The TravelExperience

THE BRAND EXPERIENCE AGENCY

ISSUE 05 || JUNE 2013

THE PLAYREPORT A brief study on the changing landscape

of brand experiences.

Featuring NYC Ballet’s Art Series, British Airways’ ticket giveaway and Tourism Queensland’s ‘One Day in Paradise’

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HelloWell, it’s that time of year again. The June/July period usually means an absence of colleagues, friends and family as they travel abroad to escape the Aussie Winter, while the rest of us sit at our desks and daydream over their scenic, liberating and inspiring, albeit slightly depressing updates.

Travel can be a challenging industry for marketers – the products and purchasing them is fairly complex, audiences are diverse and there are usually plenty of stakeholders involved.

There are a number of brands who are standing out in this space though, using social, user generated content, activations and gamification to inspire travel decisions and add value to consumers’ lives. In this issue, you’ll find a collection of some of our favourites.

Enjoy!The PLAY teamPS – We’d love to hear your feedback on the issue. Tweet us your thoughts! @playcomm

BRITISH AIRWAYSAirline tests consumers flight skills in activation

NYC BalletNYC Ballet breaks with tradition

TOURISM BRITISH COLUMBIATourism British Columbia promotes summer tourism

SNCFRailway system virtually transports consumers to destination

TOURISM QLDIntelligent use of user generated content for tourist board

THE TRAVEL EXPERIENCE

Did you know?

is the most popular travel appRed Rocket Media

72%of travellers post vacation photos on a social network while still on vacationLab 42

$162bwas the revenue of the US online travel industry in 2012United Nations World Tourism Organisation, 2013

52%of travellers change their initial plans as a result of social media, 33% change their hotel and 5% switched airlinesStikkyMedia, 2012

DID YOU KNOW?

The average traveller visits 22 travel related sites, during 9.5 research sessions prior to booking. Complete Inc, Quarterly Key Travel themes

of leisure travellers use a mobile device to check-in for a hotel, flight or cruise.Travellers Road to Decision, Google and Ipsox OTX Media CT

47%

Hospitality is the #2 industry for mobile engagement, behind retailHospitality Net

THE TRAVEL EXPERIENCE

PERSPECTIVE

Virtually transporting someone to a destination was a clever idea. Playing on the Belgian stereotype of warm hospitality and

using the Mayor generated instant likeability for Brussels. A simple, intelligent and

effective campaign.

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FRENCH RAILWAY VIRTUALLY TRANSPORTS CONSUMERS TO DESTINATION

SNCF brings Brussels to life – in Lyons!SNCF, the French national railway system, wanted to raise awareness of their new route from Lyons to Brussels, and shift perceptions of Belgium as a travel destination. A installation at Lyons’ Place de la Republique featuring face-sized peepholes, invited passers by to ‘Take a look at Brussels’. It wasn’t long before curious onlookers did exactly that, finding that when they peered inside, a video link of their surprised faces had been projected to Brussels via satellite. They were welcomed by the mayor of Brussels, his official band, and local onlookers. Playing on the stereotype of warm and friendly Belgian hospitality, the experience triggered an instant emotional reaction. Personally welcoming people to Brussels was a clever way to evoke instant likeability for the destination. We can’t help but wonder what would happen if this was between Australia and New Zealand…

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THE TRAVEL EXPERIENCE

AIRLINE TESTS CONSUMERS FLIGHT SKILLS IN ACTIVATION

Commuters compete with each other in a flight simulator to win airline tickets To promote it’s latest international routes, British Airways gave commuters a chance to escape the mundane trip to work and win a pair of international airline tickets through an activation at Victoria Street railway station. The station, conveniently home to the Gatwick Airport Express, played host to an arcade style flight simulator, where consumers ‘checked-in’ and were subtly educated about the quality of the airlines’ service through a branded game. The activation was then amplified, shared across all of BA’s digital assets and integrated with media at the station to drive traffic back to the activation.

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BA intelligently encouraged higher levels of engagement and interaction and used the

power of emotions to really resonate with their audience. The game provided an

excellent opportunity for content, and the location was strategically chosen to give

the campaign an overall sense of escapism.

THE TRAVEL EXPERIENCE G S C SpA

NYC BALLET BREAKS WITH TRADITION

Ballet partners with street artists to widen target audience To attract a younger audience, the New York City Ballet partnered with renown Brooklyn-based street artists FAILE - Patrick Miller and Patrick McNeil. The artists created an installation titled ‘Les Ballets de Faile’ inspired by the ballet’s old posters and playbills. To help get the younger crowd through the doors, all tickets for the performances were priced at $29. The campaign was supported by transit and online advertising in the young and happening areas of the East Village and the Lower East Side. As a result, tickets to the final performance sold out in just 7 minutes. In addition, the average age of attendees was 31 – a significant drop from the original average of 56.

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PERSPECTIVE

The partnership between the traditional and rigid ballet and the raw Brooklyn street art

was a perfect contrast to appeal to the desired audience.

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THE TRAVEL EXPERIENCE

TOURISM BRITISH COLUMBIA PROMOTES SUMMER TOURISM

Vending machine inspires travel to British Columbia British Colombia is often top of mind for travellers wanting a Winter ski trip, but when it comes to sunny, Summer getaways, it is not often a destination that travellers would consider. To help shift this perception, and raise awareness of British Columbia’s Summer attractions, an integrated campaign entitled ‘100 BC moments’ was created. A giant vending machine treated San Francisco business people with prizes that promoted British Columbia’s Summer attractions, ranging from travel guides and towels, to bicycles and inflatable kayaks. In addition, the prizes encouraged a clear call to action, as they were accompanied with booking vouchers for Air Canada. Over 600 prizes were distributed in three days.

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The location was obviously key in this – encouraging busy office workers in San

Francisco to think about Summer holidays during work hours was clever, and giving them a physical take away that was representative of a Summer holiday helped British Columbia stay top of mind. Although Coca-Cola has used a similar concept in the ‘Happiness Machine’

campaign, we still like this simple and impactful execution.

THE TRAVEL EXPERIENCE

AIRLINE DEVELOPS SOCIALLY POWERED MAP

Users crowd-source travel tips from their social networks to create customised travel map. To add real value to the travellers’ experience, and to help keep KLM Royal Dutch Airlines top of mind, the airline developed an online campaign for globetrotters. Taking consumers’ recommendations to a new level, the map utilised the consumers online social networks to crowd-source travel tips from their friends, crafting a fully customized paper map for a specific destination.

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PERSPECTIVE

The idea of giving customers a physical, customized map seems simple, but was actually quite brave. In a world

where consumers can easily access Google maps and crowd source travel tips through

their own social networks and strangers, KLM did something unique and bold, and

created real value for their customers, although the 3 week delivery

time seems long.

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INTELLIGENT USE OF USER GENERATED CONTENT FOR TOURIST BOARD

Filmmakers capture ‘One Day in Paradise’ for Tourism Tropical North QueenslandTo showcase Tropical North Queensland’s diversity, 20 filmmakers were invited to produce a two minute film that captured their idea of ‘One Day in Paradise’ – shot entirely on GoPro cameras, and bringing TTNQ’s mantra of ‘Adventurous by Nature’ to life. With 75k up for grabs, the filmmakers each travelled to the region for just one day to shoot footage for their films. The 20 videos, all featured on TTNQ’s official YouTube channel, will be used as ATL content in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne on television and online. The winner was announced earlier this month, based on community engagement and creativity.

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PERSPECTIVE

This is an intelligent take on user generated content. Not only is using 20 filmmakers a strategic way of obtaining

diverse, entertaining and creative material, but the partnership with GoPro is a great way to bring the destination’s proposition

“Adventurous by Nature” to life.

THE TRAVEL EXPERIENCE

QANTAS SURPRISES TRAVELLERS WITH IMPROMPTU PERFORMANCE

Qantas rewards customers and celebrates its partnership with the artsTo highlight Qantas’ support of the arts, PLAY developed an activation entitled ‘Uplifting’. Partnering with The Australian Ballet and Opera Australia, PLAY created a mini pop up exhibition that toured the Eastern seaboard. The exhibition showcased some of the most significant costumes from past performances and featured video footage of the documentary ‘Inside the Australian Ballet’.In the Qantas lounges, guests were treated to impromptu performances of well-known opera classics by Opera Australia.

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PERSPECTIVE

Qantas literally ‘uplifted’ their customers with impromptu performances and an

inspiring and fascinating exhibition. This also highlighted the beauty and value of the arts and therefore demonstrated how important

it is for Qantas to support the arts.

PLAY is a communication agency that specialises in Brand Experience Marketing. We activate brands, leverage sponsorships, create events and branded environments, and maximise every connection through mobile and digital amplification. We are known for our strategic, accountable and business centric approach. Our clients understand that we deliver sales, differentiate their brand and products, and build loyalty across consumer, trade and internal audiences.

WHO WE ARE

We are experiential thinkers. We place the customer experience at the centre of what we do. This enables us to identify channel neutral, high impact marketing opportunities for our clients and ensures a relevant and meaningful dialogue with consumers.

WHAT MAKES US DIFFERENT

WE HAVE AN EXPERIENTIALMIND AND A DIGITAL SPIRITConsumers don't differentiate between a digital and real life experience with a brand. Neither do we. We fuse our strategic, creative, digital and activation capabilities into a seamless experience, delivering against defined business objectives.

For business and press enquiries please contact:Simon Horauf // Founder & DirectorSimon.Horauf@playcomms.com

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