benchmark report
airline marketing
social
KLM night light
#IHateTheWait
KLM KLM Royal Dutch Airlines came up with a bright solution to a common predicament for frequent flyers: the need to be wherever business takes them and the desire to always be there for their children. The new KLM Night Light was designed to let the children of business travellers count down the days until their mother or father returns home. The mini KLM aircraft lamp has a light burning behind each aircraft window, marking each night the parent will be away. As the travel days pass, one less light turns on, until all the lights have dimmed marking the return of the beloved parent. The Night Light was launched via an ad produced by DDB Amsterdam . The Night Light ad (video) shows a child’s imagination set free as he turns his bedroom
JUNE 2016 ISSUE
AIRLINES FOR AMERICA into a mini-airpor t, making preparations for the return of his mother’s plane. KLM ran a special promotion for its BlueBiz passengers for a chance to win a Night Light for their children with the purchase of tickets before 1 May. The airline also put the KLM Night Lights up for sale online for €39,99. They quickly sold out. No surprise as the product generated quite a lot of positive commentary on Twitter: “Sweet idea,” said one commenter. “I want one!” another wrote. “How cool is that for kids?” wrote a third. Besides demonstrating an understanding of the day-to-day challenges many frequent flyers face, KLM also tied in this promotion to repeat its on-time service commitment to customers.
A combination of fewer security screeners, more rigorous checks and increased airline passenger loads has recently resulted in very long TSA wait times (sometimes topping 90 minutes and causing missed flights) across the United States.
This campaign, seen by many as a hard jab at the TSA, has undoubtedly kicked up a storm of debate about the topic – while eliciting an overwhelming response from the travelling public (who love using social media to lodge complaints) and media.
As the summer travel season kicks into gear these wait times are not projected to get better – and airlines operating in the US have had enough. For years, airline members of Airlines for America (A4A), an advocacy group acting to shape policies for a healthy US airline industry, have lobbied on a regulatory level for change in this area.
Popular publications such as The Consumerist and The BBC have since repor ted on the woes of TSA screening waits, and Conde Nast Traveller has even published an ar ticle featuring some of the most nightmarish images posted under the hashtag.
Now in a digital call to action, A4A has taken its TSA battle to the masses by encouraging travellers to share their security wait line stories with the world via Twitter , Instagram and other social media, using the hashtag #ihatethewait.
For its par t, the TSA has been using Twitter to respond to the outcry, regularly posting explanatory tweets linking followers to information on the situation and encouraging TSA Pre-Check enrolment.
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