BD Team in Bali.
Have you ever seen a photo or video online, and instantly wanted to book tickets to that location? I am sure this has happened at least once. Beautiful Destinations captures moments that are so magical; one would not believe such areas exist on Earth. Fortunate for us, they are real! Beautiful Destinations is the media company behind the largest travel community on social media. Surpassing a combined following of over 15 million people in 180 countries, they’ve become the home of daily creative inspiration for millions of individuals. Within the media company, the team runs an award-winning creative agency. They create “social-first” content for some of the world’s best travel brands, with a focus on tourism boards.
The founder and CEO, Jeremy Jauncey, is a passionate believer in the power of visual storytelling and its impact in spreading positivity and inspiration. His passion for travel ignited once he moved from Scotland to New Zealand for his rugby career, prior to becoming an entrepreneur. The experience made Jeremy realize how big the world is and how much there is to be explored. Last year, Beautiful Destinations launched a campaign called “World’s Coolest Job,” and it went viral. Thousands of content creators applied for the amazing opportunity to be able to explore the depths of the world and learn about new cultures. In one specific video for the campaign, Jeremy stated,
“Today we work with global brands, governments, and charities creating their marketing campaigns and in turn inspiring millions of people all over the world to celebrate life, chase their dreams, and travel.”
Jeremy Jauncey (Right) in Tokyo with his brother, Tom Jauncey (Left), who oversees partnerships for Beautiful Destinations' creative agency.
Jeremy is most proud of building his team and recruiting elite content creators such as Jacob Riglin, Nainoa Langer, Andy To, and many more to help brands generate a return on social media. Under his leadership, Fast Company has named Beautiful Destinations one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies of 2017. Co-Founder, Tom Jauncey is also a huge part to the success of Beautiful Destinations.
Tom Jauncey, is a digital and social media specialist. He has spent over a decade in the digital advertising industry, with both commercial and creative projects. Tom oversees and manages the agency’s relationships with governments, charities, and global brands, including Marriot, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, NYC & Company, and more. On the creative side, Tom is a multimedia content creator focusing in producing social-first content, which is photography and videography shot precisely for social media and a mobile, millennial audience. Tom happens to be one of the most decorated travel drone photographers for his aerial photography and videography work. He has shot campaigns for all of Beautiful Destinations’ clients. Prior to joining BD, Tom was one of the leading sales executives at Oracle. I had the honor of interviewing with Tom Jauncey. I asked,
“What led to the creation of Beautiful Destinations?”
Tom informed me that it all started as a passion project and was not initially intended to be a business. At the time, it was just friends around the world creating content. Tom used to work at an advertising agency for airlines, hotels, and marketing. Unfortunately, the content being produced felt inauthentic and not inviting. This happened to be around the early stage of social media. The Jauncey brothers saw an opportunity to jump into social story telling with real travel experiences to showcase online, which definitely started a global trend. They looked at traditional media, and saw social/mobile as the next big thing. Which led to the questions of, “Where to go? What to do? In addition to, where to stay?” They launched back in December of 2012. The Jauncey brothers realized BD was getting awfully popular when the crown prince of Dubai sent them a direct message to assist with a social media campaign for their hotels. As I said earlier, a team was assembled of high-caliber photographers, videographers, and drone operators to accomplish their goals.
The Beautiful Destinations team goes above and beyond when creating content. Tom clarified; they look at what everyone else is doing and do the complete opposite. For instance, they could travel to familiar locations but capture their content from different vantage points that no one has seen before. While the BD team was in NYC, they were given access to the maintenance deck of The Empire State Building, which has a surreal view of the whole city. Some of the most memorable places the BD team has visited are India, Philippines, Hong Kong, Dubai, and countless other marvelous places. Beautiful Destinations strives to create the shot that is going to stop someone in their tracks and say “WOW!” Millennials care about travel and making an impact. The BD team has captivated on that, while making a name for themselves all over social media. Which brought me to asking Tom,
“How did the team craft the brand name?”
He explained to me by saying the word beautiful can define a lot of different things. Tom sees it as something that has a strong meaning, which one can be very passionate about. The whole BD team loves to journey and really engulf themselves within the local culture to learn about each destination they tour. Once the name was formed, they immediately proceeded and never looked back. The BD team members are continuously on the move. I asked Tom,
“About how many campaigns does the team do per year?” Tom stated,
“The guys are on the road constantly shooting content. Campaigns are always being created. Every week the team will be somewhere completely new.”
BD Team in Lapland overlooking the Northern Lights.
Since the BD team is always traveling, it’s difficult to give a specific amount on how many campaigns are done per year. However, a large thought process goes into creating each campaign. Tom explained to me that their clients will come up with a brief, and then Beautiful Destinations sits down with the brand to discuss the goals. They strive to meet the needs of the brand while pushing creativity in every campaign. For instance, a recent campaign Beautiful Destinations had with Marriot Rewards, the team decided to exemplify Marriot’s reward system by rewarding their audience on social media who were already a part of the Marriot Rewards program to tell the story of the key grand pillars of Marriot.
The video below is an example of what the BD team is capable of. This campaign was shot for Macao’s tourism board. As you can see the city has a unique old-world charm and a rich heritage of Chinese and Portuguese culture. The BD team does a great job of inspiring people all over the world to create and encourage travel. Summer vacation is finally here, so get out of the house and explore!