Charting Airbnb's path from newcomer to category leader

Have you ever wondered how Airbnb grew to be the brand it is today? Well, today we're charting that journey, with a particular focus on Airbnb's story tactic and evolution of their brand identity.

Just a note, I will be referring to brand identity as a persona or “the hero”. A brand persona doesn't always have to be the ideal customer – it's a personification of the brand, a symbol of the values and purpose, but it usually shares the same values as the ideal customer.

Intro  

Airbnb started out as a newcomer in 2008 as a simple alternative to expensive hotels, where you could rent out an air mattress to people who were looking for a place to stay for a few days. Overnight, Airbnb created a whole new kind of vacation just by providing spaces other than hotels to stay.

The Launch

Airbnb launched into the travel space with a brand persona that we will call “The hero”. We saw the hero set the scene and focus on the problem or pain point and tee up the solution (expensive hotels). This serves as a call to adventure for potential customers, helping them understand what Airbnb does and—more importantly—why they should care. 

Here, clarity wins. See in the left header image how clearly Airbnb focuses on the point of difference, a new way to travel for people who are tired of staying in cold, expensive hotels, and offers a clear alternative: find a more homely, affordable place to stay.  

At this point, Airbnb was largely offering functional benefits - affordability, ease, simplicity, but you'll see how over time, the functionality evolves to something much more meaningful.  

The Pivot

As Airbnb built recognition, they realised they had outgrown the original Airbnb brand. Time for a rebrand. Here, we can see the move into character development and from functional to emotional. The hero becomes a symbol of the company's values & purpose (belonging and connection) forging a deeper relationship with customers and encouraging brand advocacy and loyalty for the long haul. 

With one iconic move, Airbnb became synonymous with belonging: no matter where you are in the world, you can still feel at home. This is also the point that Airbnb started to tap into the customer's emotional needs and the emotional benefits that the product could provide.  

There’s a thirst for authentic storytelling; local lifestyles, customs and culture, transformative moments. Forget the overpriced hotel restaurant, wouldn't you rather sample homemade pecorino stuffed tortellini while your host tells you stories about her childhood in Tuscany? 

The Evolution

Once Airbnb had become a household name, they found ways to evolve their product and offer even more variation to a holiday. With the story of what and why now established, our hero evolves once again. This time, it's all about putting the product front and centre: optimisation for performance and conversion, above all. 

If there’s one big takeaway to think more about, it has to be their simplified UX experience with keeping personalisation in mind. 

 An Eclectic Community

Like any good hero, ours is never done evolving! Once we’ve cycled through these 3 phases, we rinse and repeat. Highlight a new problem that you want to solve, or a value that sets you apart – with Airbnb's case, they keep nurturing their thriving community of hosts with a thorough content strategy, and doubled down on their uniqueness with an eclectic range of search categories and homes. That's how to stay relevant. 

It’s worth noting that each of these stages can take years. As a strategist, I see a lot of clients tempted to jump straight to the conversion-driven hero. While this may work in the short term, it can leave you vulnerable to competitors who've taken the time to develop and evolve the story part. 

It's really important for brands to be aware of which phase they're at, and to move between each slowly and strategically, rather than just jump from one to the other without a second thought. 

The bottom line

Where do you think Airbnb could go from here? Can you guess their next move? If you've got any fun ideas or thoughts, just hit “reply” to this email! 

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