British Airways - Avios Virtual Reality

British Airways - Avios Virtual Reality

British writers, playwrights and novelists like H.G. Wells, George Orwell and Aldous Huxley have been at the forefront of any meaningful conversation about humankind’s relationship with future technology. So it’s only fitting that British Airways, the official carrier of the country that gave the world Dr. Who, Black Mirror and David Bowie would adopt the art of vacationing via Virtual Reality (VR).

Hoping to encourage passengers to collect Avios a reward currency used by Aer Lingus, British Airways, Flybe, Iberia, Kulula and Meridiana – every time they book flights to Madrid, Avios is partnering with British Airways to bring the wonders of Madrid to passenger’s living rooms via an innovative 360 degree VR video.

Highlighting such only-in-Madrid landmarks as the ancient Egyptian Temple of Debod, the historic San Miguel Market and the so-called “green lungs of the city,” Buen Retiro Park, the best thing about this VR tour is that you don’t need fancy VR glasses to take it, as BA and Avios worked with Google Cardboard.

The one-of-a-kind advertisement premiered in the March edition of The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and passengers who purchased the magazine in Tesco supermarkets were supplied with a free pair of Avios and British Airways branded Google Viewers to start their virtual tour straight away.

Hoping to encourage viewers to book air travel via British Airways using Avios, the team also partnered with performance agency iProspect to push the video out to other users via YouTube TrueView ads, and quick, 15 second clips on Facebook. Using iProspect’s innovative retargeting expertise, viewers who complete the VR tour will see direct response display and Facebook ads that encourage them to purchase actual, real-life tickets to Madrid.

Already something of cult sensation with VR devotees online the tour has been viewed almost 670K times since going live just a few weeks ago and been written up everywhere from creativepool. com to Travel Daily UK.

Key Take-Away

While carriers like United and Etihad have showcased the luxuries of their first and business class cabins via 360 VR campaigns in the past featuring Oscar-winners like Matt Damon and Nicole Kidman respectively, Avios and British Airways’ spot stands out by offering tech-savvy flyers a chance to experience an actual living, breathing city “firsthand” via VR. Not only does it look cool, but it should also play exceeding well with younger passengers and adventure travellers looking for a gritty and more authentic experience the next time they fly.