Experiencing the greatest things the world has to offer through the lens of a phone is how traditional travel influencers work. What do they miss?
We Are Social Australia and Contiki have partnered on an initiative that flips the script on traditional travel influencer marketing. It challenged influencers to do the unthinkable- to switch off social media and fully embrace the travel experience.
The campaign took a diverse group of 17 influencers from the US and Australia, with a combined following of 20 million users predominantly aged 18-35, for an epic trip through Portugal and Spain. But in a category awash with the same tired travel content, Contiki and We Are Social challenged travel influencers to completely unplug from social media for the entire trip. Freed from the pressure of posting and seeking validation on social media, the influencers delved deeper into cultural experiences, formed meaningful relationships, and rediscovered the joy of living in the moment.
“As we continue to evolve the travel experience, we’re inspiring travellers[1] to truly engage with the world around them,” stated Melissa DaSilva, North America president, Contiki. “This campaign redefines the conventional use of social media in the tourism industry. It’s about inspiring the audience to rediscover the real essence of travel – connections made, cultures explored, and memories created away from the digital gaze.”
Throughout the social experiment, Contiki’s channels provided fans with sneak peeks of the trip through engaging video content, capturing the essence of the journey and the authentic connections made by the participants. The 7-day journey was documented with over 30,000 photos and 40 hours of footage produced, which were edited into short and long-form videos, from casual vlogs to beautifully edited films that highlight the joy of immersive travel.
After reconnecting online, the creators shared their experiences, enriched by their time offline, sharing their stories and answering questions from the audience.
The campaign is running globally across Instagram Reels, YouTube, TikTok, and other digital platforms, published across Contiki and the influencers’ channels.
Ben Clare, executive creative director at We Are Social, commented, “For younger generations, never before has the pressure to immortalise a holiday or experience into a flawless social media post been so great. But doing so ironically detracts from the joy of travel and being fully present in the moment. It’s obviously pretty unconventional to engage travel influencers in a way that actually reduces their time online, but so far it’s proven to be a powerful message: travel is more enriching when you live in the moment, not just capture it.”
Credits
Client: Contiki
VP of Marketing and Communications: Rita Kelly
Global Brand & Partnerships Director: Rachel Storey
Director of Marketing: Yuri Park
Senior Marketing Manager: Natalie Turner
Head of Creative Communications: Dominic Oliver
Creative Agency: We Are Social
Account Director: Polina Patroucheva
Group Account Director: Helene Ioakimidis
Strategy Director: Russ Mitchinson
Executive Creative Director: Ben Clare
Associate Editorial Director: Michele Danno
Creative: Camden Chan
Editorial Director: Ruaridh O’Donnell
Executive Producer: Lucinda Hayden
Designer: Cynthia Vu
Production Company: My Media Sydney
Director: Mikki Young
Creative Director: Mitchell McKay
Head of Design and Post Production: Phillip Antonio Lemos
Affiliate Marketing Agency: All-Inclusive Marketing
Director of Strategic Operations: Jen Watson
Account Director: Natalie Fillion
Account Manager: Nate Sielk
