Expedia appeals to travellers' emotional side in new Japan campaign

Expedia Japan has launched a new campaign called ‘Two Step’ to address common travel planning challenges.

The campaign is directed by Japanese-born American filmmaker Hiro Murai and features a narrative that resonates with the everyday traveller. The post-pandemic travel landscape has greatly changed, with travellers seeking greater authenticity, adventure, and cultural immersion. The 30-second TVC does exactly that—it promotes unique journeys that deviate from traditional trips.

The film is a feel-good story about three friends, Ruri, Hina, and Akari, who are caught in the routine of daily life while nurturing a passion for line dancing. Soon, Ruri discovers an attractive flight and hotel package to Nashville on the Expedia app, inspiring the group to embark on an adventure that brings them closer to their passion for dancing. The campaign is aimed at inspiring travellers to break free from the monotony of traditional travel and explore new horizons.

The campaign is part of Expedia’s brand pivot, which includes the tagline “It matters who you travel with.”

The company is switching up its strategy and aims to be more than just a travel booking platform and wants to be a companion that supports travellers in getting more out of their trips. The brand positioning includes new packages that bundle flights with accommodations and activities with upfront total pricing, or an updated virtual agent that will help travellers, for instance, with health and hygiene information about hotels.

“We started looking at how Expedia offers a bridge to travel—that’s the role of the brand to eliminate those travel barriers and be the catalyst, or the conduit, for people to realise their travel dreams,” said Luke Harris, vice president of global marketing at Expedia Group.

“Consumers are often hampered in making plans by obstacles such as price or timing. Ultimately, travel is a very emotional endeavour, and many brands in our category focus only on that last bit of the journey—the transaction.”

Harris added: “As we re-emerge into the Japan market, our goal was to craft a brand platform that highlights the barriers we face when planning travel, resonates with the modern traveller's mindset, and showcases Expedia’s commitment to a new era of purposeful travel. ‘Step Out. Everyday’ which was uniquely designed for our Japan market, is not just a tagline; it's a creative journey that connects with the post-covid audience and conveys the people’s fundamental desire to travel.”

The campaign will run on various channels: TV, radio, digital, social media, public relations, and out-of-home (OOH) advertising. It will feature a series of micro-stories that emphasise travel passion points and the intentionality behind journeys.