Overview

In the depths of January, loveholidays wanted to make people think about holidays when the reality outside was anything but.

Rather than relying on conventional travel advertising, the campaign brought the holiday experience into the everyday commute through two immersive bus shelter special builds, combining physical construction, lighting and scent.

In Liverpool, a bus shelter became a tropical Tiki Hut, complete with a thatched roof, bamboo seating and the smell of coconut. In London, a European-inspired street scene featured an orange tree and the fresh scent of oranges.

Supported by a broader OOH campaign and a reactive digivan activation, the work was designed to create attention, interaction and social sharing while building brand awareness.

Campaign Highlights

Markets: London and North West, UK

Primary environments: Bus shelters, large-format digital, 48 sheets, 6 sheets and rail

Creative approach: Immersive special builds using physical environments and scent

Additional activation: "Smellfie" competition and reactive digivan "adjacking"

The Challenge

January is a difficult moment for travel brands to capture attention. With people back into their everyday routines and winter at its peak, conventional holiday advertising risked becoming easy to overlook.

loveholidays needed to create a more distinctive OOH experience — one that could build awareness and consideration by making the brand feel different from traditional travel advertising.

The opportunity was to turn the media environment itself into part of the idea.

The Solution

The campaign transformed two bus shelters into immersive "Aromaboards", bringing recognisable elements of being on holiday directly into the urban environment.

In Liverpool, a tropical Tiki Hut was created using a thatched roof, bamboo seating and multi-coloured lighting, with coconut scent diffused throughout the shelter.

In London, a European city scene featured an orange tree and the fresh scent of oranges.

The physical builds were designed to surprise commuters and create an experience people could see, smell and interact with, while a "smellfie" competition encouraged passers-by to share the experience for the chance to win a loveholidays voucher.

The special builds were supported by large-format digital, HD static 48 sheets, static 6 sheets and rail Transvisions. A separate "adjacking" execution used digivans to create reactive moments alongside relevant billboard locations.

The Results

The campaign delivered measurable growth and prompted awareness following the launch of Burst 1.

+7%ppts Prompted Awareness: growth following the January campaign launch

Record Prompted Awareness: reached in April

Organic Social Sharing: special-build executions generated TikTok and wider social content

Industry Attention: coverage across Campaign, The Drum and other industry publications

By turning the bus shelter itself into the creative, loveholidays created an OOH campaign that didn't simply advertise the holiday — it gave people a taste of one.