Flight Centre Travel Group-owned StudentUniverse ramps up UK activity through:
- Influencer Partnerships
- First Ever Social Video Series
- Exclusive Travel Deals With ‘Flights by StudentUniverse’ App
- Headline Sponsorship of London’s Largest Free Travel Show
- Largest Campus Tour
- First Tourism Board Partnership
StudentUniverse, the world’s leading travel booking site for students and youth, is ramping up its UK marketing strategy to strengthen its market position.
The company, which launched in the UK in 2013 and was acquired by Flight Centre Travel Group in 2015, believes that travel is essential to a modern education. StudentUniverse also operates Journeys are Made @ GapYear.com, the world’s largest gap year inspiration travel platform.
The youth booking site has implemented a wide range of successful marketing activities as it aims to increase market share in the student and youth travel sector:
Influencer Partnerships and StudentUniverse’s First Ever Social Video Series
StudentUniverse is working with popular YouTube influencer, Bash the Entertainer, in its first ever social video series. Bash, who has over 1 million fans on Facebook, has come on board to launch the company’s digital campaign, #SaveYourWay.
The series is based on the idea that every day thousands of young people save with StudentUniverse’s exclusive discounts – and wondering what they could spend their savings on; from a bath of baked beans to betting your whole student loan on red! In each video, Bash tries out a different scenario – as suggested by StudentUniverse customers – and reacts with the trademark laugh that is making him famous. The first ad of the series – “I’ve BEAN so many places” – received over 250,000 views and reached over 850,000 people in its first week alone.
Exclusive Travel Deals With ‘Flights by StudentUniverse’ App
Youth travellers can now search, compare and book cheap flights and hotels on the go with exclusive deals through StudentUniverse’s app, ‘Flights by StudentUniverse’. Following its global success – with over 400,000 monthly sessions and mobile bookings up 126 per cent year on year in the US – the app has now been introduced to the UK.
The app allows users to carry their itinerary in their pocket and search with flexibility to find discounted prices and book with ease from anywhere in the world. Users can:
- Search and book cheap flights and hotels on the go
- Easily filter flight results by time, price, airline, or by student and youth deals
- Browse hotels by price, amenities, accommodation type, or TripAdvisor rating
- Search with flexible dates to find the cheapest flight
- View your flight itinerary and hotel booking from your phone anytime
- Book straight from your phone with secure checkout
- Easily click or call to email straight from the app if you have any questions or problems with your flight
Flights by StudentUniverse is available to download for free via the App Store and Google Play.
Headline Sponsorship of London’s Largest Free Travel Show
On 4th March 2017, StudentUniverse co-hosted the TNT Travel Show with TNT Magazine for the first time. The TNT Travel Show – London’s largest free travel show – has been bringing inspiration to budding adventure travellers for over 10 years. Thousands of pounds worth of trips and activities were given out onsite at the event as well as a range of exclusive travel discounts, giveaways and onsite booking opportunities. StudentUniverse also had an online booking zone setup to facilitate onsite bookings.
Largest Campus Tour
In January 2017, StudentUniverse launched a six-week campus tour across the UK in partnership with Topdeck Travel, the number one provider of unforgettable group trips for 18-39s. The #GetMeToOz campaign visited six universities in six weeks, offering students the chance to win a holiday to Sydney as well as exclusive travel discounts and vouchers.
The winner from each university received a seven-day Sydney Discovery (Work & Play) trip, provided by Topdeck, and return flights to Australia, provided by StudentUniverse.
First Tourism Board Partnership
In December 2016, StudentUniverse announced its first ever tourism board partnership. The company was chosen by Tourism Australia and the Australian Government to be one of the commercial partners in the AUD$10 million global youth campaign to increase participation in the Working Holiday Makers programme that allows young adults (18-30) from eligible partner countries to work in Australia while having an extended holiday.
During the six-month campaign, StudentUniverse is leveraging its digital reach, partnerships and deep understanding of the student travel segment to inspire young people to travel to Australia.
The wider industry is now taking notice of the company and, as a result, StudentUniverse’s second tourism board partnership is due to be announced imminently.
Dan Baker, Brand Leader, said: “In America, StudentUniverse is the largest youth travel booking site and we’re working hard to build similar brand awareness among students in the UK. In the last year alone, we’ve launched our inaugural advertising campaign, partnered with a YouTube star for the first time and achieved many other firsts. We’re excited about what we can achieve in the next 12 months – watch this space!”
Dan Baker, Brand Leader, is available for interview on request.
-Ends-
Notes to Editors
To download Flights by StudentUniverse, please visit: https://www.studentuniverse.co.uk/app/testing/go2appstore?type=su&origin=ukpr&campaign=ukprcam
For further press information, please contact:
Melissa Hobson/Natalie Garland/James Brooke
Rooster PR
T: +44 (0)20 3440 8927
E: [email protected]
About StudentUniverse
StudentUniverse is the world’s leading travel booking site for students and youth. Through negotiations with a network of global partners, StudentUniverse offers discounted pricing and terms on flights, hotels and tours. Its Travel Services division also handles complex itineraries, custom designed gap year experiences and group travel requests. StudentUniverse also operates Journeys are Made @ GapYear.com, the world’s largest gap year inspiration travel platform.
StudentUniverse launched in the UK in 2013 and was acquired by Flight Centre Travel Group in 2015. StudentUniverse is headquartered in Boston with offices in London, Toronto, New York and the Philippines. StudentUniverse believes that travel is essential to a modern education. Millions of students use the service every year.
For more information go to www.studentuniverse.co.uk, www.facebook.com/StudentUniverseUK, www.twitter.com/studentu_uk or www.instagram.com/studentuniverseuk.
