Mike FriedmanVAWAA | Your Authentic Experience
According to Pew Research, the generation of people born between 1981 and 1996 have come to be known as the Millennials. I’m not sure who gave Pew Research agency to define a generation, but it’s on the internet, so it must be true. (Don’t worry, we will get to VAWAA soon….)
Given their relative youth, Millennials will be defining a lot of the way that we travel and interact with brands, so merchants are starting to address what is important to the next cohort of adults. Obviously, there is no single answer to what pleases everyone, but this group’s values do seem to be different from their parents’. In particular, I’ve seen two words pop up consistently:
- Authenticity: Millennials tend to choose individual or smaller brands, particularly those that share their personal values. This cohort saw their parents losing jobs through the Great Recession and don’t trust corporations.
- Experiences: This isn’t a trend that is unique to Millennials, but it’s certainly one that they’ve helped proliferate. More and more, we’re valuing experiences, rather than “things.” There’s only so much junk that one household can accumulate, and agencies have done research which shows that, in the long run, the family vacation provides more happiness than the new TV that you would have bought instead. It makes sense. “Things” are only new for so long, but experiences bring memories. (“The Perfect Vacation!”)
Vacation With An Artist – Perfect Vacation?
So if you’re searching for an activity or even a vacation (“The Perfect Vacation”) that combines the two trends above, you should take a look at the Webby Award Winning Vacations With An Artist, or VAWAA.
The concept is actually quite simple: Take your creativity to one of 23 countries and Vacation With An Artist will arrange for you to work with a local artist. And by artist, we don’t mean that it has to be painting or drawing. They offer ceramics, dance, photography and just about anything else that you can think of that would fall under the category of “creative.”
What’s nice is that VAWAA is able to tailor the experience to your level of expertise, so beginners won’t have to feel like they’ve been thrown into the deep end of the pool,* while more advanced users won’t be at the type of “cooking class” that I take my kids to, where somebody else does all the work and they do all of the eating.
*Metaphorically, of course. I’m not sure if swimming is actually something they offer.
What Is, And Isn’t, Included
VAWAA is providing the experience for you, although the travel planning is up to you. Airfare and hotel are up to you. Don’t worry, we’ll still be here to help you with your points and miles. We really do want you to have the perfect vacation.
For example, suppose that you want to learn how to make soft soap. It’s a great opportunity for beginners, since it requires no experience. They’ll put you together with Anja in Slovenia because, of course, Ljubljana is celebrated as the home of soft soap making, in addition to be the final word in the 2019 Scripps National Spelling Bee. Anja will teach you about the basics making soap, the differences between the varieties and which oils to use. Naturally, you will be taking your soap home with you, so I guess that you get an authentic experience and a thing. How can you beat that?
