The brief

Travel Republic needed to stand out amongst the glut of online travel operators - increase its visitor numbers, bookings and revenue.

The strategy

Back in 2019, there was a clear issue: Britain had never been more in need of some time away. Fraught with increased stress, longer working hours and a constant supply of miserable news… record numbers of people were searching Google with the phrase: “I need a holiday”.

More specifically, our research showed there were certain ‘trigger moments’ when this need for a holiday was apparent: when you’d spent too long scrolling through your phone, maybe feeling detached from your partner… or simply seeing friends’ holiday photos and feeling envious.

Our creative idea was to tap into all these triggers, and be the brand that recognised when it’s “Time to Travel Republic”

The creative

The idea was brought to life by a new ‘travel watch’ - played by comedian Kojo Anim - a tiny man who pops up on your watch in the moments when you need him most, to do a little salsa dance, and tell you that even in testing times life is for living and sunshine is for the taking. 

Kojo appears in comms across all channels, including TV, radio and social - as well as on Travel Republic’s website and in app. The campaign also features idents for ITV’s hit-show Take Me Out, where Kojo in his new watch face helps people pick their holiday of choice.

The results

Since the campaign launch (pre Covid lockdown) the branch has achieved over a 20% increase in site visits, bookings and and revenue (exact figures are confidential). This includes a 107% increase in bookings for Dubai (some like it hot).