Emirates Airlines: EMIRATES AIR LINE

Credits & Description:

Advertiser: EMIRATES AIRLINE
Agency: STARCOM MEDIAVEST GROUP
Category: Best Use of Ambient Media: Large Scale
Associate Director: Duncan Child (Starcom MediaVest Group)
Manager Corporate Communications/Europe: Claire Geary (Emirates Airline)
Head Of SMG Sports: Robin Clarke (Starcom MediaVest Group)
Director Strategy And Special Projects: Ben Cronin (Starcom MediaVest Group)
Strategic Director: Josh Robinson (Starcom MediaVest Group)
Business Director: Jane Holding (Starcom MediaVest Group)
Business Director: Susan Kingston-Brown (Starcom MediaVest Group)

Strategy
Emirates is a different kind of carrier. It’s a young airline, unencumbered by the baggage of national iconography, designed for a borderless world.Our ‘globalista’ audience share a similar world view. They see themselves as global citizens, not limited by national borders and they place huge value on the experience of real world connections. This is evidenced in their drivers of airline choice; recommendations and personal experiences.We saw this as a huge opportunity– an airline with a truly global brand perspective and an audience who value real-world, connective experiences.Our strategy; deliver a real-world connective Emirates experience, and help create a unifying and iconic landmark, embedding the brand in a globally recognisable skyline. Our idea: partner with Transport For London in the development of the London cable car (the UK’s first urban cable car, connecting north and south London over the River Thames), to create the Emirates Air Line.

Effectiveness
Emirates has created the first ever branded stations in the 105-year history of the London transport map, embedding the brand in London’s transport infrastructure and skyline.In nine months, over 2 million passengers have enjoyed an immersive Emirates experience and advocacy has been generated both locally and globally; the Air Line has a 93% satisfaction score from Londoners and is already rated 4th out of 137 attractions in London via TripAdvisor.The Air Line is redefining the Emirates brand; over 2/3 of users agree that Emirates 'inspires people to travel’ and ‘appeals to all sorts of world travellers’.

Execution
Every element of cable car branding was developed in close partnership with TfL, creating a truly 360 Emirates experience. Integration of airline terminology transformed cable cars, crossings, stations and tickets into Cabins, Flights, Terminals and Boarding Passes.The experience was enhanced with web apps providing ‘in-flight commentary’ on views from the Air Line and a dedicated website enabling people to create their own commentaries. To generate real goodwill at the launch, we needed to win the hearts of those who would best advocate the Air Line– Londoners themselves. To do so, we implemented a hyper-local campaign within London, including outdoor domination of local tube stations and geo-targeted mobile within immediate proximity of the Air Line.To amplify launch buzz, we partnered with Capital FM to deliver the breakfast show (the most popular commercial radio show in London) live from the Air Line itself– engaging 1.2 million Londoners on launch day alone.