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Maria Kavadia is the co-founder of Cosmorama, a Greek travel agency with over 20 years of market presence. Her expertise covers the full spectrum of the industry, including global tour operations, PR, and marketing.
In a sea of similar-looking holiday ads, it’s easy for even the most stunning visuals to become forgettable. At Cosmorama, our traditional media strategy was once effective at capturing our core segment: travellers aged 45 and over who aspire to explore the world. However, it didn’t resonate with Millennials and Gen Z, who represent our next wave of growth.
As the digital landscape shifted, we eventually hit a performance ceiling where traditional media could no longer scale. This stagnation became undeniable in the first half of 2025, when our branded searches began to drop. We realised that rather than waiting for demand to find us, we had to create it.
The answer was right in front of us. In Greece, the average user spends more than 50 minutes on YouTube daily.1 Furthermore, with over 60% of consumers engaging with the platform, YouTube’s reach now surpasses that of any other streaming service in the market.2 We were completely absent from this space.
Historically, travel agencies like ours couldn’t compete on YouTube because high-quality video production was too slow and expensive. However, 2026 marks a year where AI-powered video has moved from innovation to business necessity for small and medium businesses like ours to compete locally and globally.
The technical craft behind a surreal vision
To capture attention and inspire people to explore travel options, we developed the new strategy with our agency, iNous Marketing Labs, and AI video tools. We leaned into surreal, dream-like imagery. For example, instead of showing someone simply enjoying a cup of tea in Japan, our ads featured a full Japanese tea ceremony taking place on the wing of an airplane in flight. This is a concept we couldn’t have realised without AI:
In total, we produced over 40 high-quality videos, featuring AI actors that resemble the local population, to represent our travel destinations in an unforgettable way. A few years ago, an idea this ambitious would have been grounded before takeoff for a business our size.
Our creative workflow centred on a loop between Google’s Nano Banana Pro and Veo 3. First, we used Nano Banana Pro to create actors and optimise backgrounds. We then upscaled these assets and fed them back into Veo 3 to refine facial details and natural lighting.
Once we reached the desired quality, we returned to Nano Banana Pro to convert the assets from 16:9 to 9:16, re-processing the final results through Veo 3 to ensure a seamless vertical format.
“This is a great, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. A technical window has opened, and we have to move fast to grab it,” says Ioannis Develekos, founder and data analyst at iNous Marketing Labs. “We are now using these tools to build assets we couldn’t have created before and launching them in our campaigns, mainly on YouTube.”
The evolution to a big-screen strategy
Building upon the momentum of the initial YouTube campaign and an analysis of preliminary performance data, the second phase of the strategy focused on capturing high-intent audiences. To do this, we deployed new content created through our Nano Banana workflow, with a heavy emphasis on Connected TV (CTV) as a primary placement. This shift allowed us to present our brand on the “big screen,” providing an environment that matched our premium travel products.
During this stage, we introduced supplementary video content specifically designed to highlight Cosmorama’s unique value propositions. By capturing travel as a soulful and transformative experience, these videos deepened the emotional resonance of the campaign.
We delivered these assets to both our established audience of inspired viewers and a wider circle of high-intent travelers actively searching for their next journey. By reconnecting with those who had already been captivated by our surreal visuals, we reinforced brand preference and moved travelers deeper into the consideration phase, turning curiosity into a booking intent.
The business impact of a dream-like campaign
Given that long-distance travel typically requires months of preparation, we launched the campaign just as travellers in Greece began planning their New Year and winter holidays. The timing was strategic. By executing a focused three-month growth plan, we captured high-intent attention well before this peak booking season.
We saw the immense value in running constant creative tests and receiving immediate feedback. Looking back at the last four months of last year, we believe that this speed was what drove the success of the entire project.
The results exceeded our expectations: our online revenue doubled, and we successfully reversed the decline in the volume of our branded searches. Interestingly, our Google Ads account showed that brand interest surged too, with users being 37% more likely to search for Cosmorama by name after viewing the ads.
The risk today isn’t wasting money on video anymore. The risk is remaining invisible.
The competitive edge of creative agility
In 2026, we are moving from a single-format approach to a diversified asset library. By mixing long-, medium-, and short-form content, we will address every stage of the Greek consumer’s journey, from initial inspiration to final booking.
For any business stuck on a growth plateau, our journey shows that a creative leap of faith pays off. As these tools become more intuitive, the playing field will level out.
For agile companies, the unique opportunity is happening right now. As Develekos puts it: “The risk today isn’t wasting money on video anymore. The risk is remaining invisible.”
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