What do hostels and 50Cent have in common? An original marketing campaign that has everyone talking! An unlikely pairing one might think, until you see 50 Cent present his In Da Hostel videos and you are promptly captivated.
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- Compelling content
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Hostelworld successfully used Outbrain to drive awareness to its video-centric site, featuring one of the world’s most renowned rappers, 50 Cent.
The “All the bling without the sting” campaign was made up videos shot as a kind of parody to the MTV show Cribs and follows the rapper as he gives a tour of a hostel in Barcelona. The video content on the site was personalised to reflect the style of 50 Cent with titles such as “Hostels more exotic than Fiddy’s dancers” and “Bling boutiques for bargain buck”.
Full of charisma, 50 Cent’s natural character and personality came through during the filming of the video, really bringing it to life.
We spoke with the Hostelworld team who explained that there were very special moments where the rapper deviated from the script to describe the hostel and atmosphere as he saw it.
The two examples given were when the dorm room was described as having “a tour bus lifestyle” and the hostel as having “community vibes: – two very unique selling points offered by hostels which he really hit home 50 style.
Another golden moment that added humour to the final cut is when we see 50 Cent walk into the door frame; we hear this wasn’t part of the plan, but happened to work perfectly.
Otto Rosenberger, Hostelworld’s CMO, explained the strategy behind the campaign:
“As 50 Cent is well known for his lavish lifestyle, we sought to create a parody of MTV Cribs to show off how awesome hostels are and how they have evolved over the recent years, now coming complete with private en suite rooms, designer chill out areas, trendy bars and in the case of 50’s hostel, a pool on the roof.
“We felt 50 Cent was perfect for this spoof. It was great to get him back in front of the camera and convert him to the hostel-life which we did with great success!”
By amplifying their content with Outbrain, Hostelworld aims to reach audiences in the UK, Germany, Australia and Canada. Engagement rates are already well above the Outbrain benchmark network average of 0.10%, with the UK activity reaching a CTR of as high as 0.27%.
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