Lockdown was coming to an end and people were starting to cautiously plan holidays again. This time they came to us asking if we would like to help them do research in their key markets to find out where the likelihood to travel was the highest. Many countries in Europe had by this point started lifting travel restrictions, which meant the timing for Omio’s new campaign couldn’t be any better. In fact, it was also the first time the European market was going to be properly introduced to the new Omio brand. This was also the perfect time to make new relationships with customers who hadn’t been travelling for a while. 

The key question still remained: in which market should Omio launch the campaign? Our Insights team carried out market research to find out people’s travel habits in all of Omio’s key European markets, including the likes of the UK, France and Germany. We found out that Italy was the market exhibiting the highest likelihood to travel, so why not place all our eggs in that basket? Based on this research, we then developed a media strategy focused on OOH to increase Omio’s brand awareness – placing the ads at high-traffic transit points and highways in big cities where would-be travellers were likely to take note.

More concretely, we tasked ourselves with increasing Omio’s brand awareness by 5% in Italy, and to be the first choice for Italian travellers when planning their first trip after lockdown. Omio were also keen to target non-locals living or travelling in Italy. That wasn’t all: our aim was also to increase their six key perception attributes, ensuring it was in line with their new brand promise. The perception attributes included: great customer service, reliability, making comparing travel options easy, innovation, optimistic & fun and encouraging new and meaningful ways of seeing the world. It’s not just about awareness after all: on a more granular level, Omio wanted Italian consumers to see them in a truly positive way.

We launched the multi-channel campaign in September with an always-on approach incorporating different mediums such as social media, music streaming, search engine, online video (OTT/CVT and YouTube), and podcast. On top of this, we executed a second big brand push in November with a national TV campaign and OOH (in maxi format) in Milan and Rome.

And how did the OOH campaigns go? Well, they went viral! With the creative made in-house by Omio’s team and utilising humour that played on the rivalries between the two big cities, we managed to make a social media splash. The ads were picked up by two satirical Instagram accounts, which combined have over two million followers. One of the posts featuring the ads generated more than 150k likes and 1.7k comments. With a fun, knowing and jovial tone, the ads also perfectly encapsulated Omio’s new perception attributes

The metrics don’t lie: Our follow up consumer surveys recorded over 140 million impressions across the campaigns, and we increased brand consideration by 2% points and general brand awareness by 7% points in Italy. There was also a spillover effect on travellers in Italy from other European countries, primarily from the UK, Germany and France, meaning Omio significantly increased its brand awareness in these markets as well. In the Android store, the app went from 66th place in April 2021 to 11th by November, with a similar uplift on iOS (53rd to 17th place). In terms of numbers, the campaign undeniably made a big impact – but what was even more impressive was that it started a conversation. Utilising the insights and media mind at DCMN, it was a story that incorporated many of our key strengths and one which truly helped the Omio brand get off the ground in one of its key markets. Ready to be moved?