Airbnb's New Position
- ShashikaJP
- Aug 26, 2020
- 2 min read
Recently in one of my classes, we read through a case study about Airbnb. For anyone who may be unfamiliar with this company, it is an online marketplace of vacation rental offerings.
So in this case study, we read about the changes the company underwent in 2015. As every business and company does, Airbnb had evaluated what could be done to gain better brand awareness. As they ended 2014 as one of the least known even though they were one of the largest providers of accomodation.
So what did Airbnb do? They decided to transform their position and branding in a new way. A way that almost seemed unfamiliar to competitors.
Airbnb launched the then new 'Never a Stranger' campaign that actually highlighted the fears individuals had, that stopped them from using services like Airbnb. By tapping into this uncomfortable reality of sharing the homes of strangers, Airbnb aimed to flip one of the company's largest weaknesses to its greatest strength.
Using cohesive messaging through their digital and visual advertising, Airbnb emphasised the core value of belonging and took the audience on community focused journey. The concept to was to remove the negative fears and build new understanding of a world where strangers no longer exist.
I personally found it somewhat refreshing and unique to hear Airbnb's position in utilising a weakness (individual's fear of stranger danger) and using it to strengthen and build brand image.
In addition, Airbnb also underwent a brand logo re-design. Airbnb developed a logo, called the 'Belo', aiming to stand for something much bigger than travel. This logo was encouraged to be adopted by users as a symbol of belonging.
With the new position and branding, I think we can all agree that Airbnb has definitely achieved their business goal of gaining global awareness.
So, what do you think? Did you know of Airbnb prior to the new positioning and branding? Because I know I didn't! Are there any other companies you know of that did similar work?
Thank you for reading :)
Stay safe!
Thank you for reading Meshanah! And yes that's a great example of great positioning and it's very clear it worked because we can definitely see how successful Apple is today!!
Great read Shashika! I knew about Airbnb, but I wasn't aware of this new branding and positioning that they have established, thank you for sharing this great marketing example. Another company that conducted something similar in their marketing, was Apple as its brand positioning today, focuses on users being 'innovative, imaginative, and creative' when they purchase/ use their products. This is in comparison to their earlier brand positioning, which mainly focused on highlighting the best features of their products, to their customers.
Thanks for reading! Yes, I am the same. I think it definitely is awesome that they used this kind of position, so different from what you normally see.
Another very interesting post! I have been using Airbnb for a while but that was something I definitely did not know.
It's true that the whole concept of staying at a stranger's house can be frightening, especially after hearing stories of situations like that going wrong. But, for a company like Airbnb to call it out and like you said, turn it into a strength, is pretty awesome.
Keep up the good work!