“Hidden Gem” Creators Grow Travel App MAUs

215

assets produced

215

assets produced

89.4

views

89.4

views

MAU lift

Client

WanderLens

Year

2025

Industry

Travel

Platform

Territory

U.S., EU, APAC

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Challenge

WanderLens had a great product—but no social proof. Users wanted to see “real hidden gems,” not just app screenshots; winter downloads plummeted as travelers stuck to “popular spots.”

Big Platform Bias: 80% of target users (adventure travelers) said they “stick to TripAdvisor” for recommendations.
UGC Scarcity: The app had little user-generated content to prove its “hidden gems” were real.
Seasonal Drops: Winter downloads fell 40% (industry average) as travelers prioritized popular destinations.

Solution

We turned creators into “WanderLens guides”, instead of pushing the app, they used it to plan trips, showing users how to find better adventures, not just that it exists.

“Hidden Gem” Creator Sourcing: Partnered with 20 travel micro-influencers with 20k-70k followers, who specialized in underrated destinations like Portugal coastal towns and Japan hidden onsens.
App-First Content: Creators shared “WanderLens-guided trips”, including before/after comparisons of TripAdvisor vs. app spots and step-by-step booking tutorials.
Winter Focus: Launched “Hidden Winter Towns” content to combat seasonal drops, like 5 ski towns you’ve never heard of.

Result

This creator program grew WanderLens’s user base and solved the app’s core challenge, proving its “hidden gems” were real and worth ditching big platforms for.

Throughout the 12-week program, the results included:

67% growth in monthly active users, exceeding the 50% target
42% of new WanderLens users came via creator links, a sign of influencer-driven trust
A 70% reduction in winter download drops, from 40% to 12%, outperforming industry averages

Beyond user growth, the campaign turned creators into long-term app advocates—users now tag WanderLens in their own hidden gem trips, turning the app into a community-driven travel resource.

“VibeVox helped us turn creators into our biggest advocates. Their content didn’t just promote the app—it showed people *how to use it* to have better trips. That’s trust you can’t buy with ads.”

-- Mark Chen

CEO @WanderLens