EMILY HAMBLYN

The brief set by the Anya Hindmarch team gave us three key areas of research; Chinese customers, travel and digital marketing.  

We split the research up according to the brief. Within the Chinese customer we looked at; the affluent youth; the learning economy and personalisation trends. Within travel we looked at; Chinese destination trends; holiday activity trends and what luxury travel means to the Chinese consumer in 2018. Lastly, within digital, we looked at the digital market; effectiveness of influencers 

and what it means to have a 'worldly view' thanks to technology.   

We conducted further research using interviews and focus groups in addition to the secondary research. Through this primary and secondary research we came up with an overarching big idea: 'To use the digital sharing economy of Air Bnb to create a personalized travel experience for the Chinese consumer creating awareness of Anya Hindmarch.'  

Airbnb is already well established in China, statistics taken from their website show that 8.6 million Chinese guests use Airbnb when travelling abroad and 80% of these guests are millennials. In addition to this, it is the number one travel brand sought out by affluent Chinese women. We knew that Anya could benefit from collaborating with Airbnb to reach new consumers and raise awareness for the brand. 
 

The consumer journey illustrates how the digital campaign would manifest online. Initial exposure will be in the form of a banner on the Air Bnb website. The Anya branded banner would be promoting a 'travel personality test'. The travel test would provide you with an 'Anya edit'. Designed to advise you on the type of traveller you are, accompanied by Anya travel products. If customers go on to book a holiday through Air Bnb they will receive a Anya branded travel pack on arrival.  

Through interactive focus groups, questionnaires and media diaries we were able to understand why and where the luxury consumer travels. We asked specific questions surrounding the use of Air Bnb; what they liked about the app and how they researched travel. This gave us insights into social media such and Weibo. The consumer profiles highlighted the different shopping habits and behaviours within the same demographic of luxury traveller.  

What do we know so far?  

As our ideas began to form we started to shape how this would manifest visually. We took note of what the consumer already connects with on digital platforms, as well as taking inspiration from the minimalist design of Air Bnb; and general travel visuals. This led us to how we wanted to brand our big idea.  

The goal of the personality test is to provide consumers with a fun and interactive way of finding out what type of traveller they are. This will also provide the data required to build their personalised edit. In addition to this, results can provide valuable data for Anya Hindmarch as a brand, learning more about their consumer’s behaviour.  

The results to the personality test will reveal to consumers what type of traveller they are. Once they have chosen their Airbnb Plus location. They will receive a short paragraph detailing their style, recommended Airbnb experiences, the type of Anya bag they would suit. All of this adds to their personalised experience at the highest quality.   

When they arrive at the Airbnb, they will find a pack of personalised postcards. These include a map, a handwritten letter from a local, tailored recommendations on food and drink as well and activities they can take part in.
 

The campaign needed a way of entering the market and in an impactful and exciting way. We knew about the power of the influencers to young Chinese consumers. The idea would be for influencer’s presence and real-time experience to unfold through social media and spark initial buzz.