Winner of the Travel Lifestyle Campaign of the Year 2026, this campaign by APAVT, the Portuguese Association of Travel and Tourism Agencies, was developed by Message in a Bottle to turn a technical consumer protection issue into a simple, memorable and highly effective public message.
In Portugal, many consumers still book travel through informal sellers operating outside the official RNAVT registry, exposing themselves to fraud, poor service and limited protection. APAVT’s challenge was to raise awareness without resorting to fear-based messaging, while reinforcing the value of certified travel agents around National Travel Agent Day.
The campaign’s central insight was universal: people would not trust an unqualified professional with a serious task, so why trust holidays to someone who is not a certified travel agent?
Under the claim “Only in the Hands of Those Who Know”, the campaign dramatized absurd role reversals: a plumber as a doctor, a mechanic as a chef, a police officer as a wedding celebrant.
The message was clear:
holidays should only be placed in expert hands.
The campaign was executed as an integrated digital and PR ecosystem, combining hero videos, static visuals, reels, stories, social posts, YouTube, display, affiliate formats and a dedicated landing page. This hub explained what RNAVT is, how to verify registered agencies and why booking with certified professionals matters. This was the first advertising campaign in the Portuguese tourism sector to use artificial intelligence
Results exceeded expectations. The campaign delivered 8.3 million impressions, 131.000+ clicks, a 1.36% CTR, 2.1 million video views, 88,000 complete website visits, 67,000 website visitors and an average session duration of 1 minute 7 seconds. Meta generated 1.15 million reach and 54,500+ clicks, while Google Display and affiliates added 5.29 million impressions and 77,000+ clicks.
By combining humour, education and scale, APAVT made consumer protection engaging, visible and culturally relevant.
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Contact Message in a Bottle at info@messageinabottle.pt