Airbnb: One ~ Magical ~ Night

How one night at Europe’s most iconic museum won new customers for Airbnb

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Airbnb’s Night At series has seen many iterations. They’ve offered guests the chance to win an overnight stay at Dracula’s Castle in Transylvania, Abbey Road Studios, even an underwater bedroom at a shark aquarium. 

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But one iteration stands out among all the iconic overnights—a Night At the Louvre, where one couple got to sleep under the stars beneath the museum’s iconic Pyramid. 

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This week, Case Studied examines how Amplify helped Airbnb create a cultural moment and capture new global audiences with one ~ magical ~ night.

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The Brief:

In March 2019, the Louvre Pyramid was celebrating its 30th anniversary. The project was originally commissioned in 1989 to expand the museum’s exhibition space and redesign the visitor experience.

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Around the same time as the Pyramid’s birthday, Airbnb established a long-term partnership with the Louvre—and time was of the essence. 

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Recognizing a significant and time-sensitive opportunity, Airbnb brought in Amplify to help create the first execution of this new partnership.

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The Execution:

A Night At the Louvre was all about capturing the imagination of the audience by asking what if? What if the home of the world’s finest art was your home for a night? What if you won the chance to sleep under the stars?

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Like the other Night At activations, there was a competition to win an overnight stay at the Louvre. And Amplify painted an immaculate portrait (sorry, couldn’t resist) of what it would be like. 

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Before any competition winner was selected, Amplify went into the Louvre and set up the entire experience… for no one. They set the stage and captured every moment on the itinerary in a hero video, including: 

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🤵 A bespoke tour of the museum

🖼️ Aperitif in front of the Mona Lisa accompanied by French music on vinyl

❤️ Dinner in the presence of the Venus de Milo

🎵 An acoustic concert in the Napoleon III Apartments

✨ A bedroom setup under the Louvre Pyramid  

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Using assets from the initial setup, Amplify built a content engine that powered a multi-channel campaign. It drummed up global excitement around this special night and brought the larger partnership between Airbnb and the Louvre into the spotlight.

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In reality, the actual experience of staying overnight at the Louvre was for just two people. And that’s okay—because the story was pulling the weight here, not the experience.

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The Results:

The Louvre activation was easily the most successful iteration of the Night At series. The hero film generated 5.9 million completions and there were 182,000 competition entries. 

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Airbnb racked up 148k new sign-ups their platform and there were 2,700 pieces of global news coverage in over 90 countries.

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Beyond that, the campaign won the Grand Prix at The Drum Awards, the Ex Award for Best Press Stunt, and earned four merits at the One Show.

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The Takeaways:

Not many businesses have exclusive access to iconic cultural landmarks. And you don’t need it—the success strategies of the Night At the Louvre weren’t solely rooted in the destination. 

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Here are some transferable takeaways from the campaign:

1. Build your content engine

Again, the real hook for audiences was the story of Night At the Louvre. And Amplify brought that story to life with a wealth of content, from OOH media to the hero video. 

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So start with your story. From there, meticulous art direction and a multi-channel approach can make your campaign content work harder for you so you get the results you need.

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2. Leverage juxtapositions

Amplify leaned into some key juxtapositions with Night At the Louvre. On one side, you have the experiences you’d normally have at an Airbnb—having drinks, eating dinner. On the other side, there’s the experience of being at the Louvre—admiring the Mona Lisa, observing the Pyramid.

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By bringing these two together, you have a homey, private experience in a place that is normally overwhelmingly public and crowded. Even if they aren’t on the same scale, these kinds of juxtapositions can make your campaign story stand out and pique your audiences’ imagination. 

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3. Supersize your brand

Small activations are valuable for connecting with your audience, but it's the large scale bets your team makes that is likely to make a lasting impression. Create moments that are even more gigantic than your brands current reachand people will assume you are a successful company, which is good for business.

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