Group trips are frequent suggestions – that rarely happen. The group trip rarely leaves the group chat, and friends across the US are left with broken promises and unrealised travel dreams. New KAYAK research reveals that 84% of travellers have had a group trip that never made it beyond the planning stage, with plans spending an average of one to three months in group chat limbo. The culprit? 90% of travellers say it comes down to one friend who just won’t commit. 

Rethink and Kayak have come up with a solution. Bookboards sends non-committal friends a booking reminder that’s impossible to ignore – billboard-sized reminders placed across New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. The fleet of digital billboards will feature personalised callouts for nominated friends, popping up near their offices and neighbourhoods that encourage them to commit, while inspiring bystanders to finally make that group trip happen. 

A 74-second hero film stars actress, comedian, and content creator, Grace Reiter, alongside her real-life friend and American High co-star, Julia Dicesare. The spot imagines what happens when group chat pressure spills into the real world, as increasingly impossible Bookboards follow Grace everywhere – from bus stops and Times Square to her latte foam and even a barking dog. In the end, Julia reveals that Grace has been the target all along – the friend who never commits to the trip, before inviting viewers to nominate their own travel procrastinator at kayak.com/bookboards. 

Travellers eager to book can nominate their group chat for a Bookboard from July 21 through August 4. Throughout August, KAYAK will select top submissions to appear.

The Bookboards campaign also extends across OLV, OOH, social content, earned media, and a landing page.

Tara Lawall, CCO, NY at Rethink, commented, “Bookboards started with a simple insight: ignoring a message in a group chat is easy, but ignoring a personalized billboard is a lot harder. We loved the idea of turning digital procrastination into a real-world experience that people could participate in, creating a campaign that’s as interactive as it is entertaining.”

Carolina Montenegro, SVP global brand marketing at KAYAK, added, “Group trips often stall for one simple reason: everyone is waiting on that one friend to commit. We saw an opportunity to have some fun with a frustration that’s almost universal among travelers while showcasing how KAYAK can help turn good intentions into booked trips. ‘Bookboards’ brings that group chat dynamic into the real world in a way that’s playful, relatable, and hopefully gives people the nudge they need to finally hit ‘book’.”