Booking a holiday has just become a whole lot easier. ‘Instagrammability’ is increasingly seen as a key factor in millennials’ choice of holiday destination. EasyJet is capitalising on this and have created a seamless process between looking and booking. This week has seen the launch of their new app feature which allows passengers to book flights directly based on their favourite pictures from Instagram.
The new search function is called ‘Look&Book’. Users simply need to take a screenshot from Instagram and upload it to the easyJet app, where Look&Book uses image-recognition techniques to identify the location and nearest airport.
Look&Book hopes to attract new customers with the promise of a fully ‘Instagrammable’ holiday. Daniel Young, head of digital experience at easyJet, believes Look&Book will also “help people further explore Europe with ease and open up new destinations and previously hidden holiday locations for a range of customers”.
VVCP, who created the pioneering app feature, says that the tool merges the digital and real world. Capturing the spontaneity of easyJet customers through an instantaneous image booking system encourages customers to transform their daydreams into experiences.
This digital innovation could be beneficial to market to millennials; our research showed that 52% feel as though staycations aren’t being effectively marketed to them as a holiday destination. With our research also showing 92% see the appeal of going on a UK break, this innovation could be the ideal way to reach the Insta-generation, and effectively market staycations to them.
This new marketing method adds an air of adventure to the usually tedious process and both creates and harnesses digital content to sell experiences before people even know where they are going. Is this kind of digital innovation just what the market needs to future proof the UK staycation market?
