Thursday, October 13, 2016

momondo Announces DNA Journey Winner from 200K Global Submissions

I received this information via email today from Momondo:

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Given your past interest in momondo’s DNA campaign, I wanted to let you know that the global winner of the travel search site’s DNA Journey was announced this morning. 170,378 people joined the competition from all around the world, and winner Manuel Martínez won the chance to map his ancestry by traveling through Europe, Africa and Asia.

The global campaign and its five-minute film, which documented 67 people who took part in the project, generated a huge viral response around the world:

  • 175+ million views of the campaign film “momondo – The DNA Journey”
  • Over 8.3 million social engagements on all social platforms
  • 396 million people reached worldwide

“It is the people you meet on your trip that make you remember a place.”
Manuel Martínez, global winner of momondo – The DNA Journey competition



In April 2016, momondo invited 67 people to take a journey based on their DNA. They were offered to take a DNA test and to have their experiences recorded. 16 of them were portrayed in the film “momondo – The DNA Journey.” As part of this campaign, momondo started a competition and gave people from all over the world the chance to take part in the journey and win one of 500 DNA kits.

Worldwide, a total of 170,378 people joined in and shared how they would open the world through travelling. 500 of these people won a DNA kit and went on to discover their heritage as revealed through their spit sample. By filming themselves reading their DNA results, they entered momondo’s competition to win their own DNA journey. The first prize winner will go on a journey to all the countries found in their DNA, and the second prize will send 17 local winners to one country found in their DNA.  

“Each of our participants had an extraordinary story to tell. But in the end, Manuel Martínez stood out with his self-reflective and moving video. He sees the world with open eyes, and we believe that he is the right person to carry our message with him on his journey. We are happy to announce Manuel as our global winner of The DNA Journey competition,” says Lasse Skole Hansen, spokesperson for momondo.

“I feel so connected to the world,” said Manuel after opening his DNA results live on camera. Born and raised in Mexico, his surname always revealed his European roots and left him wondering about his heritage. Still, the mechanical engineering student says he would have never dreamt of finding out that he is from all over the world and has ancestors of Asian, African, Southern, Eastern and Northern European as well as Native American descent.

“After I sent in my DNA test, I started asking my family about my heritage. I discovered that my background is much more diverse than I originally thought. My father’s ancestors came from a small town in Northern Italy. My mother shares her maiden name with a tiny village in Portugal. It would be interesting to start my journey in these two cities, get to know the culture and find out how the locals live there today. But I am also very excited about travelling to Eastern Europe as well as Africa and Asia!”

When he submitted his video, Manuel was living in Germany, but by the time he won The DNA Journey competition, he had already moved on to Greece. “I am a travel addict. My parents took me on many holidays when I was little, so I fell in love with travelling when I was a kid. From my experience it is the people you meet on your trip that make you remember a place. I always felt the urge to make a difference in this life and would like to be a messenger between people from different cultures.”

Watch the DNA video from Manuel Martínez here.

Facts about “momondo – The DNA Journey”

  • 175+ million views of the campaign film “momondo – The DNA Journey”
  • Over 8.3 million social engagements on all social platforms
  • 396 million people reached worldwide
  • 550+ media clippings and 4.4 billion media impressions
  • 170,378 people joined the competition for “momondo - The DNA Journey”

 


About momondo:
momondo.com is a free, independent and global travel search site that compares billions of prices on flights, hotels and travel deals. momondo has won several awards and is recommended by leading international media organizations such as CNN, The New York Times and The Daily Telegraph. momondo is headquartered in Copenhagen and serves travelers across 35 international markets. momondo’s mobile applications are available for free for iPhone and Android.

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Copyright (c) 2016, Randall J. Seaver

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1 comment:

Cathy P said...

I just love the momondo video. People care so much about their families. It is just such a huge part of being human. Very nice