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Travel marketing is full of aspirational content. A beautiful destination. A happy family. A picture-perfect sunset somewhere in the background. It looks so serene, so relaxing. How could you not want to go there?<\/p>\n
That\u2019s not the kind of marketing that Expedia is doing with creator IShowSpeed.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, the company kicked off a yearlong partnership with the creator, who has some 150 million followers across social platforms, with a nearly 12-hour livestream of his breakneck travels to four Caribbean locales\u2014Dominica, Guadeloupe, St. Kitts and Nevis, and St. Maarten.<\/p>\n
The stream shows a version of travel that is both unbelievable and relatable. The unreal: the average person is not going to be sponsored by a brand to hit four destinations in half a day and be inundated with fans in each locale. As for the real? All you want to do after traveling somewhere is find a good meal.<\/p>\n
IShowSpeed, aka Darren Watkins Jr., creates content based on his travels, and he recently made headlines for his 28-day tour of 20 countries throughout Africa. But before this deal, he had not yet worked with a travel brand, according to Lauri Metrose, SVP of global communications at Expedia.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was really about connecting culture with our brand in a really authentic way and telling stories,\u201d Metrose said of the partnership, adding that Watkins\u2019s \u201cextreme curiosity\u201d in \u201clearning about different cultures and learning about different people\u201d was compelling.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was really important for us to do a partnership and not a one-off deal, not a brand deal,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is really about storytelling and exploring the world and then allowing people to book the trips that [he] has gone on.\u201d<\/p>\n
More than a logo<\/strong>: The partnership has been in the works for six months, according to Metrose, who compared the in-depth planning process for the partnership to that of television. (She previously worked at CBS Studios.) The focus of multiple meetings over that time period was to ensure an authentic, genuine fit.<\/p>\n\n
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\u201cFor him, he didn\u2019t want to slap a logo on stuff, and nor did we,\u201d she said. \u201cWe built this together.\u201d<\/p>\n
Metrose declined to share how much the brand is spending on the partnership but noted that it\u2019s one of the company\u2019s \u201cbig bets\u201d and \u201cbig partnerships for the year.\u201d During the company\u2019s 2025 fourth-quarter earnings call in February, Expedia Group CEO Ariane Gorin said the company was focused on \u201csharpen[ing] our brand value propositions with stronger creative, [which] makes our spend more effective.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the teams for Expedia and IShowSpeed worked to plan out how the first stream would go, the uncertain nature of a livestream was baked into the process.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t put any restrictions saying, \u2018Don\u2019t say this. You can\u2019t do this. You can\u2019t do that.\u2019 We know who he is. We came into this partnership eyes wide open,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Watkins has some experience with brands under his belt. He worked with Meta for a Super Bowl spot promoting Ray-Ban smart glasses and has also worked with brands including Beats by Dre, Dick\u2019s Sporting Goods, Prime, and Doritos.<\/p>\n
Clippable:<\/strong> As part of Expedia\u2019s \u201csocial-first\u201d ethos, the company had a \u201cwar room of people clipping in real time\u201d on Wednesday to get content from the partnership across social channels, per Metrose.<\/p>\nIn doing so, Expedia joins the ranks of marketers working with clippers to transform livestream content into short-form clips that can be distributed across social platforms. The strategy is a reflection of how people watch content today and is one that more brands seem poised to adopt this year.<\/p>\n
Influencer focus:<\/strong> Overall, Expedia is planning to boost its efforts in influencer marketing this year, including expanding its program globally.<\/p>\n\u201cWe are investing more in influencer marketing,\u201d Metrose said. \u201cFor us, this is the new way of marketing. This is how people are consuming their information. This is the most authentic way to engage.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Read the full article here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Travel marketing is full of aspirational content. A beautiful destination. A happy family. A picture-perfect sunset somewhere in the background. It looks so serene, so relaxing. How could you not want to go there? That\u2019s not the kind of marketing that Expedia is doing with creator IShowSpeed. On Wednesday, the company kicked off a yearlong […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23284,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[78],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-23283","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-marketing"},"yoast_head":"\n
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