A new data-driven ‘Rivals Reunited’ campaign by Booking.com – leveraging its position as the Official Accommodation Partner of UEFA Euro 2020 – seeks to prove that travel ‘opens minds and changes preconceived notions surrounding other nations, even those who we consider rivals’.
Created by agency Officer & Gentleman (with production by Caviar Brussels and Director Thomas Ralph), the campaign challenges the perspective of many that Europe is a continent divided and that when a major football tournament like the Euros starts tensions run high and historical rivalries come to the forefront.
But, according to research by the travel brand, while the Euros leads to increased enthusiastic banter among European football fans, those rivalries stay on the pitch. So Booking.com set out to share its findings around the first Euro tournament ever to take pace in 11 different venues across the continent.
The planning stage saw the brand and agency team study the data linked to the teams/countries competing in the competition analysing the relationships between them: by exploring the number of trips, scores, reviews and endorsements that travelers from each one of the countries left on the site after their trips within Europe.
The results revealed that the countries that are considered the biggest ‘rivals’ are, in many cases, actually each other’s biggest fans. Thus showing that rational data reveals powerful emotional insights which shed a new light on football fan rivalry.
Amongst the most interesting statistics were:
⦁ France is a favourite destination for German travellers, who rate their trips with an average of 8.3.
⦁ Belgians rate their Dutch hosts as “Very Good” with an average score of 8.3.
⦁ Italy is a favourite destination for Spanish travellers, who rate their visits with an average (8.5).
⦁ England is the number one destination for Scottish travellers.
⦁ The average rating by European travellers within the continent is “Fabulous”.8.8
⦁ “Love” appears in 1.4 million reviews by Europeans travelling within Europe.
⦁ “Friendly” has been mentioned over 2.5 million times in reviews
⦁ London is the most visited capital by European travellers.
⦁ 62% of European football fans have travelled to enjoy the beautiful game.
The findings were brought to life in an integrated campaign launched on 7 June and led by a hero TV/online spot, plus bumpers, social assets and YouTube pre-rolls, and in-stadium executions, plus fan-zone screens and print ads.
The creative features a series of scenes shot in different parts of Europe blended with some of the most famous Euros football moments to show how the football family actually comes together to celebrate their passion for the beautiful game and for overseas travel.
The campaign includes the copy line “They say we’re rivals. We know we’re friends” and the hashtag #RivalsReunited.
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