Paris Olympics
CLIENT
Airbnb
ROLE
Video Producing, Video Editing, Post-Production Supervision
OVERVIEW
Traditionally, fans experience the Olympic Games from a distance—either in the stands or through broadcasts. But for the first time ever at Paris 2024, Airbnb offered guests the opportunity to watch the Games LIVE, hosted by an Olympic or Paralympic athlete. With 25 athletes participating in Airbnb Experiences, this partnership aimed to engage new audiences and increase awareness, leveraging the athletes’ stories to drive demand.
THE ASK
Produce social media content for 25 athletes, showcasing both Athlete and Cultural Experiences at Paris 2024. These short videos were designed to live across @airbnb, @olympics, @paris2024, and individual athlete Instagram accounts. Each piece needed to capture the personal stories of the athletes, while feeling intimate and authentic—like a friend was capturing the moment on their phone.
But how do we streamline such a massive volume of footage while creating an editorial formula that adheres to the IOC’s strict content regulations and works across a wide variety of personal brands? And how do we capture the excitement of the Games in social videos without having direct access to video footage of the events?
CHALLENGES
Strict Content Regulations: Filming in and around Olympic venues was highly restricted, requiring us to be strategic about what and how we captured.
Collaborating Across Teams: Coordinating with multiple stakeholders—from athletes and their personal brands to the Airbnb Olympic Partner team, external vendors, and photographers—added layers of complexity to the project.
Massive Content Volume: Managing, organizing, and delivering a high volume of footage to multiple stakeholders required a streamlined and flexible workflow.
Remote Supervision: With teams in Paris and the U.S., I led production and post-production workflows across multiple time zones.
THE STRATEGY
To navigate the strict filming regulations in Olympic venues, we leaned on a combination of vertical iPhone footage outside of the venues and professional still photography within the venues. Quick, dynamic cuts, particularly on the photo imagery, helped convey the energy and excitement of the experiences, creating a sense of movement and storytelling that captured each athlete’s unique journey while adhering to the IOC’s regulations.
MY ROLE
As Producer/Post-Production Supervisor, I designed the end-to-end workflow, ensuring that every step was optimized for the volume and complexity of the project. I identified, hired, and worked closely with the lead editor, helping to shape the overall vision for how we would tell each athlete’s story within the constraints of the event and offering direct feedback and troubleshooting issues as they arose. From the U.S., I maintained clear communication with the team on the ground in Paris, keeping the process running smoothly despite the remote setup.
In addition, I took on the role of Supplemental Editor, stepping in to manage overflow tasks and meet tight deadlines as we moved toward delivery.
OUTCOME
The Airbnb Paris 2024 Olympic/Paralympic social campaign exceeded expectations, delivering impressive results and insights:
The campaign generated an earned media value (EMV) of $3.2 million (EMV is defined as the monetary equivalent of the impact gained through organic reach and word-of-mouth).
The campaign’s high EMV demonstrates the power of authentic, experience-based video content in generating interest and publicity.
100+ campaign related articles were generated.
5.9 million impressions were achieved with 100% positive or neutral sentiment.
Social media performance exceeded expectations by 250%, with video edit posts outperforming photo posts.
Notably, smaller hosts saw the most success with Airbnb’s partner support, highlighting that audience quality, engagement, and the content itself can be more important than sheer follower numbers when it comes to campaign performance.
Great projects are built together
PRODUCTION CREDITS
Producer/Post-Production Supervisor - Jenn Rubin
Lead Editor - Kelly Dessoye
Producer - Genny Tolluch
Co-Producer - Jorge Horno
Production Intern - Said El Kadi
Video & Photography - Stade
Additional Photography - Getty
