Etihad Airways Group - Marketing Campaign of the Year - Transportation
Company: Etihad Airways Group, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Company Description: We've come a long way since our first flight in 2003. Now a leading aviation and travel group, we’re proud to have shared our adventure with millions of people around the world. Our journey started in Abu Dhabi; the capital of the UAE and the city we call home. With an old-world charm and genuine passion for innovation, Abu Dhabi is modern and cosmopolitan – a forward-thinking city that has been
Nomination Category: Marketing Campaign Categories - Industry
Nomination Sub Category: Marketing Campaign of the Year - Transportation
Nomination Title: Etihad Guest Campaign
Specify the date on which this campaign or program was launched: The Etihad Guest, Your Special Guest campaign launched in June 2020 for two months.
A video of up to five (5) minutes: https://vimeo.com/542574857/96809de79a
Etihad Guest Awards Film from BBD Perfect Storm on Vimeo.
Etihad Guest is a Travel and Lifestyle brand within the Etihad Aviation Group with a brand purpose of thoughtfulness being centre to all they do. https://www.etihad.com/en/guest/your-special-guest/inspire
When Covid hit at the start of 2020 travel and living as we knew and loved essentially came to a halt. With tragedy and hardship being felt on a global scale, good news stories were few and far between and the travel element of the loyalty programme was struggling to maintain relevancy and engagement. Etihad Guest saw an opportunity to champion the true spirit of thoughtfulness and help bring a little joy into people’s lives, with not only their loyal Guests, but to create a virtuous circle of thoughtfulness all around the world.
The goals set for the Your Special Guest campaign were to engage with members, to increase relevancy and usage of the programme at a time when most of the benefits weren’t accessible and increase positive brand sentiment.
The consumer journey was an important part of the campaign plan to ensure the goals were achieved. A nomination mechanic would help increase engagement, and so, in a true gesture of thoughtfulness, Etihad Guest gave Guests the opportunity to nominate someone special in their life. These nominations were then branded content to showcase Etihad Guest’s brand purpose – thoughtfulness.
The reward phase of the campaign went live a month later where the most heart-warming nominations received a gift curated just for them with the request to video the unboxing and post on social, tagging Etihad Guest. These “money can’t buy” moments, were developed into brand content and heroed on Etihad’s channels, creating engagement and encouraging viewers to discover more stories on the central thoughtfulness hub, putting Etihad Guest on a global stage, encouraging a virtuous circle of thoughtfulness all around the world.
Your Special Guest was a member targeted campaign, activated through owned, digital and social channels. When developing the creative idea for the campaign, authenticity was crucial. This was a time that people needed and wanted to see content from brands that was truly genuine and trustworthy. Using user generated content from Etihad Guest’s members was pivotal in establishing meaningful relationships and creating engaging experiences with other members.
The results were staggering. With over 5,000 nominations received and 8,000 members clicking through to the nomination form, Etihad Guest quadrupled their original nominations target. Member acquisition increased with 83% of non-member nominators signing up to join Etihad Guest to start earning miles. Although acquisition was not an original goal of the campaign, it showed the campaign mechanic was strong enough to drive interest in joining the programme.
In the face of a pandemic, Etihad Guest’s Net Promoter Score rose by eight points across all tiers from the beginning of the campaign, with primary growth driven by Silver and Gold members who increased by 17 points and 14 points respectively.
There was a positive increase to the Customer Engagement score, marking a big shift in member engagement, saliency and sentiment of the brand. Social engagement increased by over 20% during the months the campaign ran, with the number of shares and retweets showing that thoughtfulness really does make the world go round.
In a time where all other travel competitors are fighting for existence and focusing on Covid and sales tactics, Etihad Guest knew there was a better way to engage with members. Through Your Special Guest, Etihad Guest took one of the most catastrophic events in the programme’s history and found a way to maintain the brand’s meaningful role in their members’ lives.
See attached for a selection of assets:
-The folder labelled ‘Nomination & Unboxing videos’ is a selection of social post videos created from some of the best user generated content shared with Etihad Guest, either promoting the nominations or the winning nominees receiving their thoughtful gifts. People in their thousands created emotional videos sharing truly thoughtful actions, highlighting how the Etihad Guest community got behind the Your Special Guest campaign and wanted to share these thoughtful acts with the world to help lift the community during such a tragic time.
-The folder labelled Manifesto film is what was posted organically on Etihad’s social page and send directly to Guests via eDM, encouraging members to nominate. A simple idea shared widely.
-A case study video for the Your Special Guest campaign can also be found here: https://vimeo.com/542574857/96809de79a
https://youtu.be/YiatPyAyWDE
https://youtu.be/WAQC99Jm00c
https://youtu.be/hsMELDS8HZY
https://youtu.be/UGrNGFq0KqY