KLM Royal Dutch Airlines: Case study

Credits & Description:

Brand KLM
Entrant DDB & TRIBAL AMSTERDAM
DDB & TRIBAL AMSTERDAM Amsterdam, The Netherlands Entrant Company
DDB & TRIBAL AMSTERDAM Amsterdam, The Netherlands Idea Creation
IN CASE OF FIRE Amsterdam, The Netherlands Production
FROLIC STUDIO Amsterdam, The Netherlands Production
Gijs Sluijters DDB & Tribal Amsterdam Art Director
Joris Tol DDB & Tribal Amsterdam Copywriter
Ed van Bennekom DDB & Tribal Amsterdam Creative Director
Jasper Diks DDB & Tribal Amsterdam Creative Director
Sophie van Pelt DDB & Tribal Amsterdam Senior Producer
Jolijn de Visser DDB & Tribal Amsterdam Senior Producer
Ralf Hesen DDB & Tribal Amsterdam Strategy Director
Esther te Pas DDB & Tribal Amsterdam Business Director
Collin Huijser In Case of Fire Director
Arjan Oosterveer In Case of Fire Producer
Kim Hinrichs In Case of Fire Off-line editor
Taco Arts In Case of Fire Off-line editor
Joris Bulstra In Case of Fire Camera
Peter Bot Peter Bot (Chairs) Model Maker
FROLIC Studio FROLIC Studio (Technic) Model Maker
Tim van Paassen The Compound On-line editor
Jaap Wajer Loudness.io Sound Designer
Massive Music Massive Music Music
Natascha van Roode KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Head of Global Marketing Communication
Marit Badia Hilligehekken KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Global Marketing Communications Manager
Synopsis
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is in the business of bringing people together: it unites families, friends and other relations all over the world.
KLM wanted to use the days around Christmas to communicate a message of unity, togetherness and sharing. A message that would touch people, create sympathy for the brand and would contribute to KLM’s brand purpose ‘Moving your world by creating memorable experiences’. A message that had to reach as many people around the globe as possible through ‘earned media’, since KLM’s media budget was limited.
Outcome
• 20+ million views.
• Number of shares and comments above benchmark with 110,000+.
• 95% positive response on social media.
• Emotional connection on social video scored well above benchmark.
• Global media coverage by authoritative media such as Trendwatching.com, PSFK, Yahoo! plus shared by Google Europe on its social channels.
• Amongst the 10% best scoring KLM content
Execution
The seats were designed to rest your head in the centre, with speakers on each side. A directional microphone facilitated the audio connection. The Connecting Seats used Google’s Cloud Speech, Translation and Web Speech APIs to translate every language, including multiple dialects. We started by designing the chairs over a 3-month period. The chairs (fabric, colours, shapes) where inspired by KLM’s World Business Class. The chairs were placed at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. When a person took a seat, the chair immediately started talking, using sensors in de seating. With the chairs we brought together many travellers from over 30 countries and showed that KLM brings people together.
Campaign Description
Airports are some of the busiest places in the world, crowded with people from different backgrounds. But because of language barriers, passengers tend not to make human connections while waiting for their flights.
We created ‘Connecting Seats’: 2 seats that translate every language in real time, allowing travellers with different languages to talk to each other. With this experience, we set out to bring random travellers together during the Christmas season.
The Seats yielded some warm and emotional chats, in which people exchanged views on the world and holiday greetings. Travellers from over 30 countries put their phones or books aside and opened up to each other. The best moments were turned into a social video.