Uncensored CMO: Airbnb's Bold Leap into In-Housing Creativity and Brand-Led Communication

Podcast Information:

• Title: Uncensored CMO
• Host: Jon Evans
• Guest: Hiroki Asai, Chief Marketing Officer, Airbnb
• Episode Title: Airbnb on their big new innovation, in-housing creativity and brand led communication - Hiroki Asai
• Release Date: June 4, 2025

1. Introduction

In this episode of Uncensored CMO, Jon Evans welcomes Hiroki Asai, the Chief Marketing Officer of Airbnb. The discussion delves into Airbnb's latest innovations, particularly their strategic shift towards in-housing creativity and emphasizing brand-led communication. The conversation offers valuable insights into how Airbnb navigated unprecedented challenges and reinvented its marketing approach.

2. Hiroki Asai's Journey to Airbnb

Hiroki Asai shares his personal background, revealing a shared passion with Jon Evans: skateboarding. Growing up in Cupertino, California, during the late '80s, Hiroki was deeply influenced by the vibrant skateboarding culture, as reflected in publications like Thrasher magazine and the Bones Brigade. This early passion underscores his creative and dynamic approach to marketing.

Hiroki: "Recovering skateboarders. Recovering skateboarders, I'd like to say." [00:41]

3. Navigating the Pandemic: Shift from Performance Marketing to Branding

Hiroki recounts joining Airbnb at the end of 2019, just as the COVID-19 pandemic began reshaping the global landscape. The pandemic resulted in an 80% loss in Airbnb's business within weeks, necessitating a swift pivot in strategy.

Hiroki: "It was a time to really kind of go back to the core of what Airbnb was about and rebuild it after that." [02:18]

Faced with the abrupt halt of performance marketing channels, Airbnb was compelled to experiment by cutting off all performance marketing—a move that surprisingly revealed that 80% of their traffic was organic. This realization highlighted the untapped potential of brand-focused strategies.

Hiroki: "Airbnb was not investing in brand. It was predominantly performance...brand was the opportunity to really remind people what Airbnb was about." [04:01]

4. The Importance of Design in Airbnb's DNA

Design is integral to Airbnb's identity. With two of the three founders meeting in design school, the company's emphasis on creativity and aesthetic excellence is deeply embedded.

Hiroki: "Design is very much the design of the app, the graphic design, and it's also in the way that we think and approach problems." [06:47]

Airbnb champions an in-house approach to design, ensuring seamless collaboration between advertising, product design, and engineering teams. This integration fosters a cohesive and authentic brand narrative.

5. Expanding Beyond Accommodations: Introducing Experiences and Services

Hiroki discusses Airbnb's strategic expansion into experiences and services, aiming to encapsulate the spirit of travel and authentic human connections that birthed the company.

Hiroki: "Airbnb is about the trip...it's about experiences and services and stays all together." [12:18]

These additions include categories like chefs, masseuses, trainers, and beauty services, positioning Airbnb as a comprehensive solution for travelers seeking both accommodation and personalized services.

6. The Launch of Airbnb Originals

Airbnb Originals represents the company's foray into curated, authentic experiences across over 600 cities worldwide. This initiative focuses on delivering unique local experiences that go beyond traditional tourism.

Hiroki: "We wanted to offer something that's way deeper and unique and something that even a local would find interesting." [17:04]

Examples include exclusive tours led by individuals directly involved in significant local projects, such as the restoration of Notre Dame, providing guests with unparalleled insights and connections.

7. Organizational Structure and Collaboration at Airbnb

A cornerstone of Airbnb's success is its concurrent design approach, fostering real-time collaboration across design, engineering, and marketing teams. This integrated method ensures that products are not only functional but also market-ready from the outset.

Hiroki: "We call it concurrent design rather than serial...thinking about the entire chain all at once." [10:40]

The organizational philosophy emphasizes "primary teams"—peer groups that collaborate horizontally, breaking down silos and enhancing overall efficiency and innovation.

Hiroki: "The primary team really deeply understands each other and what's involved." [25:55]

8. Communicating the New Offerings

Airbnb's communication strategy for its new services and experiences centers around authenticity and magic in travel. The "Grand Adventure" brand spot encapsulates this vision, contrasting the serendipitous nature of traditional travel with the structured, checklist-driven modern experiences.

Hiroki: "Our experiences can bring that forward, and bring the magic back to travel." [27:41]

Leveraging social media and influencer collaborations, Airbnb aims to reach younger audiences who increasingly turn to platforms like Instagram for travel inspiration.

9. Enhancing the Host Experience

Recognizing the critical role of hosts, Airbnb has revamped its host-side app to make onboarding effortless. The new tools allow hosts to easily create and manage their experiences, ensuring a high-quality and user-friendly interface akin to the guest experience.

Hiroki: "It's super easy. It's very, very simple to load in what your experience would be." [29:45]

This seamless integration not only attracts more hosts but also ensures that the quality of experiences remains consistently high across diverse locations.

10. Key Marketing Insights and Advice

Concluding the discussion, Hiroki imparts essential advice for aspiring marketers:

1. Simplicity is Paramount: Strive to make everything as straightforward and user-friendly as possible, respecting the customer's limited time and attention.

   Hiroki: "Make everything really, really simple and respect the customer's time." [32:04]

2. Empathy and Human Connection: Emphasize the human, empathetic side of marketing, focusing on emotional appeal and genuine understanding of the customer.

   Hiroki: "Appealing to emotions and understanding the customer is crucial." [35:20]

3. Collaborative Mindset: Foster a low-ego, collaborative environment where cross-functional teams work seamlessly towards shared goals.

   Hiroki: "It takes a very, very open minded, very, very collaborative, very, very low ego type of person." [27:31]

Jon Evans echoes these sentiments, highlighting the importance of customer-centric approaches and firsthand engagement to glean actionable insights.

Conclusion

Hiroki Asai's insights provide a compelling look into Airbnb's strategic evolution amidst global challenges. By prioritizing brand over performance metrics, emphasizing in-house design and creativity, and expanding into authentic local experiences, Airbnb is redefining the landscape of travel and hospitality. Marketers can draw valuable lessons from Airbnb's emphasis on simplicity, empathy, and cross-functional collaboration, underscoring the enduring power of authentic human connections in building a resilient and beloved brand.

For more insights and detailed discussions on marketing strategies and innovations, subscribe to Uncensored CMO wherever you get your podcasts. Leave a review to help others discover the show!