Bring Me!, BuzzFeed’s travel and experience brand, launched on Facebook in mid 2017 as a new platform for the BuzzFeed audience to find inspiration for unique places to go. It soon became the largest and fastest-growing digital travel publisher on the internet, and its content reaches 189 countries. It’s received over 3 billion content views with an average of four million views per video, making it the #1 most viewed web travel publisher.
In mid-2018, Bring Me evolved into a fully cross-platform travel publisher, expanding on its videos and social-first formats into written articles published on a travel landing page on BuzzFeed.com. Around the same time, BuzzFeed conducted a Global Bring Me! Travel & Experience Study that revealed 85% of the audience was interested in using a Bring Me!-specific App/Site; 78% researched more about the location or activity featured after watching a Bring Me! Video; and 75% seeked out similar content to research more about the location featured (July 2018 via Lucid).
After reading signals both from the audience and advertisers, it became clear that Bring Me needed its own site within BuzzFeed.com — completely dedicated to travel and experiences.
The goal was to create an enhanced site within the BuzzFeed ecosystem that was built for travel, with a utility-driven UX, categorized content, and a Bring Me USP, and to make buzzfeed.com/bringme the go-to destination for new-age travelers seeking unique experiences, inspiration, hotel recommendations, products, hacks, and travel-themed entertainment that cures boredom and gives them a mini vacation from reality.
Key features include the image-led grid layout, the customizable navigation bar, new sections that showcase Bring Me’s content offering, improved SEO capabilities, a more premium Bring Me video unit, and increase brand awareness and advertising products, such as the section takeovers.
The site soft launched in late December with the official launch and promotion kicking off on January 6, 2020. The site was implemented in a rolling launch, with more features — including a unique customization tool — still to come. The site was promoted by lighting up the entire BuzzFeed network, with ads on-site, in newsletters, and on social platforms.s, and PR opportunities.
By approaching travel through an accessible (and relatable) lens, BringMe is uniquely positioned as that trusted, in-the-know friend who leads people to the right experience. After just a few weeks since the launch of Bring Me’s new site, the results are overwhelmingly positive.
The launch of the site prompted a 357% increase in weekly pageviews and a 388% increase in average weekly users. This editorial success has led to increased revenue opportunities, with January 2020 delivering a 2x increase in the number of ad impressions, compared to the 2019 monthly average.
But Bring Me’s content doesn’t just get eyeballs — it inspires action. Of users surveyed in the Global Bring Me! Travel & Experience Study; July 2018 (via Lucid), 65% said they would click on the link provided within the video to learn more, and 38% say they’d book the exact place featured ASAP.
The site redesign proposal attracted interest from multiple brands, but ultimately hotel juggernaut Hilton signed on as the official launch partner, giving the brand 100% SOV across ad products for the first 90 days following the launch. BringMe’s unique and accessible travel content combined with Hilton’s direct booking benefits helps audiences go one step further, from seeing an experience online to booking a trip to see it for themselves. The partnership furthers BuzzFeed’s mission to solve the attribution problem by gaining credit for bookings it inspires.
