How Kiwi.com's €10K Ultimate Summer Job Recruited Thousands of Creators
Creating a UGC-focused ambassador program is a natural progression in our long-term strategy to engage with our target audience of 18–35. Kickstarting this with a campaign as successful as the 2024 World Travel Hackers proved to be a strong example for others to follow. Always looking ahead, we're now focused on engaging with the community we've built through unique offers and further utilization of their UGC.
Context
Kiwi.com is on a mission to make travel accessible to everyone. Kiwi.com’s unique features enable it to offer options cheaper than competitors, but it needed an engine to spread the word. Naturally, it turned to social content creators. Kiwi.com sought out an ambassador program that would build online excitement around traveling on a budget, drive more UGC, and improve brand sentiment.
Solution
Kiwi.com engaged LoudCrowd to power the World Travel Hackers campaign and drive recruitment for its Flight Crew program. The World Travel Hackers campaign offered creators the opportunity to win a €10K travel budget to explore the world and create content with money-saving tips.
To apply as a World Travel Hacker, creators submitted 3 posts on Instagram or TikTok: one explaining why they should be chosen, one introducing a travel buddy, and one sharing a money-saving travel tip. The winner then completes 34 content deliverables during their travels. All participants receive flight credit and then become members in the longer-term ambassador program, the Flight Crew.
Kiwi.com recruited creators for World Travel Hackers through:
- Paid advertising on Meta, TikTok, and Google
- Paid creators to post content about the program
- Word-of-mouth referrals from program participants
- A massive, compelling grand prize: a €10K budget to travel the world and create content
After the completion of the World Travel Hackers campaign, Kiwi.com allows participants to continue earning incentives through the Flight Crew. In the future, Kiwi.com is planning more contests for members to earn prizes and stay engaged.
Results
In just 1.5 months, the program delivered astounding results.
Creator recruitment
World Travel Hackers received a staggering number of creator applications. 1,972 creators of all sizes applied on the first day. By the end of week one, this number grew to over 3,000 creators. At the end of the 1.5-month campaign, Kiwi.com received 18,418 applicants, of which 7,486 creators were accepted into the campaign.
UGC content
Kiwi.com saw a massive increase in UGC across its social channels. Kiwi increased Instagram UGC by 470%, and on TikTok saw a +2,870% increase in posts. Program members became a massive composition of organic content, making up 75% of all Instagram content and 73% of all TikTok content.
Performance
Since launch (~2 months), the UGC from the giveaway and program has outperformed:
- 4.77M impressions, up 65.9% from the period prior
- $145.1K in earned media value (EMV)
- 4.14% average engagement rate on Instagram UGC, and 4.85% on TikTok UGC