Vistara - The Soundtrack of Travel

As many of the campaigns we’ve featured in this issue show, airlines are trying to rekindle a love of flying and of travel among people who may not have flown anywhere for the past two years.

One example is Indian airline Vistara, which at the end of March released “The Soundtrack of Travel.”

This is a mix of sounds that you generally associate with being on an aircraft. It includes cabin crew announcements, but also the sound of the overhead bins closing.

There are also the sounds of seatbelts clicking, the beep of security scanners and drinks being poured. It then ends with the sound of an aircraft getting ready for takeoff.

A social media competition, amplifying the video, asks people to count the number of beeps they hear for the chance to win a Vistara Ticket.

The campaign is not a million miles away from the ASMR flight video Virgin Atlantic released during the pandemic.

However, what’s noteworthy is that this appears to be only the first stage of a wider campaign focusing on sound. Press reports in India say that this is the first stage of a wider campaign called The Sound of Travel, which will be rolled out in May 2022.

This will focus on travel sounds and will also have a dedicated Spotify channel.

What we like about this campaign

One of the most interesting special reports we produced, was one on sonic branding.

Did you know that it takes only 0.025 of a second to register and identify a sound? That means you process audio information 10x quicker than visual information.

At the same time, music is the only thing in your auditory cortex that fires off every part of your brain simultaneously.

We live in a world of sound, and sound and music are inherently based on emotion, and many brand decisions are as much emotional as rational.

Sound as a marketing tactic is underused in the airline space, and so we’re excited to see what Vistara has planned later in the year with the wider campaign.