Overview
Contiki has always known that travel sparks something powerful. Brainwaves Don’t Lie set out to prove it with real scientific data. Working with MyndPlay, five creators travelled on five Contiki trips while wearing EEG headsets that captured their brain activity at peak moments. The results showed dramatic spikes in dopamine, focus, creativity and calm. My role was to turn this into a social-led storytelling moment that felt human, entertaining and impossible to scroll past.
Travel Experiment Meets Social Media
As Global Head of Social, I designed the social strategy that shaped how this experiment lived online. The science was the hook, but creators were the voice that made people care. I built a rollout that centred the traveller perspective, leaned into their personalities and encouraged authentic reaction rather than scripted endorsement.
It was imperative to make the EEG data feel accessible and human, to ensure this was more than a marketing stunt.
Key elements included:
• Running daily Instagram Story takeovers once results were delivered, giving each creator space to share insights, surprises and personal reflections in their own tone of voice
• Creating a social narrative arc across Contiki channels that tied the raw complex data to relatable emotional moments
• Building a reactive content plan that highlighted the strongest brainwave moments such as walking tours, group downtime and iconic views
Results
Brainwaves Don’t Lie became one of Contiki’s most impactful social campaigns.
The audience connected with real travellers sharing how a moment felt. By building the campaign around creators and giving them space to share the story in their own way, we kept the science credible without losing the emotional heart of the brand.
The result was a campaign that landed both as an innovation story and as a human one.
- More than 4 million organic TikTok views across creator and brand channels
- Significant uplift in follower engagement during the reveal content window
- Strong positive sentiment, with audiences calling the concept “wildly relatable” and “proof of what travel does to you”
- Clear evidence that Contiki experiences generated the highest peak moments across all five trips
Awards
The Brainwaves Don’t Lie campaign also gained industry recognition across creativity, digital innovation and travel marketing
- Winner, Best Media Campaign, Lovie Awards
- Winner, Innovation Trailblazer Award, Travel Marketing Awards
- Honoree, The Webby Awards
