Challenge
In a rapidly evolving French travel and tourism market, where traveller expectations are shifting profoundly, Airbnb wanted to position itself as a key player in new travel trends, demonstrating that rural destinations have become a priority choice for French families.
The challenge entrusted to our Paris PR and influence agency: building a discourse that was both aspirational and data-driven to promote countryside stays, while strengthening the platform's legitimacy with lifestyle and mainstream media. A strategic challenge requiring the team to go beyond a simple tourism communications campaign and establish Airbnb as a legitimate voice in the societal shifts shaping travel.
Concept & Strategy
As a Paris-based PR and influencer marketing agency, we designed a 360° campaign built around the concept of "Le Vert Hexagonal" (The Green Hexagon), in collaboration with trend bureau Nelly Rodi, to anchor the back-to-nature phenomenon within a strong societal dynamic and give Airbnb a differentiating editorial positioning on rural tourism in France.
Our Next-Gen Influence methodology (Data > Idea > Ecosystem > Reach > KPI) structured a PR and influence programme built around three complementary phases.
Phase 1 — Press conference and thought leadership. The launch took place through a press conference in Paris bringing together experts, Airbnb spokespersons, hosts and influencers to decode the new travel aspirations of the French public. A format designed to position Airbnb as an editorial reference on travel trends, combining expert endorsement (Nelly Rodi), grassroots voices (hosts) and influencer prescription within a single event. This format reached tier 1 lifestyle, travel and society journalists with a strong, exclusive angle.
Phase 2 — Exclusive data and insights. The campaign was supported by exclusive data content and insights on rural tourism trends, giving media unprecedented figures and societal analysis to fuel their own stories. A data-driven PR content strategy that multiplied media pickups by transforming internal data into a high editorial value societal topic.
Phase 3 — Regional press trip. To bring the promise to life on the ground, a press trip was organised in the French countryside, enabling journalists and creators to experience the Airbnb rural proposition in real conditions. A format that anchors the experiential dimension at the heart of the programme and generates powerful, embodied, authentic native content.
This tourism PR and influence campaign reflects our positioning as a Paris PR, influence and communications agency, a pioneer of the integrated approach since 2014, capable of designing 360° PR and influence programmes combining thought leadership, data storytelling, press events and influencer activation to turn a brand insight into a societal topic picked up across the entire media ecosystem. A model proving that the best influence strategy starts with a solid narrative, rooted in data and brought to life on the ground.
KPIs
15 million impressions generated across the full PR and influence programme.
