Bookboards

These days, the group trip rarely leaves the group chat, and friends across the U.S. are left with broken promises and unrealized travel dreams. New KAYAK research reveals that 84% of travelers have had a group trip that never made it beyond the planning stage, with plans spending an average of one to three months in group chat limbo. The culprit? 90% of travelers say it comes down to one friend who just won’t commit.

In its new summer campaign, “Bookboards,” KAYAK is addressing this problem head-on by sending non-committal friends a booking reminder that’s impossible to ignore. Developed in partnership with lead creative agency, Rethink, the campaign calls out flaky friends in a real and interactive way: through a series of “bookboards,” billboard-sized reminders placed across New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. The fleet of digital billboards will feature personalized callouts for nominated friends, popping up near their offices and neighborhoods that encourage them to commit, while inspiring bystanders to finally make that group trip happen.

At the center of the campaign is a 74-second hero film starring actress, comedian, and content creator Grace Reiter alongside her real-life friend and American High co-star Julia Dicesare. The spot imagines what happens when group chat pressure spills into the real world, as increasingly impossible "Bookboards" follow Grace everywhere – from bus stops and Times Square to her latte foam and even a barking dog. In the end, Julia reveals that Grace has been the target all along: the friend who never commits to the trip, before inviting viewers to nominate their own travel procrastinator at kayak.com/bookboards.

Travelers eager to book can nominate their group chat for a Bookboard from July 21 through August 4. Throughout August, KAYAK will select top submissions to appear on digital billboards across New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.

Beyond the hero spot and billboards, “Bookboards” extends across OLV, OOH, social content, earned media, and a landing page.