Subsequent month, a gaggle of Australian social media creators — who collectively have 34 million followers — will compete in Singapore to unravel riddles and full challenges whereas selling the city-state’s sights.
However this may not be simply one other influencer marketing campaign. It is going to as a substitute be the debut of a brand new advertising platform that goals to rework how locations attain younger vacationers.
The platform, “The Journey,” comes from Australian advertising company Komodo and goals to chop by social media promoting saturation by turning vacation spot promotion into interactive leisure.
“We wished to create a platform to advertise and promote a vacation spot with out it seeming like an advert,” mentioned Nick Seymour, co-founder of Komodo, in an interview with Skift.
The marketing campaign, underwritten by Singapore Tourism Board Oceania, companions embrace TikTok, fintech firm Revolut, and baggage maker Samsonite.
Speaking about integrating manufacturers into the storytelling, Seymour supplied an instance of how creators will use pre-loaded Revolut playing cards throughout challenges to exhibit budget-friendly journey choices in Singapore whereas showcasing the cost platform’s options.
From Engagement to Bookings
The strategy targets millennials and Era Z vacationers, who more and more bypass conventional engines like google for journey analysis and depend on social media platforms. A Skift Analysis survey discovered that 57% of those demographics depend on social media channels for journey planning.
“In the case of their subsequent vacation or journey, Millennials and Gen Z are turning to social platforms for analysis and proposals fairly than conventional platforms like Google,” Seymour mentioned.
Whereas the platform presently measures commonplace social metrics like views and engagement charges, Komodo plans so as to add reserving capabilities by companions reminiscent of Expedia and Skyscanner. The corporate additionally intends to implement geo-tracking to measure precise visits ensuing from campaigns.
“The plan is to combine knowledge seize… to create bespoke itineraries whereas delivering measurable funding returns for locations and types,” Seymour mentioned.
The initiative has already gained traction, with Komodo reporting 25,000 new followers in its first week and ongoing discussions with locations in Europe, America, and the UAE. The corporate goals to succeed in 50,000 followers by February 9 and have over 100 million content material impressions.
Anticipating Social Commerce
The platform launches as social commerce positive aspects momentum in journey advertising, as highlighted within the Skift Megatrends. Main platforms, together with TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, are growing options to permit direct reserving of journey experiences by content material. The pattern follows comparable strikes within the area, reminiscent of Thailand’s launch final yr of TAT Connex, an influencer advertising platform.
In a transfer it describes as shifting from “inspiration to motion,” Asian experiences platform Klook final yr teamed up with TikTok to allow customers in seven Southeast Asian markets and Japan to e book journey experiences instantly by the app.
In 2023, Klook additionally launched “Kreator,” an influencer advertising platform that permits people to share journey offers and reductions on their web page as a Klook affiliate.
Seymour believes TikTok affords specific potential for vacation spot advertising on account of its viral nature and skill to raise lesser-known places. Nonetheless, he emphasizes that content material high quality stays essential. “Social media customers see upward of 4,000 adverts a day on their feeds — that is a number of noise to chop by.”
