How Away Used Content to Build a Brand That Sells a Lifestyle

Why we’re all in on performance branding – and how it can transform your growth.

How Away Used Content to Build a Brand That Sells a Lifestyle

Bryan Karas

October 12, 2018

Away, the direct-to-consumer lifestyle luggage brand, is probably one of the most focused companies I’ve ever read about…

The founders, Steph Korey and Jen Rubio, are former Warby Parkers who discovered a pain point while traveling and decided to do something about it – boom, Away was born.

If you’re not spending thousands on Louis Vuitton, luggage has never been sexy. To the majority of travelers, suitcases are thought of as a more practical option – something that shouldn’t fail when some dude on the tarmac throws it from cart to plane and back again.

That’s why Away need to do something different and start with creating a brand – a lifestyle brand. And how do you create a lifestyle brand? Content.

Content is everything…

Literally, content is everything. Content is a blog post, an image posted to social media, any video ever created by your company, a podcast – it’s any creative piece you put out there…your ads, your landing page – it’s all content.

And Away has it all. Two big components in their content strategy were the creation of a travel podcast and a travel magazine. Now we don’t have to sell you on the power of a branded podcast but a travel magazine? In print? Why not…

Here, Away’s magazine, is actually a brilliant content play. Whether it’s a spotlight on an exotic city or an interview with a travel influencer, every article strengthens the brands authority in the travel industry. And guess what…the Away brand is barely mentioned – and that’s a good thing.

Social? So what…

Away’s Instagram strategy is pretty much all about UGC – user generated content.

If you check out Away’s Insta almost 90 percent of their posts are from users. “We see people all over the world from a sub-Saharan desert, or to the Great Wall of China or Galapagos Islands, actually staging these photo shoots with their bag and sharing it on social media,” said Rubio.

But they never solicit posts from their followers and that keeps everything authentic – it’s super easy for followers to spot out forced promotion and sponsored posts. Brands who use influencers and UGC need to be calculated without coming across as being calculated.

How to Build a Successful Instagram Account and Help Grow Your Brand

There’s no doubt that every company needs to be active on social media. So how do you create a successful Instagram account and build a brand? Here’s a blog post that’ll help you figure out how to develop a strategy, create a content calendar and stay consistent.