Expedia, the online travel booking company, recently released a report that found 80% of Americans are stressed about resuming international travel and 60% need more help booking travel now than they did before the pandemic.
As part of its plan to win back those wary travelers, Expedia is offering a helping hand. A Jonas Brother’s hand, to be specific.
The company teamed up with Joe Jonas, now a solo pop star, to create and give away 250 replicas of his hand. The 3-D printed hands will be custom painted and numbered, and Jonas will sign each one. Fans and travelers can enter on Expedia’s website for a chance to win.
“We know travel can be stressful at times, especially right now,” Expedia wrote on the contest entry page. “Expedia and Joe Jonas have come together to offer you a Helping Hand—a symbol of support, as you get ready to ease your way back to traveling again.”
Why Joe Jonas? No idea. Maybe he loves to travel? Maybe he’s a secret 3-D printing buff? Maybe he has a song about hands? (Nope, wrong former-boy-band-star-turned-solo-artist.)
Probably it’s just some smart influencer marketing strategy. Jonas’s Instagram post announcing the giveaway racked up 350,000 views in a single day. And the story is all over the internet, with AdAge, Travel+Leisure, the AV Club and a whole bunch of other sites picking it up.
https://www.instagram.com/p/COdJdPhBTc6/?utm_source=ig_embed
As a leading expert on early 2000s boy bands, I like the move. It hits on a couple tenets of good promotional marketing—exclusivity, a little bit of weirdness, building online buzz—and it’s definitely original. Plus, it’s all for a good cause, with Expedia donating $100,000 to Mercy Corps as part of the campaign.
Hopefully it goes well and Expedia does another of these giveaways in the future. If they do, I’ve got the perfect celebrity for the next hand replica.
