What Brands Can Learn From Airbnb’s Cultural Marketing Strategy
Some of the most innovative ads can be simple in theory yet powerful in execution. Recent marketing efforts by Airbnb showcased how the brand created the ad space instead of purchasing it. In this Ad campaign that circulated in late 2025 and early 2026, male and female shoppers are seen walking the streets in a busy city area with hilariously oversized shopping bags in Airbnb’s signature colour with the logo and in white letters various phrases such as, “This doesn’t go in your closet, it goes on your calendar”, “Experiences never go out of style”, “There’s a long weekend in here”, and “Impulse bought a life experience”. Nearby onlookers are seen pointing at the bag, laughing, or recording the incident on their phones; some even interact with it and look inside. The “big bag” concept represents the experiences and feelings users get when traveling.
Airbnb took a simple symbol of consumerism, the shopping bag, and flipped the script. Why purchase something when you can book time or have an experience instead? This powerful reframe is the whole message. What’s the more worthwhile investment- something for your closet that will go out of fashion in a few months? Or a long weekend with friends? And a memory and a trip you can remember long after the purchase has been made? The video footage also looks like organic user-generated content, an intentional choice. This formatting choice, along with the reframed narrative of what investments are worth to consumers', such as purchasing products or time, makes this an attention-grabbing ad and, more importantly, a very memorable one. According to YouGov, a global online community, Airbnb has scored higher in brand awareness than many of it’s competitors such as hotels and other rental platforms in a 2024 study.
While most ads and campaigns tend to focus on outcomes like conversion or clicks, Airbnb’s recent marketing efforts show that brand awareness is still a very valuable outcome on its own. Besides being a key player in global travel, Airbnb has also been a key player in cultural and live event experiences, Forbes shared. Their Chief Financial Officer Dave Stephenson, shared that Live events have spurred Airbnb bookings. During the Eras Tour (2023-2024), searches for Airbnbs in tour cities surged by 300%,” Stephenson shared. "We estimate that Airbnb bookings generated $77 million in direct economic impact in those cities.”
Other examples of the company capitalizing on major cultural events include the Paris Olympics, where 700,000 guests used Airbnb, according to Stephenson. And during the total solar eclipse in 2024, 500,000 travelers stayed in Airbnbs along the path of the eclipse, Stephenson highlighted. These moments reinforce the same idea behind the “big bag” campaign: people aren’t just buying a place to stay, they are investing in experiences they don’t want to miss.
While Airbnb doesn’t create the demand for these moments, the brand shows up where attention already exists. Brands looking to amplify their campaigns can take notes from Airbnb and support the consumer experience during cultural moments, instead of just advertising during it. Airbnb also leans heavily into emotional positioning.
Written by Hannah Lacy
Bio: Hannah Lacy is a digital content strategist with over seven years of experience in marketing and social media, and more than a decade of experience as a freelance writer contributing to various publications. A working mother of two school-aged children, she writes at the intersection of ambition and parenthood, with a passion for storytelling, advocating for working moms, and partnering with mission-driven brands and organisations.
Connect with her on LinkedIn or at hannahlacymedia@gmail.com.
