Intermsofseasonality,participantsdiscussedthattheytravelthemostinsummer

[Output3inAppendix].Nevertheless,full-timeprofessionalsaremorelikelytotravelalone

thanstudentsare[Output4inAppendix].

Implications

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Ourdatademonstratethatthereareavarietyofreasonswhypeopletravelandthere

isbenefitstravelerswanttogainfromtheirtrip.Sinceparticipantstravelmoreperyearto

visitfriendsandfamily,thecampaignshouldfocusonhowAirbnbcanbeaneasyand

inexpensivewaytoseeothers.Travelersdonothavetobookahotelinordertovisitfamily

andfriends.Inaddition,sincerespondentsexpressedthattheyhopetogainmemorable

experiencesfromtravelingforleisure,itisimportantthatOverstepCommunicationsdisplay

inthecampaignthattravelershavetheopportunitytoimmersethemselvesinthecultureof

theirchosendestination.However,manyoftherespondentsdonottravelforbusinessas

often.Therefore,itisnotimperativetoincludebusinesstravelsinAirbnb’scampaign.

Further,ourdataindicatethatparticipantstravelmoreinthesummer,andthatcanhelp

withthecampaigntimeline.OverstepCommunicationsshoulddevelopatimelineinwhich

thereareheavyamountsofadvertisingduringFebruary,March,andApril,whentravelers

bookaccommodationsforsummergetaways.

ConcernsWhenBookingaHotelRoom

Ontheotherhand,thereareseveraldifferencesamongdifferentgroupswithconcerns

whenbookingahotelroom.Itwasfoundthatfemalesaremoreconcernedwiththesecurity

oftheroomthanmales.However,bothmalesandfemalesscoredalmostsimilarlyinallother

concerncategories[Output5inAppendix].Bothgendersaremostconcernedwiththe

cleanlinessandsecurityoftheareawhiletheyareleastconcernedwiththesizeoftheroom.

Despitehavinggenderdifferences,therearenotanysignificantdifferencesbetweenfull-time

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professionalsandstudentswhenbookingahotelroom[Output6inAppendix].Both

segmentsaremostconcernedwithsecurityoftheareaandcleanlinessandareleast

concernedwiththesizeoftheroom.

Implications

OverstepCommunicationsassumedcleanliness,security,andthesizeoftheroom

wouldbeimportanttoconsumers.Withthatsaid,itisevidentthatcleanlinessandsecurity

arethemoreimportantfactorsformalesandfemales,studentsandprofessionalsalike.

Clearly,OverstepCommunicationsmustconsiderthesefactorswhencreatingAirbnb’s

campaigninordertoensurethatconsumersviewAirbnbinafavorablelight.Nomatterthe

sizeoftheroomorhomeanAirbnbusermayrent,OverstepCommunicationswantto

portrayallofitslistingsassafealternativesfortraditionalmethodslikehotels.

FirstWordsThatCometoMind

AfterindicatingwhetherornotrespondentshaveheardofAirbnb,theystatedthefirst

wordsthatcametomindwhenhearingtheword“Airbnb.”Responseswerecategorizedinto

fivesections:positivewords,negativewords,neutralwords,wordsassociatedwithtravel,

andother.SomepositiveassociationsindicatedthatAirbnbare“cheap”and“convenient”

whileothersassociatedAirbnbwith“sketchy”and“notforme.”However,20participants

associatedAirbnbwithtravelwithwordssuchas“bedandbreakfast”and“travel.”Others

connectAirbnbwith“couch”and“newtypeofeconomy,”whichdoesnotfitintheother

categories.

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Implications

WhilesomeresponsesOverstepCommunicationsreceivedpositivelyassociated

Airbnbwithconvenience,affordability,andauniquewayofalteringtheeconomyforthe

better,thereisstillasignificantamountofindividualswhofeelskepticismtowardsthe

company.Thismaybeduetoalackofunderstandingofthecompany,orjustalackof

knowledgeaboutAirbnb’sexistence.Inordertoreduceskepticism,Overstep

Communicationshavetomakesurethatthechosentargetaudiencehasaclear

understandingofwhoAirbnbareandwhattheydofortheeconomy.Additionally,Overstep

CommunicationshouldattempttocreateanoveralllastingpositiveassociationwithAirbnb

andtheTA’ssubconscious.

FeelingsAboutAirbnb

AlongwithanalyzingwordsassociatedwithAirbnb,OverstepCommunications

conductedanothercontentanalysisonhowrespondentsexpressedtheirfeelingswhenthey

thoughtabouttheword“Airbnb.”Responseswerecategorizedintofoursections:positive,

neutral,negative,andunrelated.Therewere20positivefeelingsassociatedwithAirbnb.One

respondentthoughtaboutAirbnbas“somethingnewandinterestingtotry”andanothersaid

thatitwas“good,Ilikesharingservices.Ithinktheyareinnovative.”Afewparticipants

commentedabouttheirfeelingsafterusingAirbnbandstatedthat“Ifeelgood,Iusedit

beforeandIhadgoodexperiences”whileanotherindicated“IenjoyedusingAirbnbmore

thanusingahotel.”WhilesomeparticipantshadpositivefeelingstowardsAirbnb,somefelt

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neutralaboutit,sayingtheyfeltfineorindifferent.However,13participantsdescribedthat

theyfeltskepticaloftheserviceandthoughttheideaofitisveryquestionable.Therestof

theparticipantsfeltthingsthatareunrelatedtoAirbnb.Forexample,oneparticipant

describedAirbnbasairplane-related.

Implications

SimilarlytotheimplicationsofFirstWordsThatCometoMind,participantsexpressed

somepositiveandnegativefeelingstowardsthecompany.Thismeansthatthecampaign

needstochangethenegativefeelingsintopositiveones,sonon-userscansignuptobecome

amember.Withthatbeingsaid,OverstepCommunicationsshouldfocusoninformingthe

targetaudiencethatAirbnbisdependable,andaneasyandconvenientalternativetohotel

reservationsandwillallowthemtoexperiencethecultureofthedestinationinamore

personalway.WhilesomerespondentsareawareofAirbnb,thetargetaudienceisnot

properlyinformedaboutallthebenefitsthatcomealongwiththeservice.

StayingwithaHostDuringTravels

Morespecifically,OverstepCommunicationsaskedparticipantsiftheywereokay

withthehostbeingpresentduringtheirstayinanAirbnbaccommodation.Ofthe50

participants,19indicatedthattheyarefinewiththeideaoftheownerstayingduringthe

travel.Ontheotherhand,15participantswerenotokaywiththearrangementwhilethe

remainingparticipantsfeltthatitdependedonthesituation.Onespecificrespondent

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expressedthatit“depends,arethereotherpeopletheretoo?IftherearemorepeopleIam

okaywithit.Ifitisjustus,lesscomfortable.”

Implications

MuchlikeFirstWordsThatCometoMindandFeelingsAboutAirbnb,skepticismis

undoubtedlyanunderlyingfactorwhenstayinginanystranger’shome.Asexpected,

OverstepCommunicationshavetomakesurethathostsandtravelersalikefeelcomfortable

withoneanother.Airbnbstresstheimportanceofbuildingtrustbetweenhostsand

travelers,asdoingsohelpsmaintainthe“homey”feelofatraveler’sstay.Additionally,

OverstepCommunicationswanttoportrayhostsnotasstrangers,butasculturalmentors;

peoplewhoteachtravelersaboutdifferentaspectsoftheculture,alongwithgenerating

positivepersonalrelationships.OverstepCommunicationsalsoexpectedtohearthat

individualswouldfeelmorecomfortablewithfriendsbeingpresentduringtheirstay.With

thisinformation,OverstepCommunicationsshouldensurethattravelers,whetheraloneor

not,arecompletelysafeinthehomesofAirbnbhosts,whoaresubjecttobackgroundchecks

atanymoment.

FutureUseofAirbnb

Anotherfindinginourresearchisthattherearedifferencesamongthedifferent

groupsofpeopleandhowlikelytheyaregoingtouseAirbnbinthefuture.Contrarytowhat

wasexpected,womenaremorelikelythanmentouseAirbnbinthefuture[Output7in

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Appendix].Nonetheless,thereisnotasignificantdifferencebetweenfull-timeprofessionals

andstudentswhenusingAirbnbinthefuture[Output8inAppendix].

Implications

Asmentionedabove,OverstepCommunicationsexpectedtoseethatmenweremore

likelytouseAirbnbinthefuturethanwomen,andstudentstouseAirbnbmorethan

professionals.Becausethatwasnotthecase,OverstepCommunicationswouldliketo

understandwhatexactlypreventsmaleconsumersfromusingtheservice.Indoingso,

OverstepCommunicationscangeneratemoreactionfromthemaleportionofthetarget

audience.Interestingly,studentsandprofessionalsusetheserviceprettysimilarly,

supportingAirbnb’sclaimtoreachadiverseaudienceinterestedinexploringandusingthe

service.

ThoughtsofParticipantsWhoHaveNeverHeardofAirbnb

Ofthe50participants,onlynineneverheardofAirbnb.Onan11-pointratingscale,

withzerobeingleastlikelyandtenbeingmostlikely,thataskedparticipantstheirfuture

intentionstouseAirbnb,theaveragewas3.6[Output9inAppendix].Thisshowsthatthose

whohavenotheardofAirbnbaremostlikelynotgoingtouseit.Inaddition,respondents

ratedtrustworthinessreallylow,andgavemoderatescorestoconvenienceanddependence

[Output10inAppendix].

Implications

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OverstepCommunicationsbelievethatthelowratingoftrustworthinessissimplydue

tothelackofknowledgethisportionofpeoplehaveaboutAirbnb.Onewaytodevelopthe

knowledgeincreasesistoenhancetheemphasisonthetrustworthinessinthecampaignand

showwhatgoesintoallowingapersontohost.Therearestepstakentoensuretrustworthy

homeownersarelendingtheirhomestoarenter.Thecampaignwillstresstheprocessof

becomingahosttoalleviatethefearsandskepticismsofthosewhoareunfamiliarwith

Airbnb.

ResultsofChineseFocusGroups

IntheChinesefocusgroup,priceandentertainmentwerementionedasthemain

factorsthatinfluencebothprofessionalsandstudentstochooseadestinationwhenthey

travel.Locationandlocalfacilitiessuchashospitalsandgyms,generatedasimilarresponse,

inthatprofessionalsandstudentsbothappreciatetheareaandprovidedamenitieswhen

choosingahotelroom.Thereisadifferencebetweenprofessionalsandstudentsandtheir

concernswithbookingahotelroom:professionalsareconcernedwithgettingtheirmoney’s

worthandlocation.Forstudents,theythinksafetyisaconcern.Althoughallofthe

participantshaveusedsharingservicesbefore,threeoftheprofessionalshaveneverheard

aboutAirbnb.OnlytwostudentshadusedAirbnbbefore,andtheyhadfavorable

experiences.

AfterexplainingwhoAirbnbareandtheirservices,noneoftheprofessionalswere

interestedinusingAirbnbinthefuture.Although,oneprofessionalparticipantexpressedan

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interestinusingAirbnbaslongasthelistingisnotinChina.Theresponsesforwhether

participantsarecomfortablewiththehostbeingpresentarealmostsameforboth

professionalsandstudents.Somepeoplethinktheyarecomfortableandsomearenot.Only

oneoutoftheeightparticipantstrustAirbnb’sservice.

Implications

Fromourfocusgroupsresults,thereisclearlyadifferencebetweenprofessionalsand

studentswhenitcomestousingAirbnb.ProfessionalsarenotawareofAirbnb,andtheyare

notinterestedinusingtheminthefuture.ProfessionalscangainmoretrusttowardsAirbnb

iftheyhearabouttheirfriends’experiencesusingthem.Inthisway,Overstep

Communicationsshouldallowpeopletosharetheirexperiencesthroughsocialmedia.In

addition,informationregardingsafetyshouldalsobeincludedinthecampaigntohelp

studentstrustAirbnbsincetheyvaluesafetythemost.Aftertrustisestablishedthroughthe

campaign,Chinesestudentsshouldbemorewillingtosignupforamembership.

ResultsofKoreanFocusGroups

TherewasnotmuchofadifferenceinattitudebetweenKoreanprofessionalsand

students,inregardstoAirbnb,buttherearesomeresponsesthatwouldbehelpfulfor

Airbnbtoconsider.Forexample,priceisanimportantfactorwhenbookingtravel

accommodations.WhenOverstepCommunicationsinquiredabouttheuseofAirbnb,

professionalsproposedusingtheirfirstexperiencestodeterminewhetherornottheywould

useAirbnb.Thisprovesthattheirfirstexperiencesareextremelyimportant,especiallyfora

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newcompanywithlittleawarenesslikeAirbnb.WhenOverstepCommunicationsasked

abouttheirtrustinAirbnb’sservices,bothprofessionalsandstudentssaidthattheydonot

trustAirbnbbecause“itisnoteasytotrustastranger.”

Implications

Basedonthefocusgroupresults,OverstepCommunicationsmadesome

recommendationsforthecampaignstrategy.Themainobjectivewouldbetoreducesafety

concernsandincreasetrust,sothatKoreanswillbemoreinterestedinbookinganAirbnb

accommodation.ByprovidinginformationaboutthepriceandhowinexpensiveAirbnbcan

be,Airbnbwouldbemoreappealingtothetargetaudience.Moreover,byfeaturingthesafety

featuresofanAirbnblisting,theycanhelpbuildtrustbetweenhostsandtravelers.

SynthesisofSecondaryandPrimaryResearch

TheSecondaryResearchprovidedOverstepCommunicationswithasolid

foundationfortheSituationAnalysis,SWOT,andtargetaudience.However,Overstep

CommunicationsutilizedtheirPrimaryResearchinordertounderstandtheproposed

targetaudienceforthiscampaign.Essentially,OverstepCommunicationspulledallofthe

informationandcombineditsothatthereisabetterunderstandingofthetargetaudience,

anditstravelhabits,perceptionsandattitudesofAirbnb,anditsmediause.Therewerenot

anyconflictinginformationbetweenthePrimaryandSecondaryResearch.

TargetAudienceRecommendations

BasedonPrimaryandSecondaryResearch,thetargetaudienceforthiscampaignis

American,Chinese,andKoreanmillennials,whoare18-34years-old.Whiletherearenot

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anydifferencesbetweenstudentsandprofessionalsintheU.S.andKorea,thereareinfact

slightdifferencesbetweenChinesestudentsandprofessionals.Thereare67.6million

Americanmillennialsbetweentheagesof18and34(SimmonsResearchOneView,n.d.).

Meanwhile,thereare415millionmillennialsinChina,whichisgreaterthantheworking

populationofboththeU.S.andWesternEurope(Browne,2015).Also,basedonthe

populationprojectionsbyStatisticsKorea,thereare10.4millionKoreanmillennials

(StatisticsKorea,2015).

AmericanProblem:Security

BasedonourPrimaryResearch,securityisoneofthebiggestproblemsthat

Americansareconcernedwith.ZakStone,writerandeditor,wrotepositivelyaboutstartup

companies,likeAirbnb,fornumerouspublicationsinthepast(Kerkvliet,2015).Stone

bookedahousefromAirbnbwithhisfamilytospendThanksgiving.Thepropertyhad

additionalfeaturessuchasaropeswingattachedtoatree.Whenhisfathergotonthe

swing,alargepieceofthetreestruckhisheadandkilledhim(Bonnington,2015).While

tragic,Stone’sfamilyarenottheonlyoneswhoexperiencedtragedywhileusinganAirbnb

listing.InDecember2013,aCanadianwomanbookedanaccommodationthroughAirbnb

andstayedinTaiwanforaweddingwithfiveofherfriends.ThatCanadianwomansuffered

fromcarbonmonoxidepoisoningfromaleakingwaterheaterandalackofproper

ventilationinherAirbnbrental(Stone,2015).InLivingandDyingonAirbnb,Stonewrote

that“hotelroomsarestandardizedforsafety,monitoredbystaff,andoftenquite

expensive.Airbnbrentals,ontheotherhand,areunregulated,eclectic,andaffordable,and

thesafetystandardsareonlyslowlymaterializing”(Stone,2015).Thisisanissuethat

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mightpreventthetargetaudiencefromwantingtotryAirbnb,sincetheycouldbe

presentedwithariskysituationwhileusingthem.

AmericanProblem:Cleanliness

BasedonourPrimaryResearch,cleanlinessisanotherthingmostpeopleare

concernedwith.OnAirbnb’swebsite,itsaidhostsneedto“ensurethatyourlisting’s

bedroomsandcommonareasarecleanedbeforeeachguest’sarrival.Thisisincluding

changinglinensandcleaningsurfacesinthebathroomandkitchen”(Airbnb-Hospitality

Standards,n.d.).Therearestillsomeguestswhohadbadcleanlinessexperiences(Mulligan,

2012).Unlikehotels,Airbnbdonothaveastandardofcleanliness.Inthisway,whenpeople

choosetostayinanapartment,theyaretakingagamble.Mostofthetime,thegamble

resultsinamorepositiveoverallexperience.However,therearestilltimeswhentheriskis

notworthit(Mulligan,2012).

WhileAirbnboffertheoptionforhoststohaveprofessionalphotostakenoftheir

homes,thereisstillskepticismonthereliabilityofthephotos.Becausetravelerscannot

uploadtheirownpicturesinreviews,peopleresorttopostingonsocialmediatoexpose

therealityoftheconditionsontheAirbnblisting[Photo1inAppendix](Mulligan,2012).

AmericanProblem:SocialMediaandRacialDiscrimination

BasedontheSimmonsdata,Americans18-34usesocialmediamorethananyother

agegroup.Whileitcanbeanopportunity,itismoreofachallengeforAirbnb.Aunique

characteristicofsocialmediaisthatthereisawidespreadofstories,newsandopinions

easilyaccessibletoanyoneatanygiventime.Therehavebeenissuesaboutmistreatment

andevenracialdiscriminationinvolvingAirbnbhostsandtravelers(McPhate,2015).

AccordingtoanarticlebyMikeMcPhatefromTheNewYorkTimes,apaperbythree

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Harvardresearchersfound“widespreaddiscrimination”byhostsagainstpeoplewith

Black-soundingnamesseekingrentals(McPhate,2015).Totestthisnotion,fictionalguests

withnameslikeLakishaorRasheedwerecreated.Itwasfoundthattheywere16%less

likelytobeacceptedthanidenticalguestswithnameslikeBrentorKristen(McPhate,

2015).Ourtargetedagegroupisanaviduserofsocialmediaandmaybeexposedto

negativeissues,liketheoneabove,associatedwithAirbnb.

AmericanOpportunity:Experience

ItwasreportedinTheAtlanticthat“themillennialgeneration…ismoreinterested

thanoldergenerationsintravelingabroadasmuchaspossible—bya23-percentage-point

margin”(Machado,2014).MachadoclaimedtheUnitedNationsestimatedthat20%ofall

internationaltouristsareyoungpeople.Additionally,thesemillennialtravelersare

generatingmorethan$180billioninannualtourismrevenue.Further,thearticledescribed

thatmillennialscarelessaboutsoakingupthesunandmoreabout“exploringmoreremote

destinations,stayinginhostelsinsteadofhotels,andchoosinglong-termbackpackingtrips

insteadoftwo-weekjaunts”(Machado,2014).

ChinaandKoreanProblem:Culture

TheproblemsrelatedtothetargetaudiencearethesameinbothChinaandKorea,

sincetheirculturesaresimilar.ChineseandKoreanshavebelievedinConfucianismfor

thousandsofyears,andinthisphilosophy,thehomeisaprivatespace(Parente&

Strausbaugh-Hutchinson,2015,p.66).IncomparisontoAmericans,ChineseandKoreans

aremorelikelytoputfamilyandthehomeaspriorities.Inthisway,ChineseandKoreans

donotliketorenttheirspareroomtostrangers,andpeopledonotliketoliveatstrangers’

houseseither.Thesepatternsarealsoshowninourfocusgroup’sresult.

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ChineseandKoreanProblem:Trust

TheissueoftrustisthebiggestprobleminbothChinaandKorea(Mahahan,2015).

ItwasapparentinourPrimaryResearchthatbothChineseandKoreansalikedonottrust

Airbnb.OneconclusionfromtheKoreanfocusgroupwasthattheydonottrustAirbnb’s

servicesbecauseKoreanmillennials

experienceanxietywhenthereisa

lackoftrustbetweenhostsand

travelers.Moreover,basedonapoll

fromTheWallStreetJournalthatwas

conductedon2,300Koreancollege

studentsaskingabout

trustworthiness,itshowedthatthey

trustonly8.4%ofstrangersand7.7%ofcorporatepeople(Jun,2015).

FrancisFukuyamaarguedinhisbook“Trust”thattherearetwotypesoftrust:high

trustcultureandlowtrustculture(Huang,n.d.).Lowtrustcultures,likeChina,value

personaltrust,meaningtheycanonlytrustanotherpersoniftheyhaveapersonal

relationshipwiththatperson(Huang,n.d.).FortheChinese,trustiseasilygainedifthereis

anexistingconnectionviathefamilyornetworkof“in-groups”(Huang,n.d.).Withoutthose

connectionsitcantakealongtimebeforetrustisestablished(Huang,n.d.).

ChineseProblem:Awareness

Chinahasbeenawareoftheconceptofthesharingeconomysince2015

(Zhongguozhisheng,2016).CompanieslikeAirbnbandUberarefairlynewtothetarget

audience.AlthoughpeopleareusingsimilarservicestoUberalotintheirdailylives,there

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arestillpeopleinChinaandKoreathathaveneverheardaboutAirbnb.Itwillalsobehard

forpeopletoacceptthisnewserviceinthefuturebecauseaccordingtotheresultsfromthe

focusgroups,noneoftheChineseprofessionalswouldliketouseAirbnb.

ChineseOpportunity:AbundanceofTravelers

Therearenearly1.4billionpeoplelivinginChina.Thisnumberisequivalentto

18.72%oftheentireworld’spopulation(Worldometers,2016).Evidently,Chinadefinitely

playsanimportantpartintheglobalmarket,andAirbnbwillhavemanyopportunities

there.Itwasfoundthat“thetotalnumberoftripsabroadfromChinaisestimatedat109

millionin2014.Chinaistheworld’slargestoutboundtravelmarketsince2012,withatotal

expenditureof$129billionin2013”(UNWTO,2015).In2014,thereweremorethan259

millionChinesetravelerswhobookedtheirtripsonline,and80%ofthisnumberbooked

theirtripsontheirmobiledevices(Xinhua,2016).AccordingtotheTravelChinaGuide

therewere“133.8millioninboundtourists,includingforeignersandtouristsfromHong

Kong,Macau,andTaiwan.56.8857millionstayedovernightinChina,anincreaseof4.1%

and2.3%comparedwiththesameperiodin2014”[Chart1inAppendix](TravelChina

Guide,2015).

KoreanOpportunity:AbundanceofTravelers

BasedontheKoreanstatistics,thereisaconstantincreaseoftravelerswhotravel

overnight(StatisticsKorea,2015).Moreover,thereisaconstantincreaseofKoreanswho

travelinternationally.ThereisanabundanceofKoreantravelers;therefore,Airbnbcan

takeadvantageofthisopportunityandpositionitselfasapreferredaccommodationsource

[Charts2and3inAppendix](StatisticsKorea,2015).

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CampaignGoals MarketingGoal

Airbnbprovideservicesthatneedtobemoreestablished.Overstep

CommunicationsbelievethatAirbnbneedtohavemoremembersfromaroundtheglobe.

TheintentoftheMarketingGoalistoincreasethenumberofmembersonAirbnb’s

website.WhenpeoplevisitAirbnb.com,theyhavetheoptionofsigninguptobecomea

member.Indoingso,theywillbeabletocreateaprofileandgaintheopportunitytosearch

forlistings.

Searchingthroughlistingsmayleadtobookings.Throughanincreasedpurchase

rate,repeatpurchasesaremorelikelytooccur.Thesignuprateshouldbeincreasedby

10%bytheendofthecalendaryear,December31,2017.Byaccumulatingmoremembers,

alongwithmaintainingthosewhoalreadyusetheservice,Airbnbwillpositionthemselves

asthego-toserviceandestablishplaceinthemarket.

CampaignTimeline

AmericanCampaign

BasedonourPrimaryResearch,whichstatesthatmostAmericanstravelduringthe

summer,OverstepCommunicationsshouldmainlyputtheadvertisementsonthemedia

outletsfromJanuary2017toAugust2017becausethesearethetimeswhenpeoplebook

summervacations.OverstepCommunicationswouldlikefortheadvertisementstobe

exposedallothermonthsoftheyear,creatingapulsingmediamodel.Indoingso,Overstep

CommunicationswillbeabletoestablishawarenessofAirbnbwhenthetargetaudience

beginsplanningtheirsummertrips.Further,beginninginJanuarygivesthetargetaudience

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ampletimetogetaclearunderstandingoftheservicesAirbnbprovideandbecomea

member.

KoreanCampaign

AccordingtotheTraveltimes,basedontheresearchdonebyCriteoKorea,most

Koreanstravelbetweenmid-JanuaryandearlySeptember.Inaddition,peopletendto

spendmostoftheirbudgetduringspringfortravelaccommodations(Son,2016).

Therefore,OverstepCommunicationsshouldfocusonputtingadvertisementsonthemedia

outletsheavilyduringthespringseason,whichisMarchthroughMay.Overstep

Communicationswouldliketocreateapulsingmediamodelinordertoreducethebudget

forqualitywhilestillbeinganeffectivewaytoreachthetargetaudience.

ChineseCampaign

InChina,itwasfoundthatthefirstweekofOctoberistheweekthattheChinese

populationtravelsmost(ChinaHighlights,2015).Almosthalfofthecountry’sinhabitants

travelduringthesedays(Lu,2015).UnliketheAmericancampaign,Overstep

Communicationsdecidedtheadvertisementsshouldrunthroughouttheyear,increasing

fromMarchtoOctober,mimickingthepulsingmediamodel.

CommunicationGoals

AmericanMarket

Afterfurtherdeliberation,OverstepCommunicationsconcludedthat,currently,

affordabilityandconveniencearecommonphrasesusedbythetargetaudiencewhen

describingAirbnb.However,themainchallengewithtargetingtheAmericanaudienceis

reducingskepticismandindifferencetowardsAirbnb.OverstepCommunicationsdecided

tobaseourmethodsonatraditionallearningmodel.

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Asstatedbefore,cognitively,Airbnbisinitiallymetwithunawarenessand

skepticismwiththeAmericantargetaudience.Basedonourprimaryresearch,13

participantsexpressedthattheyfeltskepticaloftheserviceandthoughttheideaofitis

veryquestionable.AgreatportionofthetargetaudiencehasheardofAirbnb,butnotmany

haveactuallyvisitedthesiteandusedtheservice.Withthatsaid,thereisalargevoid

betweenthecognitiveandaffectivecomponentsofourmodelandgettingthetarget

audiencetovisitthewebsiteandlearnmoreaboutAirbnb.Inordertogetthetarget

audiencetovisitthewebsitetogatherinformationandreduceskepticismand

unawareness,OverstepCommunicationshavetoprovidethetargetaudiencewithmore

informationaboutAirbnbandtheirbenefitsthroughAirbnb’sadvertisements.Essentially,

Airbnbmustbuildbrandequityamongthetargetaudiencesothatthetargetaudience

associatespositivethoughtsandfeelingswiththeservice(Parente&Strausbaugh-

Hutchinson,2015,p.119).TheadvertisementswillemphasizetheUSP,whichisAirbnbcan

providetravelingexperiencesthatuserswillneverforget.Further,oncethecognitiveand

affectivecomponentshavechanged,OverstepCommunicationspredictasignificantchange

inthebehavioralcomponent,aswell,withthetargetaudiencebeingmorelikelytosignup

andbecomeamemberofAirbnb.

KoreanMarket

Affectively,themainobstaclewithtargetingtheKoreanaudienceisalackoftrust

betweenAirbnbandpotentialusers.TheKoreantargetaudiencesharedthat,despitetheir

lackofknowledgeoftheservice,theywouldbewillingtouseAirbnbtodeterminewhether

ornottheywoulduseitagaininthefuture.Consequently,thereisavoidbetweenthe

affectiveandbehavioralcomponents.Thevoidpreventsthetargetaudiencefrom

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experimentingwithAirbnb,thuspreventingfromformingopinionsaboutthem.IfOverstep

CommunicationswanttoincreasesignupsforAirbnbmembership,theymustbuildbrand

loyaltyandfocussolelyonbrandingAirbnbasatrustworthyservicetotheKoreantarget

audience.

ChineseProfessionalsMarket

InadditiontotheKoreanmarket,Chineseprofessionalshaveahardtimetrusting

Airbnb,andthispreventsthemfromvisitingthewebsite.AsexpectedbyOverstep

Communications,Chineseprofessionals’lackoftrustisrootedinalackofknowledgeofthe

service.Thus,thevoidinthisparticularmodelisaftertheaffectiveandcognitive

componentsandbeforethebehavioralsection.OverstepCommunicationsdecidedthebest

waytoapproachthismarketistoappealheavilytotheiremotionsandtoprojectAirbnbas

asafeanddependablealternative.DoingsowillmotivateChineseprofessionalstovisit

Airbnb’swebsite,becomeawareoftheservice,andlearntotrustAirbnb.Further,Overstep

CommunicationsexpectChineseprofessionalstosignupandbecomemembersofAirbnb.

Throughthismethod,OverstepCommunicationshopetoobtainChineseprofessionalsas

loyalconsumers.

ChineseStudentsMarket

SimilarlytoAmericans,themainchallengeingettingChinesestudentstosignupfor

amembershipisreducingtheirnegativefeelingsaboutsafetyconcernswhenbookingan

Airbnbtravelarrangement.Furthermore,OverstepCommunicationsdecidedthatthe

communicationgoalisonceagainbasedoffthetraditionallearningmodel.

Again,accordingtothefocusgroup,ChinesestudentsthinkthatAirbnbisunsafe.

However,studentsmaystillbewillingtobookanAirbnblisting,butstillhavesafety

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concernsinthebackoftheirminds.Therefore,thevoidinthistraditionallearningmodelis

betweenhowthetargetaudiencefeelsandtheirbehavior.Justlikethecommunicationgoal

fortheAmericantargetaudience,thecampaignneedstobuildbrandequitysothatthe

targetaudienceismorewillingtouseAirbnb,andviewitasareliableandsafealternative

tohotels(Parente&Strausbaugh-Hutchinson,2015,p.119).

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RecommendedCreative,MediaandPromotionalStrategies

CreativeApproach

Forthecreativestrategy,thereareafewideasthatwouldbebeneficialtoAirbnb.

Thetargetaudienceisexposedtohighadclutter.Ithasbeensaidthatpeopleareexposed

to3,000advertisementsperday(Myszewski,2015).Withthisinmind,inordertocapture

thetargetaudienceinawaythatmakesalargeimpression,theadmustbeeye-catching

andunique.Thechosenmediawillallowforgreaterimpactandresonationwiththetarget

audience.Theadswillbeunobtrusivetotheirlives.OverstepCommunicationsunderstand

thatpeopledonotlikebeingbotheredbyadvertisements,suchaspop-upadverstisements,

sobycreatingunobtrusive,yetcreativeandattention-grabbingversions,therewillbeno

harmdonetothetargetaudience.Theappealswillbebothemotionalandinformative

sincetheTAsinallmarketshavesomedegreeofalackoftrust,lackofawareness,and

safetyconcernswithAirbnb.

AccordingtotheFCBGrid,whichisaresourcethathelpsdevelopanadcampaign

creativestrategy,Airbnbprovideahighinvolvementservice(Parente&Strausbaugh-

Hutchinson,2015,p.178).Becauseofthis,Airbnbfallintoboththeinformationaland

affectivequadrants.ThetargetaudienceneedsaclearunderstandingonwhatAirbnbhave

tooffer,andestablishaconnectiontoAirbnb(Parente&Strausbaugh-Hutchinson,2015,p.

179).Inaddition,thiscampaignneedstoaddressAirbnb’suniquesellingproposition

(USP),whichisthatafterbookingwithAirbnb,userscantemporarilyexperiencewhat

livingislikeinanotherlife.Whetherthatisexperiencinganotherculture,lifestyle,or

simplyanewcity,Airbnbprovideanexperiencetravelerswillneverforget.Byfeaturing

theUSPinthecampaign,itwillallowfora“persuasiveadvantage”andwill“force

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competitorstoimitateorchoose[a]moreaggressivestrategy”(Parente&Strausbaugh-

Hutchinson,2015,p.181).

AftergoingthroughtheOstrowModel[OstrowModelinAppendix]andanalyzing

themarketingfactors,copyfactors,andmediafactorsthataffectcreativefrequency,

OverstepCommunicationsdecidedthatafrequencyof4.1needstobeestablished.Airbnb

havemanycompetitorsandalowmarketshare.Additionally,thisisgoingtobeanew

campaignthatisgoingtoutilizeimagetypecopyinordertoportrayfeelingsoftrustand

safety.Further,thereisgoingtobehighadclutterthroughouttheinternet,andthe

attentivenessfortheseadswillmostlikelybelow.Therefore,thefrequencyforthis

campaignisrelativelyhigh.

MediaStrategy

American

OverstepCommunicationsrecommendusingnontraditionalmedia.Nontraditional

mediaincludeonlineadvertisementsandsocialmedia.Accordingtoourresearch,the

targetaudiencewasaskedwheretheyweremostlikelytohearaboutAirbnb.Basedonour

findingsforthelikelihoodofhearingaboutAirbnb,theaveragerating,onafive-pointscale,

withonebeingleastlikelyandfivebeingmostlikely,forseeinganonlineadvertisementis

3.68.Thisisthehighestaverageforallsourcesaskedabout.Inaddition,thetargetaudience

iswell-versedintheworldoftechnologybeingthatthemajorityofthemgrewupinthe

technologyage.Adultsages18-34areslightlymorelikelythantheaveragepersontobe

onlinethroughouttheday[Table5inAppendix](SimmonsResearchOneView,n.d.).The

targetaudienceis88%morelikelytouseabanneradasaleadtopurchaseveryoften

[Table6inAppendix](SimmonsResearchOneView,n.d.).Similarly,thetargetaudienceis

Page 58: Airbnb Campaign Proposal

54

108%morelikely[Table7inAppendix]touseafull-motionvideoadtoguidethem

towardsapurchase(SimmonsResearchOneView,n.d.).Therefore,onlineadvertisements

willbetheprimaryfocusofthiscampaign.Onlinemarketingwillbetheeasiestwayto

trackthetargetaudience.OverstepCommunicationscanmoveconsumersthroughafunnel

byhavingahigh,onlinepresence(Parente&Strausbaugh-Hutchinson,2015,p.226).

Onemediaoutletthatisveryprevalentintheworldissocialmedia,sinceitis

“today’slifeline”(Parente&Strausbaugh-Hutchinson,2015,p.228).Ofadultsbetween18-

34,theyare29%morelikelybeasocialmediauser[Table8inAppendix],whilealsobeing

97%morelikelytovisittheiraccountsthreeormoretimesaday[Table9inAppendix]

(SimmonsResearchOneView,n.d.).Theirprominenceonsocialmedialeadsthemtobe

86%morelikelytopurchaseaproductadvertisedonasocialsharingorsocialnetworking

site[Table10inAppendix](SimmonsResearchOneView,n.d.).Utilizingsocialmediawill

enableAirbnbtodevelopabrandpreferenceandpromotestorytellingamongmembersof

thetargetaudience(Parente&Strausbaugh-Hutchinson,2015,p.228).Withthis,tying

aspectsofsocialmediaintothecampaignwillprovideagreatopportunitytoreachthe

targetaudienceandmakeanimpactonthem.

Surprisingly,thisagegroupisnotlikelytowatchtelevision.Atonepoint,therewas

ahighpresenceoftelevisionviewers;however,streamingserviceslikeNetflixandHuluare

nowbeingusedmorethanliveprogramming(Spangler,2015).Withthegrowing

prominenceoftechnology,televisionisfadingawayandwouldnotbeagoodoutlettofocus

on.ThetargetaudienceislesslikelythantheaverageAmericantowatchTV[Table11in

Appendix](SimmonsResearchOneView,n.d.).

Korean

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55

OverstepCommunicationsrecommendusingsocialmediatoreachtheKorean

targetaudience.AccordingtotheAllaboutads’column“2016SocialMediaTrendandCore

Strategy”byJayCho,DMCreportedin2015thatresearchshowedconsumersgain

informationaboutservicesorproductsfromsocialmedia”(Cho,2016,slide15-17).There

wasanincreaseof6to8%comparedto2013(Cho,2016,slide15-17).Moreover,social

mediaplaysanimportantroleinapurchasedecisionsandinbeinganidealmediaplatform

forviralmarketing(Cho,2016,slide15-17).

In2014,Korea’ssocialmedialandscapeincreasedfromareported23.5%in2012to

39.9%(Edelman,2015).Theaverageageofsocialmediausershasincreasedsignificantly

betweenpeopleages10to40,with74.4%ofpeopleintheir20susingsocialmediaand

61%ofpeopleintheir30susingsocialmedia(Edelman,2015).Furthermore,Koreahasthe

highestdigitalvideoviewerpenetrationintheworld:“95.9%ofKoreaninternetusers

watchvideosatleastonceaweek”(Edelman,2015).

Chinese

OverstepCommunicationsplantousesocialmediaandonlineadvertising.

Thereare70%ofpeopleusingsocialmediabetweentheagesof19-35and38%ofsocial

mediausersmaketheirproductpurchasedecisionsbasedonrecommendationstheyread

onsocialmedia(Jamie,2015).Theinternetisalsoaveryimportantwaytoreachthetarget

audienceinthecampaign.In2016,thereare721millioninternetusersinChina,and58%

ofthemaremillennials(InternetLiveStats,n.d;Russell,2016).

PromotionalStrategy

Forpromotions,OverstepCommunicationssuggestdoingareferralprogram.In

thissituation,recommendingfivefriendstosignupforanAirbnbmembershipwillresult

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56

inacreditof$125totheAirbnbaccountofthepersonwhomadethereferral.Thiswill

provideincentivetocurrentmemberstospreadwordtotheirfriendsandfamilytosignup

forAirbnb.Withskepticismbeingamajorchallengeinpeople,hearinggoodexperiences

andreceivingrecommendationsfromtrustedfriendsandfamilymemberswillallowfor

newmemberstohaveasenseoftrustwhenbookingwithAirbnb.

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57

Summary

Overall,OverstepCommunicationsunderstandwhattheproblemsand

opportunitiesassociatedwithAirbnbarewhenitcomestotheTA’smind.Thatbeingsaid,

theimplicationsthatthishascanbefixedthroughthecampaignasaforementioned.Itwill

helptoalleviatethesecomplicationsandcreateabetterawarenessandusageofAirbnb.

ThestrategysuggestedbyOverstepCommunicationsissimpleyetwell-roundedin

reachingtheintendedtargetaudience.Byrunningthiscampaign,Airbnbwillwelcome

morepeopletosignupformembership.

Theonlineandsocialmediacomponentswillpullpotentialusersinandsparktheir

interestsinwhatAirbnbhavetooffer.Inthefuture,Airbnbwillbecomemoreprominent

inconsumers’mindsandbemorelikelytomakethemloyalcustomers.Withthe

combinationoftherecommendedcampaignandPromotionalStrategies,boththe

CommunicationsandMarketingGoalswillbeachievedandAirbnbwillbecomemore

establishedinthemarketplace.Withtheirestablishment,morepeoplewillbooktravel

accommodationsthroughAirbnbandtheywillbecomemoreprevalentthanthetypical

hotelormoteloptionsthetargetaudiencecurrentlyutilizes.

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58

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Appendix

SimmonsOneViewTables

Table1:Adults,Ages18-34andTheirWillingnesstoMakeTravelArrangementsThroughaCompanyTheyHaveNeverHeardof

Table2:Adults,Ages18-34andWhetherTheyTravelDomesticallyintheLast12Months

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Table3:Adults,Ages18-34andWhetherTheyTravelInternationallyintheLastThreeYears

Table4:Adults,Ages18-34andWhetherTheyUseHotelsandMotelsasTravelAccommodations

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Table5:Adults,Ages18-34andWhetherorNotTheyUsetheInternet

Table6:Adults,Ages18-34andHowOftenTheyUseBannerAdstoLeadtoaPurchase

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Table7:Adults,Ages18-34andHowOftenTheyUseFull-MotionVideoAdstoLeadtoaPurchase

Table8:Adults,ages18-34WhoareSocialMediaUsers

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Table9:Adults,Ages18-34andHowOftenTheyVisitTheirSocialMediaAccounts

Table10:Adults,Ages18-34andHowLikelyTheyareGoingtoPurchaseSomethingAdvertisedonaSocialMediaorNetworkingWebsite

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Table11:AdultsAges18-34andTheirTelevisionHabits

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QuestionnaireInformedConsentStatement:

Hello,mynameis_____________andIamanadvertisingstudentatPennStateUniversity

conductingresearchforaclassproject.Wearelookingattravelhabitsandpreferred

accommodationswhenyouareawayfromhome.

Thisquestionnairewilltakeaboutfivetosevenminutes.

Yournamewillnotbewrittenonthequestionnaireandallresponsesyouprovideforthis

studywillremainconfidentialwithinmyclass.

Areyou18yearsorolder?Yes[]No[]

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TRANSITION:First,Iwouldliketoaskyouafewquestionsregardingyourtravelhabitsand

preferredaccommodations.

1. Whatisyouronefavoritesourcetousetobookyourtravelaccommodations?

(Open-Ended)

2. Whatdoyoulikeaboutthesourceyouselectedinthepreviousquestion?(Open-

Ended)

3. Whatdoyoudislikeaboutthesourceyouselected?(Open-Ended)

4. Whendoyoutravelmost?(Nominal)

a. Summer

b. Spring

c. Winter

d. Fall

5. Doyoutravelforbusiness?

a. Yes

b. No

6. Howoftendoyoutravelforbusiness?

a. _____________

7. Whatdoyouhopetogainfromyourbusinesstravels?(Open-Ended)

8. Doyoutravelforleisure?

a. Yes

b. No

9. Howoftendoyoutravelforleisure?

a. _____________

10. Whatdoyouhopetogainfromyourleisuretravels?

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11. Doyoutraveltovisitfamily/friends?

a. Yes

b. No

12. Howoftendoyoutraveltovisitfamily/friends?

a. _____________

13. Whatdoyouhopetogainfromvisitingfamily/friends?

14. Onascalefrom1-5,with1beingleastlikelyand5beingmostlikely,howlikelyare

youtotravel:(Interval) LeastLikely MostLikely

a. Alone: 1 2 3 4 5

b. WithFamily: 1 2 3 4 5

c. WithFriends: 1 2 3 4 5

d. WithCo-workers: 1 2 3 4 5

15. Howmuchareyouwillingtospendanightforahotel?(Interval)

a. $1-50

b. $51-100

c. $101-150

d. $151-200

e. $200+

16. Whenbookingahotelroom,Iammostconcernedwith:(Interval) Low High

a. Security(Room) 1 2 3 4 5

b. Security(Area) 1 2 3 4 5

c. Cleanliness 1 2 3 4 5

d. Location 1 2 3 4 5

e. Price 1 2 3 4 5

f. SizeofRoom 1 2 3 4 5

g. Comfort 1 2 3 4 5

17. ArethereanyotherconcernsthatyoumayhavewhenbookingahotelroomthatI

havenotmentioned?(Open-Ended)

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18. Inregardstoyourpreviousmentions,onascaleof1to5,with1beingtheleast

concernedand5beingthemostconcerned,howconcernedareyouwith____? Low High

___________________ 1 2 3 4 5

___________________ 1 2 3 4 5

___________________ 1 2 3 4 5

___________________ 1 2 3 4 5

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

TRANSITION:Now,Iwouldliketoaskyouaboutaspecifictravelaccommodation.

1. Haveyoueverusedanysharingservicesbefore,forexampleUber,Lyft,Poshmark,

Snapgood?(Nominal)

a. Yes

b. No

2. HaveyoueverheardofAirbnb?(Nominal)

a. Yes

b. No

Ifrespondentsrespond“No”tonumberone,theywillanswerthefollowingquestion.Ifthey

answer“Yes,”theywillcontinuewiththesurveywithnumberthree.

Airbnbisacommunitymarketplacethatallowspeopletofindaccommodationsfortheir

travelsaroundtheworldinmorethan34,000citiesand190countries.Airbnbhosts,which

canbeyouraveragehomeowner,openuptheirhomes.Whetherit’sanapartment,private

home,orevenasingleroomwithinahome,travelersareabletousethisserviceasan

alternativetobookingahotelroom.

1. NowthatyouareawareofAirbnb,onascaleof0-10,howlikelyareyoutousethis

serviceinthefuture?(Ratio)

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

2. Afterreviewingthisdescription,onascaleof1-5,wheredoyourateAirbnbonthe

followingqualities?(Ordinal)

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a. Trustworthy 1 2 3 4 5

b. Convenient 1 2 3 4 5

c. Dependable 1 2 3 4 5

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. WhatarethefirstwordsthatcometomindwhenyouthinkofAirbnb?(Open-

Ended)

4. WhenyouhearAirbnb,howdoesthatmakeyoufeel?(Open-Ended)

5. ItispossiblethatAirbnbhostsarepresentduringyourstay.Forexample,ifJohn

rentshishometoyou,hecanstayinhishomeduringthedurationofyourtravel.

Areyoucomfortablewiththehostbeingpresent?(Open-Ended)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Afteransweringthesequestions,respondentswillbedirectedtothedemographicpartofthe

survey.

1. Onascalefrom1-5,with1beingleastlikelyand5beingmostlikely,howlikelyare

youtohearaboutAirbnbfrom: LeastLikely MostLikely

a. WordofMouth: 1 2 3 4 5

b. Magazine: 1 2 3 4 5

c. NewsArticle: 1 2 3 4 5

d. Commercial: 1 2 3 4 5

e. OnlineAdvertisement: 1 2 3 4 5

2. HaveyoueverusedAirbnb?(Nominal)

a. Yes

b. No

3. HaveyoubookedAirbnbinthefollowingplaces:(Nominal)

a. UnitedStates:yes[]no[]

b. NorthAmerica—excludingUS:yes[]no[]

c. SouthAmerica:yes[]no[]

d. Africa:yes[]no[]

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e. Australia:yes[]no[]

f. Europe:yes[]no[]

g. Asia:yes[]no[]

4. Onascalefrom0-10,howlikelyareyougoingtouseAirbnbinthefuture?(Ratio)

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

TRANSITION:NowthatIaskedyouaboutAirbnb,Iamgoingtoaskyouafewquestions

aboutyourselfinorderdevelopagreaterunderstandingbetweentravelinghabitsandits

consumers.

1. What’syourgender?(Nominal)

a. Male

b. Female

2. What’syourage?(Ratio)

a. _________________

3. Areyouafull-timestudentorafull-timeemployee?(Nominal)

a. Full-Timeemployee

b. Student

4. Doyouhavechildren?(Nominal)

a. Yes

b. No

ENDING:Thankyouforparticipatinginmystudy.Iappreciateyourtimeandeffort.Ifyou

haveanyquestionsorareinterestedinmystudy,pleasefeelfreetocontactmyinstructor:

Dr.SusanStrohm

Email:[email protected]

OfficePhone:814-863-0535

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FocusGroupInformedConsentStatement:Hello,mynameis_____________andIamanadvertisingstudentatPennStateUniversity

conductingresearchforaclassproject.Wearelookingattravelhabitsandpreferred

accommodationswhenyouareawayfromhome.

Allresponsesyouprovideforthisstudywillremainconfidentialwithinmyclass.

Areyou18yearsorolder?Yes[]No[]

1. Whatmakesyouchooseavacationdestination?

2. Whatdoyoulookforinahotelroom?

3. Whatdoyouthinkarethemostimportantfactorsofahotelroom?

4. Haveyoueverusedanysharingservicesbefore(i.e.Uber,Lyft,SnapGoods,Poshmark,etc.)?

5. HaveyoueverusedAirbnbbefore?

a. Ifyes,tellusaboutyourexperience

b. Ifno,wewilltellyouaboutiti. Airbnbisacommunitymarketplacethatallowspeopletofind

accommodationsfortheirtravelsaroundtheworldinmorethan

34,000citiesand190countries.Airbnbhosts,whichcanbeyour

averagehomeowner,openuptheirhomes.Whetherit’sanapartment,

privatehome,orevenasingleroomwithinahome,travelersareable

tousethisserviceasanalternativetobookingahotelroom.

ii. WouldyoubeinterestedinusingAirbnbnow?

6. ItispossiblethatAirbnbhostsarepresentduringyourstay.Forexample,ifJohn

rentshishometoyou,hecanstayinhishomeduringthedurationofyourtravel.

Areyoucomfortablewiththehostbeingpresent?

7. DoyoutrustAirbnb’sservices?

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a. Explainwhyorwhynot

8. WouldyouprefertopickahoteloranAirbnblistingforyourvacationstay?

a. Whatdoyouthinkaretheadvantagesanddisadvantagesofeach?

9. WouldyoubewillingtosacrificethebenefitsthatcomewithahotelforamoreinexpensiveoptionlikeAirbnb?

ENDING:Thankyouforparticipatinginmystudy.Iappreciateyourtimeandeffort.Ifyou

haveanyquestionsorareinterestedinmystudy,pleasefeelfreetocontactourinstructor:

Dr.SusanStrohm

Email:[email protected]

OfficePhone:814-863-0535

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SPSSOutputTablesOutput1:

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Output2:

Output3:

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Output4:

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Output5:

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Output6:

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Output7:

Output8:

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Output9:

Output10:

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PhotosPhoto1:http://techcrunch.com/2012/04/01/dirty-pillows-the-unsolved-problems-of-sharing-services/

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Charts:Chart1:http://www.travelchinaguide.com/tourism/2015statistics/inbound.htm

Chart2:http://www.index.go.kr/potal/main/EachDtlPageDetail.do?idx_cd=1652

Chart3:http://www.index.go.kr/potal/main/EachDtlPageDetail.do?idx_cd=1655

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OstrowModel

MarketingFactorsThatAffectEffectiveFrequencyEstablishedBrands

-.2

-.1 +.1 +.2 NewBrands

HighMarketShare

-.2 -.1 +.1 +.2 LowMarketShare

DominantBrandinMarket

-.2 -.1 +.1 +.2 Smaller,LessWell-KnownBrands

HighBrandLoyalty

-.2 -.1 +.1 +.2 LowBrandLoyalty

LongPurchaseCycle

-.2 -.1 +.1 .2 ShortPurchaseCycle

ProductusedOccasionally

-.2 -.1 +.1 +.2 ProductUsedDaily

+.1 +.2 NeededtoBeatCompetition

+.1 +.2 AdvertisingtoOlderConsumersorChildren

TOTAL:+.5

CopyFactorsThatAffectEffectiveFrequencySimplyCopy -.2 -.1 +.1 +.2 ComplexCopyCopyMore

UnusualThanCompetition

-.2 -.1 +.1 +.2 CopyLessUnusualThanCompetition

ContinuingCampaign

-.2 -.1 +.1 +.2 NewCopyCampaign

ProductSellCopy

-.2 -.1 +.1 +.2 ImageTypeCopy

SingleKindofMessage

-.2 -.1 +.1 +.2 MoreDifferentKindsofMessage

ToAvoidWearout:NewMessages

-.2 -.1 +.1 +.2 OlderMessages

LargerAdUnits -.2 -.1 +.1 +.2 SmallAdUnits TOTAL:+.6

MediaFactorsThatAffectEffectiveFrequencyLowAdClutter -.2 -.1 +.1 +.2 HighAdClutterCompatibleEditorial

Environment

-.2 -.1 +.1 +.2 IncompatibleEnvironment

AttentivenessHigh

-.2 -.1 +.1 +.2 AttentivenessLow

ContinuousAdvertising

-.2 -.1 +.1 +.2 PulsedorFlightAdvertising

FewMediaUsed -.2 -.1 +.1 +.2 ManyMediaUsed

OpportunitiesforMediaRepetition

-.2 -.1 +.1 +.2 FewerOpportunities

TOTAL:+03+1.1=4.1