Guest Post: Why you need culture to create an eternal summer

Ben Shaw, chief strategy officer of MullenLowe, looks at examples how the destination Faroe Islands and carrier Scandinavian Airlines, curated this

Travel has traditionally followed the rhythms of seasons and holidays, but that’s changing. More people are choosing off-season trips and venturing to lesser-known destinations, driven by a desire for value and authentic experiences.  

In an industry where everyone is competing for the same demand, travel brands need to stand out. But how, when every player is showcasing the same icons, cuisines, experiences, and landscapes? How do you break through the endless stream of generic sun, sea, and sand photography? 

For most travellers, algorithms now drive the journey. They feed consumers recommendations based on "what people like you like," creating a feedback loop of content that lacks novelty or innovation. That charming seaside restaurant might seem like a hidden gem -until you arrive and find a queue stretching to the next village, complete with a lineup of "Instagram husbands" capturing their influencer partners. 

As travel content becomes increasingly repetitive, the noise grows deafening. But in this relentless sameness lies an opportunity: the alternative. 

What is the alternative? 

Counter-culture thinking. 

When everyone is doing the same thing, unless you have the world’s largest media budget to outshout the competition, you must outsmart them. One simple creative exercise for tackling such challenges is asking: “What’s the exact opposite?” 

• Want to attract visitors to Iceland? What if you told them it was off-limits like the Faroe Board: "Closed for Maintenance" volunteering campaign? 
• Want to sell nature to stressed out city-dwellers on? Lock them in it like Scandinavian Airlines "The 72 Hour Cabin" stunt.  
• Hoping to increase add-on purchases? What if you made them unlockable? 

This “exact opposite” approach isn’t just a creative exercise - it’s a potential content strategy. 

As the industry converges on the same destinations, events, and itineraries, there’s a chance to carve a different path. While others push ski season, where are the lesser-known downtown city escapes? While the world flocks to Japan, who’s rediscovering Prague? 

Trendy travellers on TikTok 

As viral TikTok itineraries overflow with bookings, who’s revisiting the local guides with real knowledge? We’re already seeing the idea gain traction on TikTok with the ‘travel dupes’ trend. TikTok’s Stuart Flint explained travel dupes as recommendations like “don’t think about Korea because that’s quite expensive at the moment. Go to Taipei instead. You’ll have a phenomenal experience both in terms of cuisine, both in terms of culture, of architecture.”  

Highlighting the unfamiliar isn’t new. Off the beaten track has long been a popular content trope. The challenge for travel marketing teams today is breaking through in a landscape that demands more. It requires sharper strategies, deeper audience insights, and richer, local cultural understanding to truly stand out. 

To craft a counter-culture strategy, brands need to dig deeper. They must uncover their audiences’ genuine passions - where they spend their time and money - and present these in fresh ways, and in unexpected places. This means investing in audience insights to uncover what’s truly engaging them online and uncovering their TikTok search requests. This means cracking into the comment section and their favourite creators. Only when armed with this deep audience understanding and an intimate knowledge local destination counterculture, brands can create content that feel radically different from what the industry and algorithms serve up. 

Playing the long game 

This counter-culture approach lies in playing the long game.  

By delivering content year-round, brands can secure spots on travel wish lists as people scroll throughout the year. The goal is to design attractions, activities, and experiences that defy seasonality - equally exciting in December as in July. By tapping into audiences culture and passions, brands can stay relevant all year, moving beyond the traditional peaks and valleys of the travel calendar. 

For today’s traveller, adventure doesn’t need to follow the seasons. And for forward-thinking travel brands, revenue doesn’t have to either.  

By ignoring the crowds and embracing counter-culture strategies, brands can rethink their communication, connect more deeply with their audiences, and inspire new travel dreams.