"It's not just about doing the deals. At MEC Access, we create insights-driven strategies and solutions that meet brands' objectives, develop and implement innovative partnership campaigns, and track the results. For us, it's all about impartiality, creativity and effectiveness."
The competitive German leisure travel industry is dominated by three tour operators, each backed with a heavyweight ad spend. Our challenge was to create a launch campaign for Shoestring, a new web-based travel brand selling adventure holidays in exotic remote destinations. We had to generate brand awareness and trust with a smart yet inexpensive campaign
Students love to explore new countries, share adventurous travel experiences and find new international friends. If we could generate excitement among the student community, they could act as effective, enthusiastic ambassadors for the Shoestring brand
We developed the Shoestring Cube, a huge eye-catching structure. Without any warning, the Cube would appear on campus...but remain closed during the first day, with only the web address displayed. This created an intriguing sense of anticipation, prompting students to visit the website. The next day the Cube would open, enabling students to step into the world of the Shoestring travel experience.
Next, we offered students the chance to win a ‘dream internship', working for Shoestring at one of their destinations. This offer was circulated via social networking sites, prompting them to visit a Shoestring microsite where they could view video clips and apply for the dream job.
To generate word-of-mouth, we ran a competition for student travel writers. The best 16 entries won a trip to South East Asia with Shoestring's founder, blogging to friends and colleagues back home about their experiences
