COMMUNITY GENERATED BRAND

An example of collaboration and small, trusting teams delivering above their weight, from leading R/GA, SF

Airbnb launched a new brand identity, and because they are powered by their community, they wanted a brand that can be shared and distributed. Our team came up with a Create platform, allowing Airbnb to do something no brand has ever done: hand the brand over to the community to let them constantly reinterpret it. 

Cross-team collaboration sessions at Airbnb with dev, brand, design and UX

Cross-team collaboration sessions at Airbnb with dev, brand, design and UX

ROLE
Executive Creative Director, R/GA SF
Pitch & scope
Team and client integration model
Concept & strategy
Hands on guidance on visual, XD, copy, creative/dev team & working model

On-site client review and demo days showing progress on the configurator tool

On-site client review and demo days showing progress on the configurator tool - Thank you Zarni Ko!

COMPONENTS:
Responsive site/ web app
Symbol generator
Story aggregator
Social integration
Social response

Within the site, a custom symbol tool allowed users to tell and share their personal story about the brand (host and or guest perspective)

Within the site, a custom symbol tool allowed users to tell and share their personal story about the brand (host and or guest perspective)

WHAT I LEARNED
Collaborative environment and culture can transcend any challenge. Create was a collaboration of talented designers from within Airbnb, their partner, Design Studio and our design and dev team. What could have been a struggle instead became an open environment for elevating the quality of work and rational compromise. On-site time, blended teams and flattening of hierarchy made the difference.

RESULTS:
1000+ symbols and stories created per day and shared across social media from launch in Aug 2014 (tracked over six months)

+ BRAND LAUNCH SUPPORT
In addition to the responsive site and tool, our team led a social content lab at launch. We anticipated a lot of conversation, some of it positive, some snarky. We needed to be prepared with smart decisions about what to embrace and what to ignore. We created dozens of content pieces in a tricky moment for the brand that helped own the conversation.