From Airbnb’s unforgettable night at the Louvre, where lucky winners experienced the museum like never before, to Delta’s VIP lounge at SXSW that turned a crowded event into a luxurious escape, brand activations show the power of creating unique experiences that go beyond the norm.
Experiential marketing is ripe with opportunities to set your attraction apart. Today’s brand activations can highlight a brand’s core values while engaging the senses and emotions of the audience—and you’ll find that each travel brand discussed in this article has done just that.
However, as effective as these activations can be, they come with their own set of challenges. Let’s dive into the basics of brand activation, the most common obstacles travel brands face when implementing them, and over a dozen examples of brands doing it just right.
What is Brand Activation?
Brand activation is a marketing strategy that brings a brand to life through engaging and memorable consumer experiences. In other words, it’s a way to “activate” your brand beyond traditional advertising methods.
What does this look like? A brand activation campaign can take several forms, including events, pop-up experiences, and influencer partnerships. This marketing strategy is incredibly impactful for travel brands, allowing potential customers to experience the essence of a destination, service, or product before making a purchase decision.
It’s an engaging approach that builds excitement around your product while positioning your brand as more than just a service provider. That’s because experiential marketing campaigns allow your brand to show off its personality—making room to create a deeper connection with your audience.
How Brand Activation Differs from Traditional Marketing
Traditional advertising—like TV, print, and online banner ads—primarily focuses on reaching a broad audience through repetitive exposure. The goal is to keep the brand top-of-mind when the consumer is making a purchasing decision. While this method can effectively build brand awareness, it often lacks the depth of engagement needed to create a lasting emotional connection with your audience.
In contrast, brand activation goes beyond awareness by inviting consumers to engage with your brand. Whether through an experiential event, interactive campaign, or a personalized experience, brand activation seeks to create a memorable interaction that resonates with your audience on a deeper level. This direct engagement fosters a sense of personal connection, which can significantly influence your visitors’ booking decisions.
Consider a traditional TV commercial for a theme park. The commercial might highlight the park’s attractions, people smiling, and a catchy slogan. While the commercial can effectively generate interest, it doesn’t allow potential visitors to experience what the park offers.
Now, let’s compare that with a brand activation strategy.
Imagine the same theme park setting up a pop-up experience in a busy urban area where passersby can try out a virtual reality (VR) roller coaster, complete with wind effects and surround sound. This activation gives people a taste of the thrill and excitement of the park, creating an emotional connection that a TV commercial simply cannot match.
Why Are Brand Activations Important for Travel Brands
For travel brands, the importance of brand activation lies in the ability to let potential customers experience a tour, destination, or service hands-on—before committing to it.
Look at the Art Institute of Chicago’s approach to a big Van Gogh exhibition, for instance. Instead of merely advertising the upcoming exhibit, the museum partnered with Airbnb to create a physical replica of Van Gogh’s famous “Bedroom” painting, where people could book a night’s stay.
The creative campaign allowed visitors to immerse themselves in the artist’s world, driving much higher visitor numbers. In contrast, a traditional ad campaign might have only reached art enthusiasts without creating the same buzz.
While traditional marketing is vital in building brand awareness, brand activation has the power to resonate deeply with an audience. Visitors might forget about a flier they received for a new art exhibition, but they certainly won’t forget spending a night in a famous painting.
How To Come Up With Brand Activation Ideas
Coming up with effective brand activation ideas can be challenging. Still, by focusing on your audience, leveraging current trends, and aligning with your brand’s identity, you can create memorable experiences that resonate with your target market. Below are some strategies to help you generate impactful brand activation ideas.
Know Your Audience Deeply
Understanding your audience is the foundation of every marketing campaign. Because experiential marketing is about capturing your customers’ attention in creative, more personalized ways, knowing what makes them tick is crucial to every brand activation strategy. For example, a luxury hotel chain might find that its guests value wellness and relaxation. An effective brand activation could involve setting up a pop-up spa experience in a busy urban area, offering free massages and wellness tips, thereby giving potential customers a taste of the hotel’s wellness offerings.
Leverage Current Trends
Keep an eye on the latest technology, culture, and consumer behavior trends. Aligning your activation with these trends can capture your audience’s attention more effectively. With the growing interest in sustainability, for instance, a travel company could create an eco-friendly pop-up event where participants can plant trees or participate in a clean-up drive, all while learning about the company’s eco-friendly travel options.
Explore Ways To Create Sensory Experiences
Think about how you can engage the senses—sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell—in your activations. A distillery, for example, might create a hands-on blending workshop where potential visitors get to touch and mix different spirits to create their blend. This would be a great way to pique their interest in a full distillery tour, where they can further explore where the product is made.
How To Create Your Brand Activation Strategy
The first step in developing your brand activation strategy is identifying your goal: Are you looking to increase brand awareness, drive sales, build customer loyalty, or launch a new service or product? Clear objectives will help shape the strategy and provide measurable benchmarks for the campaign’s success. Once that’s defined, we can move on to the following steps.
1. Come Up With a Unique Concept
Your brand activation needs to stand out from the competition, so creativity is vital. Brainstorm ideas that align with your brand’s identity and values while offering your audience something new and exciting. This could be an immersive experience, a pop-up event, a partnership with another brand, or a guerrilla marketing stunt. The concept should be memorable and encourage participants to engage with your brand meaningfully.
2. Choose the Right Channels
Decide where and how you will execute your brand activation. Will it occur at a physical location, an online platform, or a combination of both? Consider the channels that best reach your target audience. For example, if your audience is highly active on social media, you might focus on digital campaigns and influencer partnerships.
3. Plan the Execution
Once you have your concept and channels in place, it’s time to plan the logistics. This includes setting a timeline, securing venues, coordinating with partners, and preparing all the materials needed for the activation. Attention to detail is crucial here—everything from the space’s design to the staff training should reflect your brand’s image and ensure a seamless experience for participants.
4. Engage and Interact
Brand activation is all about creating meaningful interactions with your audience. Make sure your activation encourages participation, whether it’s through hands-on activities, social media challenges, or live demonstrations. The more engaged your audience is, the more likely they will form a lasting connection with your brand.
5. Measure and Analyze Results
After the activation is complete, you’ll evaluate its effectiveness. Tracking metrics like attendance, social media mentions, website traffic, sales figures, and customer feedback will help you pinpoint what worked well and what could be improved for future activations.
15 Examples of Successful Travel Brand Activations
Let’s pull from the playbook of travel brands doing it right. Here, we’ll review some of the best brand activations from companies of all sizes.
1. Van Gogh Airbnb (The Art Institute of Chicago)
To generate buzz around a new Van Gogh exhibition, The Art Institute of Chicago partnered with Airbnb to transform the famous painting “The Bedroom” into a real-life space where guests could stay.
This activation seamlessly blended art with travel and adventure, engaging audiences far beyond traditional art lovers. The campaign’s creative concept was not just about seeing art but literally living it, which drove massive interest and made it the museum’s most-visited exhibition in 15 years.
What Tours & Attractions Can Learn: Integrating popular culture or iconic imagery elements into your offerings can turn a typical tour or exhibit into a very memorable experience. This approach is particularly effective for attracting a broader audience that goes beyond your typical visitor.
2. Hôtel de Glace’s Immersive Winter Experience
Hôtel de Glace, located near Québec City in Canada, offers an extraordinary winter experience by constructing an entire hotel out of ice. The hotel, complete with ice rooms, an ice bar, and even an ice chapel, is rebuilt yearly, making it a highly exclusive and time-sensitive attraction.
The uniqueness of the experience, combined with its seasonal availability, creates a sense of urgency and exclusivity. Those are the two critical components of FOMO marketing, a powerful strategy for attracting visitors.
What Tours & Attractions Can Learn: Capitalizing on the temporary nature of specific experiences can drive visitor numbers. Additionally, creating an environment that engages multiple senses enhances the overall impact of a campaign, making it more likely to be shared across social media and recommended to friends and family.
3. Beis Wash Pop-Up
Luggage brand Beis created a “Béis Wash” pop-up in West Hollywood, where customers could bring their luggage for cleaning in a space designed to look like a car wash. This activation also featured a kid zone, a gumball machine, and a coffee station, making it a community-centered event.
Beis took a functional service—luggage cleaning—and turned it into a creative, service-oriented experience. By addressing a common consumer need in a unique way, the campaign successfully generated long lines and significant attention from existing customers.
What Tours & Attractions Can Learn: Addressing a common issue in a creative way can transform an otherwise mundane service into a memorable experience. How can you solve a problem for your visitors while creating a buzz around your brand?
4. Savannah’s Pop-Up Experience in NYC
Visit Savannah brought the charm of Savannah, Georgia, to the streets of New York City with a pop-up experience that featured local foods, music, and even a 12-foot oak tree replica. The event was designed to transport people to Savannah without leaving NYC.
This activation successfully imported the essence of a location to an entirely different setting. The use of authentic local elements made the experience immersive and enticing, encouraging New Yorkers to consider Savannah as a travel destination.
What Tours & Attractions Can Learn: Pop-up experiences can be a powerful way to introduce your destination to new markets. By replicating critical elements of your location, you can create a compelling, immersive experience that inspires people to visit.
5. Holiday Train Show at New York Botanical Garden
The New York Botanical Garden’s annual Holiday Train Show features model trains traveling through intricate replicas of iconic New York landmarks made from natural materials. The event has become a beloved holiday tradition, attracting thousands of yearly visitors.
The Holiday Train Show perfectly shows how consistency and quality can turn an event into a beloved tradition. The show appeals to both locals and tourists, making it a must-see during the holiday season.
What Tours & Attractions Can Learn: Creating an event that becomes a tradition can ensure repeat visitors and solidify your attraction as a crucial part of seasonal celebrations. Consistency in quality is essential for building long-term appeal.
6. The Swedish Number
The Swedish Tourist Association created “The Swedish Number” so that people worldwide could call a random Swede and chat about anything—from Swedish culture to travel tips.
This campaign’s simplicity and creativity generated massive global attention and directly engaged people with Sweden’s culture. It leveraged the country’s people as its greatest asset, creating a unique and personal way to promote tourism.
What Tours & Attractions Can Learn: Today’s tourists are moved by authentic experiences that connect them to a destination’s culture. Many traditional marketing campaigns undermine the power of direct human interaction when it comes to driving sales and loyalty.
7. AirNZ’s “The Most Epic Safety Video Ever Made”
Air New Zealand’s “The Most Epic Safety Video Ever Made” took the traditional in-flight safety video and turned it into a cinematic experience themed around the beloved movie, “The Hobbit.” The video featured cast members from the film and went viral, with millions of views online.
Air New Zealand transformed a mundane task into an entertaining experience, engaging passengers and generating widespread media coverage.
What Tours & Attractions Can Learn: Don’t underestimate the power of creativity in making routine activities exciting and shareable.
8. Paris Zoological Park’s “Open Animal Crates”
The Paris Zoo placed large open animal crates around the city to promote its reopening, making it appear like animals were roaming free. The crates were placed in high-traffic areas, generating curiosity about the attraction’s reopening.
The visual impact of the campaign, combined with its strategic placement, made it impossible to ignore. It created a sense of anticipation and drew attention to the zoo’s reopening in a way that traditional advertising would not have achieved.
What Tours & Attractions Can Learn: Visually striking activations in high-traffic areas can create a lot of buzz around your attraction. Consider using unexpected or playful elements to spark your guests’ curiosity.
9. Sun Peaks Resort and Instagram Influencer Campaign
Sun Peaks Resort partnered with adventure photographer Callum Snape to create beautiful visual content highlighting the resort’s natural beauty and adventure activities. The campaign targeted adventure-seekers in the Pacific Northwest.
This is an excellent example of effective influencer marketing. The resort was able to target a large audience with high-quality content that showcased the best of what it has to offer.
What Tours & Attractions Can Learn: Collaborating with influencers who align with your brand can help you reach new audiences.
10. World’s Coldest Fitting Room (Globetrotter)
Globetrotter, an outdoor gear retailer, created an in-store “bad weather chamber” where customers could test their gear against extreme conditions like -30°C temperatures.
This activation effectively demonstrated the durability and quality of Globetrotter’s products in a highly interactive way. Not only could customers test out the brand’s gear, but they also have a lot of fun while doing so.
What Tours & Attractions Can Learn: Offering an experiential proof of concept can be a powerful way to build trust in your products or services. Attractions can use this strategy by creating simulations or immersive environments that allow visitors to experience the essence of the attraction firsthand.
11. Grab a Partner – Art Meets Gaming
During the pandemic, museums like The Met, the Getty Museum, and the Cincinnati Art Museum partnered with the popular Nintendo game Animal Crossing, allowing players to add famous artworks from their collections to their in-game world.
This cross-industry collaboration was an innovative way to engage with a younger audience that might not typically visit museums. It brought art and culture into a popular gaming platform, reaching millions of players worldwide.
What Tours & Attractions Can Learn: Partnering with brands or platforms from different industries can help reach new audiences and create unique experiences. Consider how your attraction can collaborate with other industries to expand your reach and engage with different demographics.
12. 13,000 Reasons to Visit Northern Norway
Visit Norway’s “13,000 Reasons to Visit Northern Norway” campaign highlighted the beauty of Northern Norway through 13,000 comments from foreign tourists. These testimonials were compiled into what was described as the world’s most extended travel review, read aloud by a local comedian.
The campaign creatively used authentic testimonials to showcase Northern Norway’s appeal, providing a fresh, outsider perspective on the region. As a result, the region saw a significant increase in domestic tourism.
What Tours & Attractions Can Learn: Leveraging user-generated content and testimonials can be a powerful way to set your brand apart.
13. Etihad Airways’ Single-Use Plastic-Free Flight
Etihad Airways launched the world’s first single-use plastic-free flight on Earth Day. The initiative was part of a broader commitment to reduce single-use plastics by 80% by 2022.
This activation stood out for its strong environmental message, highlighting the brand’s commitment to sustainability.
What Tours & Attractions Can Learn: Sustainability initiatives can be a powerful driver of brand affinity and customer loyalty. Attractions should consider how they can integrate sustainable practices into their operations—and communicate these efforts to their audience.
14. Delta Lounge at SXSW
As the official airline partner of SXSW, Delta Airlines took its sponsorship to another level by creating a VIP lounge experience exclusively for members of its frequent flier program. The pop-up Delta Lounge featured free Wi-Fi, drinks from Starbucks, branded merchandise, and complimentary snacks from a well-known local chef.
Delta effectively leveraged its partnership with SXSW to enhance brand loyalty by offering a unique and exclusive experience for its frequent flyers. The airline made its customers feel special during an otherwise hectic event, providing them a respite in a comfortable lounge with extra perks like free food and merchandise.
What Tours & Attractions Can Learn: Creating exclusive experiences for loyal customers during large events can significantly enhance brand loyalty and customer satisfaction. Attractions can adopt a similar approach by offering VIP areas, exclusive tours, or special perks to repeat visitors, ensuring they feel valued and appreciated.
15. Airbnb’s Overnight Experience at the Louvre
Airbnb partnered with the Louvre Museum to offer one lucky winner and their guest the chance to spend a night at the iconic Parisian museum. The experience included a private museum tour, a candlelit dinner next to the Mona Lisa, and an acoustic concert in Napoleon III’s apartments.
This campaign brilliantly offered a super-rare experience that enforces Airbnb’s brand as a provider of out-of-the-box travel experiences. The activation engaged a global audience and seamlessly tied in with Airbnb’s mission to offer unique stays.
What Tours & Attractions Can Learn: Tour operators can take inspiration from Airbnb’s approach by creating exclusive, one-of-a-kind experiences that cannot be easily replicated. The key takeaway here is the power of exclusivity and how it can be leveraged to generate buzz and drive engagement.
5 Most Common Brand Activation Challenges (and how to avoid them)
By being aware of common challenges such as managing scale, measuring ROI, and navigating budget constraints, your attraction can better prepare itself for the complexities of the brand activation process. Thoughtful planning, strategic partnerships, and a clear focus on consumer engagement can help overcome these obstacles, ensuring that your campaign resonates with your audience and delivers successful results.
- Managing Scale: Scaling brand activations effectively while maintaining quality can be tough, particularly for smaller businesses. Start with smaller activations to test interest, then develop a scalable model and utilize digital platforms to extend reach.
- Measuring ROI: Calculating the return on investment (ROI) for brand activations can be complex due to the experiential nature of the campaigns. This is why establishing clear objectives and KPIs beforehand is so important. Social engagement, brand sentiment, and post-event feedback are all important factors to track.
- Budget Constraints: High costs associated with brand activations can be a barrier, especially for companies with limited budgets. Focus on creative, cost-effective solutions, explore partnerships to share expenses, and prioritize essential elements that deliver maximum impact.
- Consumer Engagement: Capturing and maintaining consumer engagement during an activation can be challenging, especially in crowded markets. Develop highly interactive and personalized experiences that resonate with your audience and encourage participation through incentives or gamification.
- Logistical Complexities: Executing a brand activation involves managing numerous logistical details, from venue selection to staffing and coordination. Meticulous planning, clear communication, and partnering with experienced vendors can help streamline logistics and reduce the likelihood of errors.
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Brand activations hold immense potential for travel brands looking to stand out in a saturated market. Ultimately, the ability to tackle these challenges head-on will enable your brand to build lasting relationships with consumers and drive meaningful business growth.
