Home away paper

INDEX

#01

#05

Assignment

Effect on Proof & Product

#02

#06

About BrandKey

Effect on Communication & Campaign

#03

#07

Old HomeAway BrandKey

BrandStory & Tagline

#04

#08

New HomeAway BrandKey

Sources

2

WORD FOREWORD FOREWORD FOREWORD FOREWORD FOREWOR
3

FOREWORD
Why
Last December BrandWebbing was asked by HomeAway to assist in the construct of an improved brand position and
promise. BrandWebbing, as a strategy agency is eager to oblige and assist. As strategic reference we can provide the
solutions we’ve devised for Sara Lee, ICS VIsaCard, Sonos and WE Fashion.

Strategic roadmap for HomeAway to guide the continuing

This document can function as a
process of communication in an ever chancing landscape.

4

NMENT ASSIGNMENT ASSIGNMENT ASSIGNMENT ASSIGNMENT AS
5

ASSIGNMENT
“A good strategy is always based on insights”
The assignment

Approach

We define 2 parts within the assignment:
A) Strategy: in which domain, insights, tactics and
proposition are defined and
Delivery: in which the strategy is rolled out and
drives the communication.
These parts are always in sequence, as Delivery can
only be executed after the Strategy is agreed upon.
BrandWebbing can play a role in both parts, however
we will now focus on the Strategy part.

Phase 1
A good strategy is always based on insights. These
insights occur when two forms of raw materials collide;
the specific and the general.

B)

Strategy: A well balanced document, including
references and relevant examples on how Home Away
can seize the opportunities in 2014. This strategy will
be the product of a collaboration between Home Away
(with Amélie Malfoy in the lead) and BrandWebbing
(with Rembrandt Smids in the lead). BrandWebbing is
responsible for a timely delivery within the agreed
upon timeframe. The Strategy will include a paper (this
document) and a slide deck (PowerPoint) to explain
and convey the chosen route.

The Home Away specific materials will be mined out of
desktop research and face-to-face session(s) between
Home Away and BrandWebbing.
For the general materials we can draw from our own
extended base. This base covers the five fields of
BrandWebbing: Marketing/Advertising/Media/Design
& Tech as well as general subjects like art, fashion,
trends, research, economy, etc.
You can see an extract of these subjects in our digital
magazine @ http://magazine.brandwebbing.com
Phase 2
After the collection of the raw materials we will order
the insights in a new or relevant order which helps the
direction of the strategy. This will be the preliminary
report set up by BrandWebbing.

Delivery: If and when Home Away is content with the
strategy, BrandWebbing can perform execution in the
form of campaigning or guidance of campaigning. This
goes for creation as well as media & tech on local or
pan-European levels.
For now, our aim is to devise a strategy to
sharpen/adjust the Home Away brand and reframe the
proposition. A well-grounded and practical strategy
will start that transformation.

6

Phase 3
This phase is about the ‘fermentation’ of these ideas.
This can be seen in using both parts of our brain
(System 1 and System 2, Daniel Kahneman) to actively
and passively think about the items in the preliminary
report. At the end of phase 3 its time to have a
thorough discussion between Home Away and
BrandWebbing about the direction and options.
Phase 4
The optimization of the actual strategy report and the
presentation. This usually takes 2 to 3 feedback loops.
The writing will be done by BrandWebbing with
feedback by email and telephone (or skype).
Phase 5
Disclosing the strategy to the organization. Get
feedback from all levels and adapt the plan to the
relevant environment. This is usually where additional
ideas get added to the strategy, which is good because
it now it exists in more heads (and hearts). This is
where the strategy part ends and the delivery part can
begin.

7

OUT BRANDKEY ABOUT BRANDKEY ABOUT BRANDKEY ABOUT BRA
8

ABOUT BRANDKEY
“Through the keyhole”
The BrandKey
is a model that can be used to position brands. This
model is used in a range of different organizations,
comes in different shapes and sizes, and has got
different names (such as Brand Box), making its
origin not entirely clear.
At Unilever, they use the model in the format
presented in this paper. The model names nine
steps/ stages that can lead to differentiating and
relevant brand positioning: (1) root strengths
(2) competitive environment, (3) target,
(4) consumer insight, (5) benefits,
(6) values & personality, (7) reasons to believe,
(8) discriminator and (9) brand essence.
The BrandKey is all about taking stock of all relevant
information, by putting some succinct points to paper
for these nine subjects. In doing so, you
can make a distinction between describing the
current situation ('ist', which is referred to as the
master key in this model) and a separate
description of the future, desired situation ('soll';
in this model the vision key).
Important to recognize is that point 1 through 4
are external and 5 through 9 are internal. Of
equal importance is the notion that a BrandKey
Is for internal use, it is not a slogan or payoff.
These follow the BrandKey.
At Unilever, a separate BrandKey is
completed for each extension/brand. This
is the same method used in our meeting on
16-12-2013 and will be reflected in this
paper.

9

MEAWAY BRANDKEY OLD HOMEAWAY BRANDKEY OLD HOMEAWAY
10

OLD BRANDKEY
Workshop
In the BrandKey workshop on 16-12-2012 at the
HomeAway European headquarters we used all the
available brand information, market information and
competitor analysis to complete the ‘Ist’ BrandKey of
the current situation for HomeAway.

“We’re not bringing the
houses to the travelers, but
the travelers to the houseowners!”
1) Root Strengths
Official mission: make every vacation rental available
to all travelers.
Mission in practice: make every traveler available for
vacation rental owners.
Vision: Vacation rentals are better than
hotels.

Strengths: HomeAway is the biggest.
2) Competition
•
Airbnb
•
Tripadvisor e.o.
•
Local players
•
Meta search-sites
3) Target (audience)
Pre-families (10%)
Families (40%)
Empty nesters (50%)

4) Insights
Hotels aren’t friendly for families.
Vacation rentals feel like home; a lot of amenities,
privacy and space.
What people are looking for is cleanliness, well cared
for properties and safety. HomeAway can supply all
that.
5) Benefits (of HomeAway)
The largest number of vacation rentals and therefore a
lot of choice. Also a fair amount of unique properties/
A trusted party as the global leader.
6) Values, Benefits & Personality (of HomeAway)
HomeAway is about family
HomeAway is male
HomeAway is American
If we had to choose a face to the brand it would be
Lance Armstrong (without the doping affair).
7) Reasons to believe(of HomeAway)
HomeAway has provided the most
vacation rental holidays in the world.
8) Discriminator(of HomeAway)
HomeAway is the worlds leading
online marketplace for vacation
rentals
9) Essence (of HomeAway)
The biggest choice in vacation rentals

Also there is a split between the short
stay < 3 days and the longer stay
> 3 days, HomeAway is more
Relevant for the latter.

11

Analysis of the old BrandKey
Schizophrenic
HomeAway is unclear in its communication who it’s
rooting for. There are 2 audiences; the travelers and
the owners. Although this is logical from a business
point of view, it is confusing in the communication.
One example; as a traveler, you are not looking for a
vacation rental, but a nice house to have the best
holiday. The word ‘rental’ is mostly logical from a
owners point of view.
We advice to make a clear choice in communication.

Cold and Blue
The current BrandKey shows a ‘cold’ and almost
clinical approach to the matter at hand. The choice of
color, functionality and language feels like a techcompany, when holidays should feel (more) like
warmth and empathy.
Also here is some schizophrenia in the ‘warm’ pay-off
“lets stay together”. This is emotional and its also
overpromising. HomeAway cant deliver this! At most
HomeAway, and its solutions, is part of the equation,
not the full solution.
We advice to adopt more warm/red elements. Further
on in this paper we propose a solution in a dual brand
strategy.

Wording and phrasing
We, as a species, communicate by language. Especially
when we’re not face to face, wording and phrasing is
extremely important to convey your meaning. We
propose some wording upgrades and changes.
Vacation Rental  Holiday Home
Property  Holiday Home
Travelers  Holidayers
User  Visitor
Global  in the world

Airbnb
Before Airbnb, HomeAway was on the other end of the
spectrum compared to hotels. Now Airbnb is in play,
HomeAway moved to the middle.
This demands an adaptation of the brand position.

HomeAway vs Hotels
Hotels are impersonal, professional, a little slice of
luxury all wrapped in one. They usually does not
accommodate family's and groups of friends. This is
where HomeAway comes in. With the biggest selection
of holiday rentals, HomeAway provides the travelers a
personal and unique experience in a specific place.

HomeAway vs Airbnb
Airbnb is even more personal than HomeAway. Airbnb
is about the human experience , it plays into the role
of ‘host’ and ‘guest’. Its more urban, more a
‘movement’ than a company.
HomeAway can’t (with its current proposition) outwarmth Airbnb, just because its more of a company.

Stuck in the middle
HomeAway is caught between Hotels and Airbnb. Is
this a terrible place to be? No, its actually a good place
to make money, as the player in the middle can
expand both sides.
However from a branding perspective the middle is a
difficult place to be. Its hard to claim the middle as you
can’t claim an extreme.
Its time for HomeAway to stop being anti-hotel or
anti-airbnb. Just be HomeAway, the biggest and best
solution if your looking for a vacation rental.

12

DKEY NEW HOMEAWAY BRANDKEY NEW HOMEAWAY BRANDKEY
13

NEW BrandKey
Insights
Based on the insights discussed at the BrandKey
workshop, we’ve constructed a new BrandKey. This
version should be able to guide the brand decisions for
the next 3 years.

“Carpe festis”
1) Root Strengths
Mission : make every holiday home shareable.
Vision: a holiday home just delivers more holiday
Strengths: HomeAway offers the largest choice of
holiday homes.
2) Competition
•
Airbnb (warm)
•
Trip advisor a.o. (tepid)
•
Hotels (cold)
3) Target (audience)
Holidayers who want to get the most
out of (their)
- Holiday
- Family
- Accommodation
- Destination
- Budget
- Service
In 2 (Latin ) words: CARPE FESTIS,
(seize/enjoy the holiday)

4) Insights
A holiday home just gives you more holiday.
You want to have a lot of choice to get to your perfect
holiday home.
Holiday homes (by HomeAway) are clean, save and
spacious.
If only more people would know about the benefits of
holiday homes, more people would get more out of
their holiday and tell more people about it.
5) Benefits (of HomeAway)
The largest choice in holiday homes, including many
you won’t find anywhere else.
The most trusted marketplace for holiday homes
Easy to use and easy to book
I can get my holiday inspiration there.
6) Values, Benefits & Personality (of HomeAway)
HomeAway can be seen as a family name. The
family is all about providing holidayers with
the right holiday home. In the ‘golden
circle construct of Simon Sinek we see
the following believe system (next
page)
7) Reasons to believe (HomeAway)
HomeAway does have the largest
choice of holiday homes in the world
8) Discriminator(of HomeAway)
HomeAway is the worlds leading
online marketplace for holiday homes.

9) Essence (of HomeAway)
The largest choice of holiday homes

14

Simon Sinek: Golden circle

Golden Circle HomeAway

WHY
HomeAway wants everybody to get the most out of their holiday.

HOW
By making all the worlds holiday homes available, because a holiday home provides you with more holiday.

WHAT
Everything that’s needed to make this possible: websites, mobile apps, social platform, financial products,
concierge services etc.

15

The HomeAway couple
[not literally, but figuratively]
HomeAway provides you with everything you need to find your perfect holiday home. However this is not one
person, its two. It’s a couple, and their family name is HomeAway.
This couple is well traveled, knows the world and the people living in it. They are hedonists. They know what
something should cost and want to get the best deal. They believe in the strength of family and they build and
trust on this.
Most of all they’re helpful. They are more about giving than receiving. They would love to help you find the best
holiday home in the world. Help you with your questions and also have some nice tips and tricks for you based
in their own experience.

♂
The male part is all about search, finding, the right deal, being the best, beating the competition. If you partnerup with the male HomeAway, you know you’ve made the right choice. You will be secure, and you know you
have someone to count on. He is the core of the HomeAway couple.

♀
The female part is all about intuition and discovery. She will look for the exciting things in holiday homes. Where
he is about search, she is about discovery. She will put up lists of the best beaches to build sandcastles , she will
write articles about discovering a holiday house & will respond to news about traveling.
She will inspire you
And when you’re inspired, and want to book or search, she will bring you to her husband.

16

& PRODUCT PROOF & PRODUCT PROOF & PRODUCT PROOF & PRO
17

PROOF & PRODUCT
“ Walk the talk”
If HomeAway wants to claim the new BrandKey, don't
just talk the talk, but more important: walk the walk.
As Seth Godin (marketing guru) explains in his book:
The purple cow: ‘We need to make remarkable
products that will almost sell themselves’.
To proof the BrandKey, HomeAway needs to address
at least the following issues.

Stay the biggest
If you claim to have the greatest collection of holiday
homes, you need to be able to proof it. So keep
investing in that position.

Be best in search &
booking
If ease of use is one of your benefits, you need to
prove is. So have the best search interface, the easiest
user interface and the most seamless booking system.

Show the love for the
Holiday Homes
…

Make use of all the love the house owners have for
their place. Use their passion. Preferably in video’s as
that is the most shareable content on the web. Let
them talk about what makes their home special, the
sunset, the architecture, etc.

Make it personal
Steal good ideas. Airbnb makes good use of profiles.
Both travelers and hosts have extended profiles and
pictures on the site. This makes it REAL and the place
to stay feels closer.
Incorporate good profiles and pictures in the
HomeAway site.

Take away the worry
A holiday is important. And booking it through a
website might feel tricky. However HomeAway has a
good system in place and is trustworthy. Improve on
showing the security and quality of service.

Male and Female
Invest in the 2 parts as described. To give the female
part enough to have her own perspective we need
extensive labeling/tagging of the holiday houses, also
on intuitive and inspirational levels.
e.g:
For an article about home cooking, we would need to
know which houses have a kitchen garden.

For a list about the most beautiful sunsets we need to
know from which gardens of which houses you can
actually see the sunset.
For a blog post about the World Cup soccer we need to
know which houses have a soccer pitch in the garden.
Etc.

18

COMMUNICATION & CAMPAIGN COMMUNICATION & CAMPAIGN
19

COMMUNICATION
& CAMPAIGN
“ Walk the talk”
In the end the BrandKey is for internal use, and this
needs to be translated by the organization towards the
(potential) clients. This is something that will grow
over time, and develop campaign to campaign.
However we can give the most important pointers we
see based on the analyses and holistic data available
on consumer behavior.

Social
A holiday is a social occasion. Push for more social
engagement on the HomeAway platform. Use the
Earned media to spread the word.

Mobile
Mobile will surpass the regular web in Q1 of 2014.
More and more traffic will come from mobile.
However advertising and especially PPC is difficult on
mobile. Invest in mobile ready content.

Content Marketing
…

Not only on mobile, but also on the regular web
content marketing or native advertising is on the rise.
Research shows that ALL clicks on banner ads are being
done by only 8% of the population. Content marketing
gives HomeAway the opportunity to connect with the
remaining 92%. The new BrandKey makes this more
possible than before.

Male and Female
Also make use of the 2 entities in campaigning. Play
good cop / bad cop to counter the Hotels or Airbnb.

Birdhouse
Make use of the positive birdhouse mark. Provide
bookers with a ‘stencil’ to build their own birdhouse
from paper of cardboard. Give incentives to house
owners to put up HomeAway birdhouses. Have
competitions to take a ‘selfie’ with the HomeAway
birdhouses at the holiday homes.

Advertising on
HomeAway.com
We do recognize that the display adverting on the
HomeAway site provides a steady revenue. However it
diminishes the value perception of the service
provided to the traveler/holidayer. We assume also
that the site without 3rd party adverting would have a
higher conversion rate.
To prove this we advice to have a split run. One part
with and one part without 3rd party adverting, to see
the difference in both advertising and booking
revenue.

20

NDSTORY & TAGLINE BRANDSTORY & TAGLINE BRANDSTORY & TAG
21

BRAND STORY
& TAGLINE
“Back in the day…”
Brand story
Function of a Brand story
Brand stories are there to convince the world of your
motives. To explain your ‘golden circle’ in a
comprehensive, human way. Ever since men was able
to talk we’ve used stories to convey the most
important lessons. Airbnb uses a lot of storytelling in
their communication. This seem to work for them and
this tactic can also be used for the benefits of
HomeAway.
The best stories have similar structures. This structures
can be used as a tool to construct a brand story that
works.
We need a Hero (the holidayer) who has an existing
structure (his/her family). The Hero then has a
Conflict, a setback or misfortune. At the lowest point
the Enabler (HomeAway) arrives and helps the Hero to
climb out of the Conflict. He/She triumphs and the
Moral of the story becomes evident to the audience.
The End.
Example 1 of the HomeAway brand story
A couple of years ago, I was working in an office as a
sales manager. When we came up to the fourth
quarter it became quite clear that it would be very,
very hard to reach the sales target for that year. My
reaction was to just work harder. First I started to work
late, then started to work during the weekends and
eventually I spend about half of my nights at the office
as it was too late to really go home.
Off course this didn’t go over well with my wife. She
started complaining that the kids stopped eating
properly if I was not home and that I was getting more
and more agitated. However I could not break my new
habit of overworking.

Finally also my colleagues started complaining that I’d
become an unpleasant man. First to me, later to my
boss. And then it happened.
My boss directed me in his office and demanded I
would take a leave of absence. He insisted I would stay
in his vacation house in the mountains with my family.
After some initial pushback I gave in. I took my wife
and the boys, they were 9 and 12 at the time, to the
house. It was brilliant! All that space, no hassle, the
nature. I took the boys fishing and in the evenings I
had some long talks with my wife by the fireplace. I
came back a different, much more pleasant man.
From this I learned that to perform, everybody needs
some real quality vacation now and then. And a
holiday home delivers that for me. All those benefits,
freedom…. Everything I need to unwind.
And ever since, I’ve been spreading the word. People
should just enjoy those spaces. The luxury of having a
home away from home.
That’s when the idea was born: we need to share all
holiday homes together. To make that happen in the
real world the internet was the solution to match the
homes with the holidayers... And HomeAway was born
Example 2 of the HomeAway brand story
Back in the day I went on holiday with my wife and
kids. The kids where four and six year old and because
it just seemed like a good idea we booked a hotel at
the ocean side. However when we came to the hotel,
the family room was no family room at all. There were
2 rooms, and not even together. The 2nd room was 3
doors down the hall. So I ended up with my son, the 4
year old in the room, and my wife with my daughter as
we do not trust them in a room without supervision.
When I also discovered the next day that the meals
were not included and the whole week would cost me
about double, I decided to pack up our stuff, gather my
family and leave.

22

The kids yelling, my wife angry, my holiday ruined, all
before it really began.
Then when I was packing the things in the car, the kids
still screaming, I dropped my suitcase and it sprung
open and all my wife's clothes were spread out all over
the parking lot.
A guy walks up to me, George, and he starts helping
me to gather the stuff, his wife Annie lends a hand
also, without me even asking. So we start up a
conversation. And George is so gentle, so well
mannered, so Zen, that I asked him what his secret is…
A holiday home he replies. He owns a 2nd home just up
the coast and it always gives him the recharging he
needs to cope with life. And the guy offers us to stay at
his house for the rest of the week as he is heading back
to town anyway.
We had the best week of our life! The kids played on
the beach, we had a BBQ out on the deck, a swimming
pool and all the space we could wish for. I actually
think that week saved my marriage.
When I came back to work I noticed most of my
colleagues were stressed out as well. So I advised them
to rent a holiday home as it worked wonders for me.
And ever since, I’ve been spreading the word. People
should just enjoy those spaces. The luxury of having a
home away from home.
That’s when the idea was born: we need to share all
holiday homes together. To make that happen in the
real world the internet was the solution to match the
homes with the holidayers... And HomeAway was born

New tagline

Rational for the tagline
We realize that this tagline is more functional than
“lets stay together”. This in intentional.
The brand recognition of HomeAway is still relatively
low. As is the proposition awareness.
In this phase of the brand building its advisable to be
clear on what you are before who you are.

To compare: you might become the best of friends
with your new neighbor. The first time you meet him
he introduces himself by saying something like : “hi,
I’m Bill, your new neighbor”.
This provides the structure to build the relationship on,
where you get to know him and realize that you have
the same interests and you can build on him for advise
and occasionally borrow his lawnmower.
Now imagine your doorbell rings, a man you don’t
know is at the door. He says; “ hi, I’m Bill, do you want
my lawnmower?”
This feels weird. Who is this guy? Is he selling me his
lawnmower? You get defensive and the relationship
hits the first bump before it even began.
HomeAway needs to introduce itself, especially to new
clients by being clear what its about. Later on we can
get to know all about one another.
To soften up and emotionalize the relationship we can
also make usage of the female part of the HomeAway
couple (see page 18). She’s more equipped to convey
the ‘soft’ side of the business.

Variations
Off course variations can be made on this basestructure to fit the setting or the person telling the
story.
The Hero can be male or female.
The structure can be the family, but also a group of
friends, a company or just your spouse.
The Conflict can be about the accommodation, but
also about the destination of personal circumstances.

23

S SOURSES SOURSES SOURSES SOURSES SOURSES SOURSES SOURS
24

SOURCES
“ Brand Darwinism”
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

BrandKey, Eurib, 2013
Porter, M.E. (2008) The Five Competitive Forces That Shape Strategy, Harvard business Review, January 2008.
Golden Circle, Marin Sinek, 2009, Start with why, how great leaders ispire everyone to take action. Penguin
Group, New York.NY
Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable , Seth Godin, 2003 ISBN 1-59184-021-X.
Google research, Winning the Zero Moment of Truth eBook (2011)

25

ankie Afaleminderit እግዜር ይስጥልኝ ‫ شكرا‬grazias ջնորհակալռւլժյու
agv olun eskerrik asko trugarez gràcies 謝謝 grazie a ringrazià ti ta
ak danke thank you dankon aitäh merci grazas ευχαριστώ aguyjé
धन्यवाद köszönöm terima kasih grazie ありがとう matur nuwun da
hvala gratias ago благодарам grazzi takk mercé бузныг ‫سپاسگزارم‬
ziękuję obrigado mulțumesc спасибо хвала hvala vďaka gracia
ขอบคุณครั บ děkuji teşekkür ederim cám ơn diolch enkosi dank tack d
Afaleminderit እግዜር ይስጥልኝ ‫ شكرا‬grazias ջնորհակալռւլժյուն mer
agv olun eskerrik asko trugarez gràcies 謝謝 grazie a ringrazià ti m
ขอบคุณครั บ děkuji teşekkür ederim cám ơn diolch enkosi dank tack d
Afaleminderit እግዜር ይስጥልኝ ‫ شكرا‬grazias ջնորհակալռւլժյուն mer
ขอบคุณครั บ děkuji teşekkür ederim cám ơn diolch enkosi dank tack
agv olun eskerrik asko trugarez gràcies 謝謝 grazie a ringrazià ti m
ขอบคุณครั บ děkuji teşekkür ederim cám ơn diolch enkosi dank tack
26

Home away paper

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Viewers also liked

Viewers also liked (15)

Similar to Home away paper

Similar to Home away paper (20)

More from NewAutoDeal

More from NewAutoDeal (7)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Home away paper