Airbnb went through a rebranding campaign to animate its presence in the Chinese market.
The home-sharing startup has just raised a total fund of $1 billion. Amid Uber scandal that led to decreased revenue, Airbnb is looking to consolidate its position in the Chinese market. The company plans to support such an endeavor with extra staff and a massive rebranding campaign. The Chinese market is one of the most coveted among entrepreneurs. With such a large pool of target audiences, there is also a large competition.
The Rebranding Campaign Named the Platform as Aibiying
On Wednesday, the Airbnb chief executive, Brian Chesky, confessed his plans to take on China. This is one crucial threshold in his ambition to expand globally. The country has one of the largest populations of Millennials in the world. On the other hand, Airbnb will have to confront a series of local rivals. They are already accustomed with the market. Thus, Airbnb needs a lot of documentation to achieve its goals.
“Chinese millennials, they are a huge market – nearly half a billion people, 400 million Chinese millennials and they represent 80 percent of our business here in China.”
The San Francisco-based startup is supporting the seizure of the Chinese market by doubling its funds for this corner of the world. Moreover, the company is going to triple its workforce within Chinese soil. All these efforts for a more profitable activity are wrapped under a national rebranding campaign.
From now on, Chinese millennials will know this business as “Aibiying.” The new name is similar to its original title, so there is no sign of a disruptive transition. Moreover, it bears an interesting significance as it translates in Chinese as “welcome each other with love.” This slogan highlights the touching part of a home-sharing business format successfully.
Airbnb Hopes to Take Advantage of Future Growth for China
The company managed to create a list of 80,000 offers of accommodation that disrupt the traditional travel conditions. Before Airbnb, people had no other choice than to resort to expensive hotels or cheap yet crowded motels when they visited a foreign country. Until now, the company registered more than 5.3 million bookings for Chinese people around the world.
The good news is that this is just the beginning. The Chinese market holds a lot more potential for the startup. Airbnb clings to a report from the National Information Center and China Internet Association according to which the country will experience an annual 40% expansion for the following five years.
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