Internova Travel's Creepy Spot Puts the Human Touch in Holiday Booking

In an era dominated by technology, humans will always win on experience. That’s why Internova Travel Group, one of the industry’s largest travel services companies, today announced the launch of a new advertising campaign to remind consumers that choosing to book travel through humans may be the best travel decision they could ever make. Internova represents more than 62,000 travel advisors in over 6,000 company-owned and affiliated locations worldwide. Its ‘Go Human. Book Human.’ campaign showcases how relying on artificial intelligence to plan vacations can sometimes lead to disappointingly cookie-cutter outcomes. 

On the other hand, a trusted travel advisor can save the average do-it-yourselfer not only time but money while offering peace of mind. And, since travel advisors are human beings and not algorithms, clients can benefit from the personalised attention. They may even enjoy a few pleasant surprises now and then, from an upgrade to a premium cabin on a flight, to a welcome basket waiting for them and their family in their hotel room.

“The Covid-19 pandemic brought to light the horrors of travel disruption in a new way,” said J.D. O’Hara, chief executive officer of Internova Travel Group. “Individuals and families left stranded with no refunds and limited support gave way to a climate of extreme frustration. Many realised that getting travel wrong – personal or business – can have very real, very strenuous consequences. That’s when travel advisors were called in to save the day.”

The ‘Go Human. Book Human.’ campaign was designed to make people fall in love with the idea of booking travel with actual people versus doing it alone online. Internova tapped the creative minds at the advertising agency Broken Heart Love Affair to de-position technology with human care. The result is a provocative ‘Go Human. Book Human.’ creative platform that urges travellers to consider how computer programming and artificial intelligence could possibly plan vacations without the same sensory perception as human beings. Each spot closes with a call for consumers to ‘book human’ for their next travel experience.

The ‘Go Human. Book Human.’ campaign will run over the next three months, featuring a longform video and out-of- home in New York and Los Angeles, along with paid and organic social, digital, and public relations. Ironically, the most innovative component of the human-centred campaign is the web experience. In an industry first, BookHuman.Travel reimagines advisory services by bringing together emerging technologies and a customer experience focus. The site connects consumers directly with human travel advisors across the US from Global Travel Collection, the luxury and premium travel division of Internova Travel Group. With the growth of direct-to-consumer over the past year, this platform gives the customer relevant and meaningful choice when looking for a travel advisor. The booking website elevates the experience well beyond chatbots and algorithms and harnesses the power of face-to-face human connection integrated with the accessibility and immediacy of the digital sphere. The user interface design is optimised for both desktop and mobile.

As Americans return to travel, a recent survey* conducted by Internova found that 79% of respondents prefer working with a human being over a computer bot to plan an important trip.

“The old way just became new again,” said Brent Rivard, chief marketing officer at Internova Travel Group. “People today have access to a plethora of online booking algorithms to plan their vacations, but artificial intelligence won’t give you a unique, personalised experience, and it doesn’t particularly care if anything goes wrong. Bots are simply programmed to sell, not care. It’s time for humans to take back what’s rightfully theirs.”

Internova’s ‘Go Human. Book Human.’ campaign was developed in partnership with Broken Heart Love Affair. The agency was chosen as part of a competitive process, along with WaveMaker as the media agency. Development of the web experience was led by Broken Heart Love Affair’s sister agency Lifelong Crush.

*The online poll was conducted via Survey Monkey June 3rd-7th, 2021 among a national sample of 1,190 adults.