How Airbnb Australia Is Reshaping Its Marketing Roster
Airbnb Australia restructures its entire marketing roster, appointing We Are Social for influencer and social programs while Ogilvy PR takes over communications. A strategic reset targeting Australia's A$7.5B social ad market.
We Are Social has been appointed by Airbnb Australia to lead its influencer and social media program following a competitive pitch process. The appointment covers a year-round, creator-led program designed to build cultural relevance and deepen engagement in the Australian travel market.
Agency Appointment Details and Scope
The mandate tasks We Are Social with running an always-on program that embeds Airbnb into the travel conversations, behaviors, and moments that shape how Australians plan and book trips.
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Suzie Shaw, APAC CEO at We Are Social, said the partnership targets a specific moment in the consumer journey. "The real opportunity for Airbnb is to show up the moment inspiration turns into action," Shaw said. She added that "the majority of consumers now discover and evaluate brands through social media platforms," making influencer content a critical tool for converting browsing into bookings.
We Are Social's existing Australian client roster includes Samsung, Woolworths, Salesforce, KFC, Lion, Volkswagen Group, and eBay, spanning technology, retail, food and beverage, and automotive sectors.
Airbnb Australia Restructures Broader Agency Roster
The We Are Social appointment is one part of a wider agency overhaul by Airbnb Australia. Simultaneously, Ogilvy PR has taken over Airbnb Australia's consumer and corporate communications brief, replacing Herd MSL. Herd MSL had previously won that account from Thrive PR in 2024.
The dual restructure, covering both social and influencer on one side and public relations on the other, points to a deliberate reset of Airbnb's entire Australian marketing setup rather than a single account change.
Australian Social Media Market Provides Strategic Backdrop
The appointment comes as Australian social media advertising spend is projected to reach A$7.5 billion in 2025, growing at 7.74% annually. Platform reach across the country is broad. Facebook reaches 73.6% of Australians, Instagram reaches 55.5%, and TikTok reaches 41.5%.
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Among Australian travel and hospitality businesses, 90% already use social media platforms including Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and LinkedIn to attract visitors and build brand awareness.
Airbnb's own content history supports the creator-led approach. In Q4 2016, 77% of Airbnb's Instagram posts were user-generated content, which drove 80% of total engagement and added approximately 172 000 new followers in a single quarter. Airbnb currently maintains over 6.4 million Instagram followers globally.
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We Are Social's Position in the APAC Market
The competitive pitch win adds a major global travel brand to We Are Social's Australian portfolio. The agency's cross-sector client base was a key factor in the selection, demonstrating the ability to manage influencer and social programs across multiple content categories simultaneously, including lifestyle, food, adventure, and family travel.
The TravMedia Summit Australia 2025, which brought together more than 400 travel marketing and public relations professionals in Sydney, highlighted social media's growing role in travel marketing strategy, providing broader industry context for the timing of this appointment.
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