Dive Brief:
- Oscar Mayer's Wienermobile will be available on Airbnb in Chicago to coincide with next month's Lollapalooza musical festival. The Kraft Heinz brand has turned the iconic hot dog-themed vehicle into an Airbnb campsite leading up to the event.
- Airbnb users can request to book a one-night stay for Aug. 1, 2 or 3. The site property opens for reservations on July 24. Stays are limited to one night and the vehicle sleeps two people.
- While the Airbnb will be parked near the concert in Chicago, the booking is only for the campout and does not include concert tickers or travel to the destination.
Dive Insight:
Oscar Mayer's tie-in with AirBnb attempts to tap into increased interest around one-of-a-kind experiences and branded overnight stays, which is growing more popular with food and restaurant marketers. Before announcing plans to take over a Palm Springs hotel this summer, Taco Bell transformed a restaurant location in Canada into an Airbnb for one night to pitch a new product. Similarly, Unilever tea brand Tazo launched a campaign that included an overnight camp experience for adults featuring drag star Alyssa Edwards.
The Wienermobile has been a staple of Oscar Mayer's marketing for years, but Oscar Mayer has recently tried to innovate when working the vehicle into its campaigns. The brand last year unveiled the Super Hotdogger, a jetpack-wearing, orange-suited deliveryman who delivered hot dogs to people in New York City as part of an experiential marketing event. Previously, Oscar Mayer added weinerdog-themed bicycles and drones to its fleet in a move to associate the brand with a healthier lifestyle. Creating a hipster campsite out of its iconic vehicles is another way for the brand to flex some innovative marketing muscle and refresh its classic Wienermobile.
The recent moves come as Kraft and Oscar Mayer brands have been struggling since the announcement of a $15.4 billion write down in February. Since then, the brand lost its CEO Bernardo Hees and its CMO Eduardo Luz. As the company goes through a transitional period, it will have to innovate to stay relevant in consumers' minds. New Kraft Heinz CEO Miguel Patricio, a former Anheuser-Busch InBev global chief marketing officer, has stated that he wants to revitalize the company's brands through more innovative marketing.
