Booking.com Saves the Day in W+K Amsterdam's New Campaign

Booking.com, the world’s number one accommodation site, has unveiled its integrated U.S. campaign to launch Booking Now – a new mobile app that revolutionizes the on-demand travel space by providing a completely personalized booking experience so spontaneous travelers can find the right room, right Booking Now. 

Booking Now is a streamlined, on-demand mobile booking app that provides travelers with an on-the-go solution to effortlessly and instantly make a reservation at the nearest property that matches their personal preferences. By harnessing the power of data based on user behavior as well as GPS technology, Booking Now is the only app to showcase the world’s largest selection of more than 580,000 properties around the globe to provide custom accommodation recommendations. The launch of the app supports the growing importance of mobile when it comes to booking accommodations as, according to Booking.com data, worldwide almost half of reservations made within 48 hours are booked on a mobile device.

Created by Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam, the campaign launches the app across the U.S. with film, out of home and digital activations, with the creative executions highlighting this new spontaneous booking behavior and the role of Booking Now in accommodating it. 

Four 30-second films, which launched across U.S. TV networks last night, show how Booking Now comes to the rescue when people find themselves in a situation where they suddenly need a room. From avoiding sleeping in your Grandpa’s old bed, to saving the day when you realize you got your travel dates wrong, each TVC depicts how Booking Now not only solves accommodation needs, but also takes travelers from somewhere they didn’t want to stay, to somewhere they really want to be.

Targeted out-of-home executions roll out across major U.S. cities, each playing with the context of the given location. Specifically placed in theatre districts, cultural hot spots, sporting venues, coastal getaways and more, each OOH execution has a localized proposition to encourage bookers to seize a spontaneous moment – to roll a day trip into night, to make a special evening even better – by booking a perfect room that’s just two taps away on your mobile. 

A similar approach targets bookers online, with audiences served up relevant and timely messages via banners, digital videos, and social media activity. Searching online for gig tickets? With Booking Now you don’t have to leave early and head home, but stay for the encore and make a whole night of it, as targeted ads will show the perfect room for you.

Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam Creative Director, Genevieve Hoey, comments: “Before the release of Booking Now there had never been a specific service to accommodate more spontaneous booking behaviour. Sure, you could get a room in an instant, but would it be the one you want? Perhaps not. 

Booking Now changes that. Creatively we wanted to tap into this new booking behaviour and communicate the spirit of booking a room when you want it, rather than planning weeks in advance”. 

“We asked Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam to help us show spontaneous bookers at their spontaneous best, where bookers are empowered and confident to book a room at the last minute because they have the peace of mind of over 580,000 accommodations in their pocket”, says Paul Hennessy, Booking.com Chief Marketing Officer. “The creative execution shows fun and relatable situations that we’ve all been in, and how with Booking Now you can find your perfect room in just two taps of your mobile”.

Booking Now personalizes real-time search results based on the unique traveler profile created by each first-time user to indicate specific accommodation preferences, such as desired price range and options like parking, breakfast and Wi-Fi. Users are then presented with the most relevant available accommodation suggestions based on their profile and within their defined location. Users can quickly and easily browse through the recommended options with a single swipe of their finger and book their preferred accommodation in just two taps. 

The Booking Now app is available for download in the U.S. in Apple’s App Store now, having launched on January 15th, 2015, with a continued global roll out in coming weeks.