Project Overview

Lonely Planet is the world’s leading guidebook publisher, providing travel advice and inspiration through print, web, mobile, TV, and social networks.
With the growth of online blogs and travels sites, Lonely Planet saw a need to celebrate the last 40 years of providing trusted content to their consumers, promoting awareness of its market leadership.
Having to increasingly compete with (potentially) untrustworthy online sources, the 40th anniversary campaign aimed to remind consumers Lonely Planet has the tools and knowledge to empower them to experience the world.

Project Commissioner

Lonely Planet

Project Creator

E2

Project Brief

The campaign addressed Lonely Planet’s two consumer markets - retail stakeholders and travellers.
The result was a dynamic integrated campaign capturing the heart and soul of the brand, through an idea encouraging consumers to celebrate personal travel experiences from the past 40 years.
Entrants were encouraged to submit their travel stories online through http://www.lonelyplanet.com/shareyourtravelstory/au, with the opportunity to create their own customised t-shirt for free and go in the draw to win $10,000 travel money. Supported by a guerrilla execution using travel stories as content, and in-store through branded communications, a colourful and measureable narrative evolved across retail networks and in above-the-line channels.
Retailers also participated in the campaign through visually merchandising their stores with POS, and wearing customised t-shirts with their own personal travel stories.

Project Need

Select hero personal travel stories were utilised in POS to drive customers in-store, and to encourage them to enter their own personal travel stories via the micro-site.

The stories assisted in building unique and personal narratives across the retail networks through a synergistic brand campaign across online and in-store.

The personalised branding developed by e2 meant that entrants and staff were able to customise narratives with their personal travel stories – extending the brand footprint through people carrying the Lonely Planet message. The campaign enabled wider engagement and social sharing with family and friends on Facebook – thus amplifying the in-store retail campaign. Customers were taken on a journey and as a result, travel was made top-of-mind.

Design Challenge

Having to increasingly compete with (potentially) untrustworthy online sources, the 40th anniversary campaign aimed to remind consumers Lonely Planet has the tools and knowledge to empower them to experience the world.

The objectives were to:
• Position Lonely Planet as the #1 Global Guidebook Publisher
• Drive consumers in-store to purchase Lonely Planet books
• Inspire future travel and encourage deeper relations with the brand across multiple platforms

The campaign was so successful that over 300 retailers participated in the promotion in Australia, and more than 200 retailers in NZ. The dynamic design and success of the campaign saw e2’s design being implemented in the United Kingdom, Asia and the United States.

Feedback has included:
• “Best promo ever!” Lonely Planet WA Sales Rep
• “Awesome campaign! Big thinking and a great idea. Love the ‘look and feel’ too,” Consumer Insights Manager, Lonely Planet
• “We have enjoyed promoting such a fun competition” Manager, Tasmanian Map Centre