Booking.com’s Genius loyalty program was registering a below average share of conversation on social media compared to competitor offerings in the travel and hospitality space. Further investigation revealed consumers’ frustrations with rewards programs that took too long to achieve, were too complicated to understand, and offered declining value.
We knew we had a clear opportunity to flip this situation in our favour, since the Genius program is one of the most accessible and generous on the market. Customers are automatically enrolled from the moment of signing up to the Booking.com platform, and can start earning rewards from their very first trip.
We set out to generate awareness and engagement around Booking.com’s Genius loyalty program, making it culturally relevant for our audience of travellers who were sceptical of complicated rewards programs that over-promised and under-delivered.
Starting from the product truth that it doesn’t take an actual genius to benefit from the “Genius” program, we set out to communicate its simplicity by subversively celebrating the genius in absolutely everyone.
To gain cut-through in social media, we wanted to establish comedic tension by partnering with someone for whom the label of ‘genius’ would raise eyebrows; someone who had earned themselves a reputation for their less-than-genius behaviour.
Brooklyn Beckham was the perfect partner, for his well-documented history of dabbling in various professions over the years with mixed results, from barista to photographer and model. This versatility also gave him broad appeal across our wide audience of culturally-savvy young travellers.
Working with Brooklyn, we scripted a social mockumentary-style video, relying on a healthy dose of self-aware humour, dead-pan delivery and a fly-on-the-way style of shooting. In the video, we follow Brooklyn in his latest (fictitious) career-move as a travel expert. We see him staying at an upmarket hotel, experiencing perks from free breakfasts to room upgrades and city tours that he believes he has received due to his travel expertise, when in fact they are rewards accessible to everyone as part of Booking.com’s Genius program. The script uses pre-written and improvised lines that draw from Brooklyn's family history and previous career paths.
The output was three unique video edits that were crafted to fit the tone, pacing and creative codes of different social media channels: a collab post between Brooklyn and Booking.com’s global account on Instagram, plus unique posts on Brooklyn’s and Booking.com’s global TikTok channels.
Our social media audience were also given the opportunity to win a stay in the same hotel featured in the content, which drove further engagement and interest.
The content delivered a mutually beneficial outcome for brand and talent, creating widespread reach and engagement, putting the Genius program into the centre of social conversations, whilst also helping to rehabilitate Brooklyn’s public image as a talented actor and good sport.
Social Media (TikTok & Instagram):
Tradition Media (Incremental unplanned PR):
Audiences showed an overwhelmingly positive reaction to the content, praising the humour and Brooklyn's comedic timing. Many remarked that he had the last laugh, by owning the negativity around his public image and showing genuine talent.
"His comedic timing is so good!"
"Owned it. Amazing!"
"Genius advert - sooo funny and clever."
"Gotta be fair this is unexpectedly brilliant"
"This marketing strategy - GENIUS!"
"Okay but this is actually hilarious!"
