benchmark report
airline marketing
live your american dream
soho pop up KLM For three days in June, New Yorkers walking along Mulberry Street in the city’s super-hip Soho district had a chance to “pop” into a KLM Pop-Up Shop for a multi-faceted Dutch experience. Working together with Dutch designer Hella Jongerius (who also oversaw the look and feel of KLM’s new World Business Class) the airline designed a popup experience infused with the very best of Dutch culture and airline-themed fun that was interactive on a multitude of levels. Dutch DJ’s spun records in one section, while KLM’s inflight treats were served up in another; and blue stationary bicycles (bikes are a massively popular way to get around the Dutch capital of Amsterdam) got people moving in a competition to win KLM Flying Blue points by pedaling the far thest in 60 seconds. There were Dutch waffle-
JULY 2015 ISSUE
VIRGIN ATLANTIC making workshops, live ar t demonstrations and also featured was a merchandise shop designed to promote the shop@KLM online store. Helping to spread the word about this limited time oppor tunity, KLM installed a photo booth linked to social networks in the shop. This encouraged visitors to snap a picture and share with friends. The airline also invited a number of locally–based travel writers and bloggers into the location for a sneak peek prior to public opening. In a pre-opening interview , Marnix Fruitema, senior vice-president, Nor th America Air France-KLM told APEX Media: “KLM Each activity we have planned is a key touchstone of Dutch culture and connected to the KLM brand.”
To raise awareness of the destinations Virgin Atlantic now flies to in the USA as part of its partnership with Delta, Virgin Atlantic created an experiential campaign which starred British illusionist Drummond MoneyCoutts (a.k.a. DMC). The airline brought Money-Coutts to London in a red Cadillac, accompanied by Virgin Atlantic cabin crew, for a special demonstration of the magician’s mind reading talent. Passersby were shown a list of US cities and asked to pick one, concentrate on their wishcity, and “transmit” the name of that city to the illusionist through ‘telepathy’. DMC then wrote the city he ‘heard’ on a boarding pass, the participant confirmed his or her choice, and contestants who did a good job of communicating their wishes through thought won a trip to their chosen city (full report here ).
“America is such a dream destination for many people and it was great fun to put a little magic into giving people fantastic trips and hope it inspires many others to try somewhere totally new in the USA!” said the illusionist of the event. Hamish Rickman, Head of Brand Engagement at Virgin Atlantic said: “Our joint venture with Delta Air lines gives us the opportunity to offer our customers flights to over 200 US cities. Working with DMC gave us a fun way to showcase all that America has to offer.” The YouTube video of the Virgin Atlantic campaign has garnered nearly 250,000 views since its debut this June.
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EXPERIENTIAL SOCIAL DIGITAL TV, PRINT, OOH
