Airbnb’s Elegant Makeover

I’m always attentive to advertising and marketing and brands, and our agency is especially attuned to revamps and refreshes, keeping tabs on blogs like Brand New. Airbnb recently updated their branding and, in my opinion, has really nailed it. The animation explaining the evolution and meaning of their clever new “Belo” logo sums up their re-focused mission nicely. It’s a delightful exploration: Just scroll down a bit on their home page.

As a past customer, they’ve really captured the essence of the value that I find in Airbnb: What they distill down to “Belonging.” I’ve rented spaces in San Francisco and New Orleans, staying in neighborhoods rather than hotel districts located near tourist attractions or convention centers. Both experiences gave me and my family the feeling of what it would be like to actually live in these historic and diverse cities, as opposed to a “just visiting” hotel stay. I’d call that belonging, alright.

This branding work reminds me of the popular TED Talk by Simon Sinek and his book, “Start With Why.” If you haven’t seen the talk, I’d recommend it … I’ve embedded it below. Once you’ve watched it, you’ll see how Airbnb has captured their “Why:” The central belief or ideal that drives a great business, inspires their employees and enchants their customers. Their “Why” statement would basically be their tagline: “Belong Anywhere.”