SAN FRANSISCO — According to The Drum, Brian Chesky — founder and CEO of Airbnb — has stated the Airbnb platform should be viewed as a media owner among creative agencies and brand marketers.
At the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity in France, Chesky encouraged creative professionals to consider his company’s platform as more than just a booking site for accommodations, but as a branding channel that can provide companies with effective marketing tools similar to Facebook and Instagram. This does not mean, however, there will be ads on the site, Chesky says.
To bolster his argument at the festival, the 35-year-old entrepreneur cited a campaign recently run by the Art Institute of Chicago, which demonstrated the effectiveness of the Airbnb platform as a media channel. The campaign showcased a room transformed into a replica of Van Gogh’s famous painting, The Bedroom, in which visitors could sleep for $10 per night.
“It was one of the most popular things we’ve ever done,” Chesky says, revealing the campaign resulted in a triple-figure leap in visits to the Art Institute and several Cannes Lions nominations.
The complete article from The Drum can be read here.
