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Consumers want more inclusive social partnerships
Global survey from Kimpton Hotels and restaurants reveals travellers want authentic content on social media.
Nicola Kemp
Editorial Director CreativebriefThere is perhaps no sector which embodies the ethos of ‘that great life you aren’t living on social media’ than travel.
However in the midst of a cost of living crisis and a growing range of data points underlining the fact that consumers want more inclusivity from brands Kimpton Hotels is changing the narrative. In the place of impossibly perfect travel influencers the brand has launched its ‘Stay Human’ global campaign.
A campaign which features a diverse ‘creator collective’ who represent so much more than a glossy image of a . The campaign is backed by research and a significant commitment by the brand to transform its content moving forward. It comes at a time in which consumers are becoming more cognizant of the negative impact of their visual diet on their mental health.
According to the brand’s research 85% of respondents think travel industry brands’ social media content should be more inclusive of all kinds of travellers. While 84% of respondents think travel brands could do more to support a diverse set of travel creators.
Social media and marketing content within the travel industry hasn’t always reflected the people and experiences that truly make up our global community.
Kathleen Reidenbach, Chief Commercial Officer, Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants
Redefining aspiration
The campaign launch comes as the brand has released findings from a new global survey on consumer sentiment on social media content of travel brands and traditional travel influencers. The hotel giant polled more than 4,000 people from Australia, Japan, the U.K. and the U.S. and found an overwhelming need for more authentic and varied travel content. In addition the research underlined that there is high demand amongst consumers for travel brands to do more to feature inclusive and diverse content creators and experiences.
“At Kimpton we take pride in being a different type of hotel. Our founding principles have us rooted in human connection and delivering a ‘Stay Human’ experience. We want our guests and our employees to be comfortable and embraced for being their most authentic selves, no matter their pronoun, skin colour or body type,” explained Kathleen Reidenbach, Kimpton’s Chief Commercial Officer.
She continued: “However, we know that social media and marketing content within the travel industry hasn’t always reflected the people and experiences that truly make up our global community. That’s why we are committed to diving deeper into the foundation of our Stay Human brand ethos with new brand commitments that will continue to change the way we work with creators, the imagery we share and the experiences we offer."
Overall, the survey found a large discrepancy between the image of travel which currently dominates social media and the true desires of consumers, who reported that the pressure to be “social media-worthy” negatively impacts their travel experiences.
Consumer feedback from the survey further indicates a desire for more inclusive social media content from travel brands that is suitable to all personal travel styles and reflective of all types of individuals.
In addition the brand has unveiled comprehensive brand content commitments, which include the pledge that at least 75% of its brand-contracted creators will reflect its commitments to increased inclusivity and authenticity of perspectives and experiences.
In February Kimpton will roll out bookable ‘Stay Human’ packages at selected hotels around the world which will be informed by the campaign’s research.
The influencers involved in the campaign include Australian art director Shayne Tino, DJ and producer Myrne and journalist and activist Anna Whitehouse.
The ‘Stay Human’ Global Campaign pledge
Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants has introduced new brand content commitments that pledge to show more diverse and inclusive creators and experiences in its brand-level social media and marketing content moving forward, including:
* Kimpton pledges to work with creators that reflect the diversity of the world around them. This pledge will extend to the content on its brand channels and the user generated content it shares. To do this Kimpton is expanding its existing representation commitment to encompass diversity in race, gender and sexual orientation to include a pledge to feature more creators, guests and models with diversity in ethnicity, religion, language, size, age and disability.
* The brand pledges to address current gaps in travel content on social media – beginning with a commitment to present zero digital distortion of individuals. The pledge explains: “ Enhancing how we share information that is critical for travellers with disabilities to ensure our social media content is truly accessible to all. To start, we will require all of those in the Kimpton Creator Collective to post on social media with alt-text and image descriptions to increase the level of accessibility for disabled audiences.”
* The brand is going to create its first-ever Kimpton Creator Collective made up of creators with diverse perspectives. According to Kimpton these creators “will serve as consultants to the brand advising on brand content and property experiences. We pledge to continuously consult, engage and evolve the Collective.”
* Kimpton pledges to be the first brand to throw away the traditional brand-issued “creator content brief.” As the pledge explains: “Rather than dictating what creators should create, we’ll empower and encourage creators to showcase travel their way while also embracing the Kimpton brand rather than limiting them within the confines of strict creative requirements.”
* In addition the brand has pledged that at least 75% of its brand-contracted creators will reflect our commitments to increased inclusivity and authenticity of perspectives and experiences (i.e., race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, language, size, gender, age and disability) to better reflect the diversity of real travellers.
More detailed information on these commitments can be found here.
Redefining influence
Key findings from Kimpton’s survey
- 85% of respondents think travel industry brands’ social media content should be more inclusive of all kinds of travellers, and 84% of respondents think travel brands could do more to support a diverse set of travel creators – especially those in the U.S. (88%) and millennials (88%).
- 42% of UK respondents are unsure, or disagree, that travel content from creators on social media is inclusive of a variety of demographic groups.​
- 90% of U.S. respondents believe that travel industry brands’ social media content should be more inclusive of all kinds of travellers.
- 76% of respondents feel that more realistic depictions of travel from content creators on social media would be more valuable than existing travel content.
- American respondents are the group most likely to say that the content makes them feel self-conscious (24%).
- Respondents in the UK are most likely to say that the travel industry content on social media makes them feel jealous (29% each).
- 15% of US respondents say that travel industry content on social media makes them feel left out.
- When it comes to demographic factors such as gender, race, disability, age and body size, more than one-third of survey respondents feel that they are not well-represented or are unsure if they are well represented in the content they see from travel creators (34%).
- 38% of UK respondents say they are unsure, or do not feel well represented demographically in the content they see from travel creators.
- Nearly half of survey respondents have some negative feelings (jealous, self-conscious, etc.) towards the current travel industry content seen on social media (46%).
- One-third of respondents (33%) feel that their travel style or personal needs are not being met or might not be met by offerings from travel brands, and 21% are unsure that travel content from creators on social media is inclusive of different travel styles.
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