KLM - Pop up store SFO

KLM - Pop up store SFO

KLM Netherlands Flagship carrier KLM Royal Dutch Airlines first introduced its #HappytoHelp tagline and motto in 2014 with a week-long, worldwide, traveler helping spree driven by social media chatter revolving around its Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. HQ.

That incredibly successful campaign was designed to showcase just how far KLM was willing to go to help travellers (any travellers, not just KLM passengers) with any trip-related woes. At the time, the airline set up 200 social media savvy employees, in a glass-walled “pop-up headquarters” at Schiphol.

Working round-the-clock in shifts, the blue-clad KLM travel heroes scanned global social media posts to pinpoint folks needing a help with travel – and doing whatever they could to alleviate those problems. Marketing publications and news agencies around the world went wild with the story, and the video KLM made to document the campaign collected over 3.6 million views on YouTube.

Recently, the airline brought the concept back to life in another all-out “helpathon”, this time targeting the US market and the citizens of San Francisco.

For two weeks in November, the airline dedicated all of its US advertising spend to special outdoor advertising messages throughout the city. The airline took out billboards and pulled banners behind small airplanes, put ads on taxis and on bus stops, and had people in the streets to assist folks however they could.

Over the two weeks, KLM helped locals with everything from finding missing dogs and crossing the street, to helping them look their best, giving directions, providing traffic avoidance tips and even finding the best places to surf, based on real-time conditions.

At the same time, a KLM pop-up shop was installed in the heavy foot-traffic area of Union Square. This effort was focused on promoting KLM’s inflight services and amenities. Visitors could test out lie-flat business class seats, sample Dutch coffee, try KLM’s iconic and complimentary inflight waffles and even take a virtual Dreamliner cabin tour with VR headsets.

KLM has been working overtime to drum up brand awareness in the US. A string of comedic television commercials targeting this market made big headlines last year as well.

Airways Magazine published an extensive write-up of the San Francisco effort and how it plays into KLM’s North American strategy, as did Social Airlines , a platform showcasing the best of airline social media.

The video KLM produced for this campaign has nearly 50,000 views on YouTube.