The genesis of the campaign
The Travel Magician was part of Skyscanner’s brand campaign in Canada, which focused on launching the company brand as a challenger and emphasizing travel planning over destinations. “This concept was conveyed through our TV ads and other media.
The strategy wasn’t to simply repeat creative elements across different media, but to create content that would resonate at various levels,”
comments James. For example, Skyscanner adapted the Travel Magician TV ad for TikTok by emphasizing hyperreal elements and infusing the ad with the brand's features and personality.
About Skyscanner:
Founded in 2003, Skyscanner is a leading travel marketplace dedicated to putting travelers first. Skyscanner helps millions of people in 52 countries and over 30 languages find the best travel options for flights, hotels and car rentals every month.
To engage the audience further, the brand marketing team introduced an element of discovery with the Travel Magician website, aiming to create a “rabbit hole” effect that rewarded curiosity with engaging content. “Readymag was particularly useful because it allowed us to rapidly develop a site with advanced features like parallax effects, custom fonts, and animations that enhanced the campaign's creative appeal,” James explains.
The magic behind Travel Magician
The work on the Travel Magician campaign began in Figma, with James laying out the business needs, campaign objectives, ideas, assets, and art direction. Then, the team explored Readymag's Examples library for inspiration, including font examples and interesting features like circular rotations and parallax effects. These insights provided inspiration and helped the team adapt elements for the project, such as using parallax for the magician merch section or incorporating timelines effectively. Mapping out the user journey and starting content creation was next. “Design thinking was crucial throughout this process, from initial wireframes that established the sections to early designs that began shaping our style,” James says. This iterative process involved constant testing and refinement of the visuals, graphics, and interactions within Readymag.
The website attracted over 20,000 visitors, which is impressive considering the campaign's nature. It signifies a sizable achievement when you consider the consumer journey: seeing a TV ad, watching a TikTok video, and then clicking through from TikTok. This sequence of actions is a substantial ask in terms of user engagement, diverging significantly from typical social media interactions.
What’s in the pipeline
Skyscanner began adopting and using Readymag around 2020, gradually fine-tuning its approach. Now, it's fully integrated into their workflow, and the brand marketing team is currently working on eight to ten projects with Readymag, including both traditional reports and one-off websites like Travel Magician. They're launching another major campaign in Canada this year, featuring an Easter egg similar to the previous efforts—to reward curiosity and creativity, focusing on creating engaging content. This is where Readymag becomes invaluable.
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