Airbnb Magazine x ImagiCal
DURATION
Sept. 2019 -December 2019
TEAM
Daniel Ha* (Project Manager), Katie Marr, Michelle Gong, Hansol Jung, Copter Lee, Shelley Cai
ROLE
Design Consultant
TOOLS
Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe InDesign, Figma
METHODS + SKILLS
Market Research (Surveys + Interviews), Competitor Analysis, Branding, Wire-framing, Prototyping, Decking, Social Media Marketing, Visual Design, UI/UX Design
overview
As a part of the imagiCal, a creative consulting agency at Berkeley, Airbnb approached us to help generate awareness and increase readership of the Airbnb magazine, especially amongst the Generation Z demographic. We provided Airbnb with key insights on understanding Gen Z and developed a series of online and offline executions that help Airbnb Magazine increase awareness + readership.
THE ASK
How can Airbnb Magazine leverage their own platforms or forge partnerships in order to generate awareness/credibility, increase readership, and boost interest for contribution from younger talent who would fit well into their community?
RESEARCH
methodology
internal assessment
We conducted interviews with different members of the Airbnb Mag team from illustrators to data analysts in order to understand the team’s personal vision for the magazine. We gathered insights on what the ideal image, voice, and tone of the marketing campaign would be.
primary research
Our team conducted 17 in-person interviews and gathered 360+ survey responses to better understand the target demographic’s magazine readership, travel habits, and social media consumption.
secondary research
We performed multiple competitor analyses on everything from brand partnerships to social media strategy to understand where Airbnb Magazine stood among other magazines in terms of offline and online marketing.
interviews
Our team opted to do in-person interviews because we believed this was the best way to the most genuine insights. In order to gain the most genuine insights and reach beyond our immediate network, our team approached individuals at various coffee shops and libraries around UC Berkeley and the city of Berkeley to get a diverse pool of interviewees.
KEY POINTS:
The digital sphere largely influences how Gen Z obtains information
Gen Z seeks authentic content that relates to them on a deeper level
Interview Insights
surveys
In addition to our interviews, we distributed a survey to over 300 people to better quantify our data. Our survey contained 25 questions on the topics of magazine readership + preferences, travel habits and social media consumption.
KEY POINTS:
Gen Z values useful, creative content
Gen Z travels to gain authentic cultural and learning experiences.
Gen Z devours digital content and finds travel inspo via the internet
Survey Results
competitive analysis
To understand where Airbnb Magazine stands among other magazines in terms of offline and online marketing campaigns we performed 6+ competitor analyses. I focused on different ways publications took advantage of social media marketing and established their online presence. From our competitor analyses, we found that one of the easiest ways to create awareness in the digital age is to build a social media presence. At the current moment Airbnb Magazine does not have a social media of their own (independent of core-Airbnb brand), making it very hard for them to gain new readers. I worked on creating executions for three social media platforms: Instagram, Youtube and email newsletter.
Offline Marketing Competitive Analysis [AFAR Magazine]
Social Media Marketing Competitive Analysis [National Geographic]
Digital Media Competitive Analysis [Vogue]
SYNTHESIS
customer personas
After looking at our interviews and surveys, we noticed that our target audience fell into 2 groups: Gen Z readers and Paperless Gen Z. We created 3 user personas based on these two categorizations.
Gen Z Readers
Avid magazine readers— reading to gain new perspectives in industries and for aesthetics. After Airbnb Magazine’s marketing efforts and content generation focused on them, they will find a reason to stay engaged.
Paperless Gen Z
Not a magazine reader but embraces consuming content digitally. After Airbnb Magazine embraces the digital sphere and invests in an online presence for a longer period of time, customers like Peter can be acquired.
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Artistic Annie {Reader}
Annie, 21
Sociology
Interests: Arts, fashion
Use Case: Reads to relax and disconnect from social networks
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Explorer Isaac {Reader}
Isaac, 19
Computer Science
Interests: Business news
Use Case: Gain new perspectives to talk to people in the industry
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Wanderer Peter {Paperless Gen}
Peter, 22
Business
Interests: Investments
Use Case: Does not read because of time constraint and there are alternative digital platforms available
key insights
From our research we found two overarching themes that guided the final recommendations we made in our deliverable.
Transparency and Authenticity
Building a genuine personality for Airbnb Magazine through alternative marketing, cultivating values, and its unique, artistic origins
Venturing into the Digital Sphere
Fostering community engagement through digitization of magazine content and highlighting contributors online
EXECUTIONS
final recommendations
Our final recommendations had one of two goals - increasing awareness or increasing readership. Due to NDA restrictions I will only be providing examples of a few of the recommendations.
increasing awareness
From our competitor analyses, we found that one of the easiest ways to create awareness in the digital age is to build a social media presence. At the current moment Airbnb Magazine does not have a social media of their own (independent of core-Airbnb brand), making it very hard for them to gain new readers. I worked on creating executions for three social media platforms: Instagram, Youtube and email newsletter.
Instagram page example
increasing readership
Email newsletter example
In addition to increasing awareness, we were asked to devise ways to grow a regular reader/subscriber base. One of the main things, we suggested were a complete overhaul of the Airbnb Magazine website. Currently Airbnb Magazine’s digital presence comprises of two things: their landing page and their Medium page. Having two sites is confusing and unnecessary. As a part of the consulting team, I used my design expertise to prototype a redesign for the Airbnb Magazine site and suggestions for how to move the Medium content on to a native website.
