Momondo, a travel site took a group of 67 people and showed them how much they really had in common.
“We only have one world, but it’s divided,” the website states. “We tend to think that there are more things dividing us than uniting us.”
DIVERGE spoke to Lasse Skole Hansen, the PR manager at Momondo to find out why a travel company would work on a campaign like this.
Where did your company come up with this idea?
Our purpose as a travel search site has always been to open the world through travel and use travel as a means to break down prejudice. Our pay off is “stay curious”, so we worked together with our ad agency, &Co., to think about how we could express this purpose in an emotionally engaging way. We thought: What better way to explore the diversity that we discover when we travel than to discover it inside of us. That’s what led to the DNA Journey concept and the idea of sending one lucky winner to visit all the countries within his DNA.
Additional background?
I would add that the DNA Journey is just one aspect of our Lets Open Our World-campaign. The campaign comprises five principles or “ways to open the world through travel”, a large corps of ambassadors who share our message as well as a comprehensive survey, The Value of Traveling report, detailing the correlation between how much more open-minded people become when they travel. You can read more on www.letsopenourworld.com.
Where did your company come up with this idea?
Our purpose as a travel search site has always been to open the world through travel and use travel as a means to break down prejudice. Our pay off is “stay curious”, so we worked together with our ad agency, &Co., to think about how we could express this purpose in an emotionally engaging way. We thought: What better way to explore the diversity that we discover when we travel than to discover it inside of us. That’s what led to the DNA Journey concept and the idea of sending one lucky winner to visit all the countries within his DNA.
What kind of feedback have you gotten from the video?
The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. We hear daily from viewers who are very moved by the revelations in the video, and we’ve seen individuals and entire cultural communities embrace our message of diversity. In many cases, the DNA Journey is presented as the antidote to prejudice, discrimination, hate and violence.
Why did your company decide to do this?
It was important for us to start a conversation that mattered, so we wanted to challenge ourselves and talk about how we can contribute to break down prejudice around the world. In our Value of Traveling report we found that 48 % of respondents globally believe that people are less tolerant towards other cultures today than five years ago, so we really felt there was something to fight for.
What was a result of this video/campaign?
So far, the we have seen more than 180 million views of The DNA Journey across Facebook, YouTune and our campaign site, letsopenourworld.com, and again so many individuals sharing it as the antidote to prejudice and bias against strangers. We are really proud of that. We did see a definite increase in visits to our site after the campaign launch, although the goal was to start a conversation and not to generate revenue for Momondo.
Can you tell me more about Momondo?
We’re a travel search site founded in Denmark in 2006. Our service is free and we don’t sell anything. We simply compare available online prices on flights, hotels and car rental and redirect users to the sites where they can then make the purchase. So in essence, we provide travel price transparency and help enable and inspire users to be their own best travel agent.
How important is diversity at your company?
Diversity is hugely important. The Let’s Open Our World-campaign runs through the entire company’s DNA and everyone was offered the chance to get their own DNA tested. In our Copenhagen office we’re more than 35 nationalities from all walks of life, so diversity is ingrained into everyday life here at Momondo.
