The 16 Flemish influencers who were lured to Eindhoven in September 2018 were not paid a penny for this. In fact, when they got on the bus they didn’t even know where they would end up. It was mainly that fact – “creating ambassadors by heart and not by contract” – which ensured that Eindhoven365 won double prizes at the Influencer Marketing Awards in London with its third edition of Another City Trip.
The campaign won two gold medals, in the categories ‘Most Creative Influencer Marketing Campaign’ and ‘Best Travel Campaign’, beating National Geographic and AXE among others. ‘Influencers’ are people with a great number of followers on social media.
The focus of the Influencer Marketing Awards is to highlight the best influencer marketing campaigns developed with the brand or customer in mind, smart execution, creative and innovative and with clear, transparent KPIs and goals. Gold, Silver and Bronze awards were presented in 23 categories by a jury of international influencer marketing experts. The jury’s verdict on Another City Trip is as follows:
“By challenging the idea of influencer marketing as we know it, the team created ambassadors by heart and not by contract. […] This refreshing, fun and interesting campaign took risks but exceeded goals by allowing creativity to excel – leading to real engagement”
Another City Trip aims to put Eindhoven on the map as a tourist destination. In 2018, the award-winning campaign focused specifically on Belgian influencers with international supporters. “Sixteen influencers said ‘yes’ to a 48-hour mystery city trip”, Marlou van Doorne says. “It was only during the trip that the final destination was announced, followed by a tailor-made programme for the influencers and their partners. One surprise followed another: upon arrival in the city, in the hotel and in the hotel room, personalized cocktails in restaurants, the selected and decorated shops as well as during the tours through the city. More than 30 entrepreneurs and organizations from the hospitality, retail and culture industry were part of the program to offer the influencers a fully personalized trip from start to finish.”
The third edition of Another City Trip was developed as a city marketing concept by Eindhoven365 in collaboration with content marketing agency Zandbeek. The previous two editions of Another City Trip have already won several awards in the field. The campaign won the prestigious Content Marketing Award, organized by the leading American Content Marketing Institute, silver at the Dutch Interactive Awards and last year a German Design Award. For the 2018 edition, Zandbeek also collaborated with Coopr and Happy Idiots.
