Commentary

Travel Brands Up For CLIO's - What They Did Right

If you’re an advertiser, the CLIO Awards should be a familiar name. Honoring innovation and creative excellence in the industry, the CLIO Awards make being a nominee a great accolade in itself. Submissions from all of the globe have been reviewed and whittled down by world class creative talent to the 2016 Shortlist revealed last week. Of the remaining elite, five travel brand campaigns have made the cut! 

So let’s take some time to recognize these campaigns for their excellence and look into what makes them so deserving of their CLIO Award nomination, shall we? 

Brand: Mexico Tourism Board

Campaign: Doppelganger

Medium: Branded Entertainment

Category: Film - Unscripted

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Campaign Summary

The Mexico Tourism Board cast doppelgängers who confront their workaholic counterparts. Coincidentally, the doppelgängers have been enjoying vacation time in Mexico with video content to prove it. By the end, our workaholics feel ashamed of their habits and are surprised with a complimentary vacation to Mexico. 

Why It’s Great

According to MarketWatch, 55% of American workers don’t take all their paid vacation time ... 658 million unused days’ worth to be exact! This opportunistic campaign targets those consumers, generating a unique sense of FOMO. More specifically, the doppelgänger concept creates a low-tech and innovative solution to physically immerse someone within an environment. 

Brand: Swedish Tourist Association

Campaign: The Swedish Number

Medium: Direct

Category: Digital/Mobile

Campaign Summary

Exposing the world to the real Sweden, the campaign allows anyone around the globe to call a Swedish resident and celebrate 250 years since the country constitutionally abolished censorship. In the spirit of free speech, callers could ask residents about anything and receive their honest response. 

Why It’s Great

Sweden faced dated stereotypes that prevented desired levels of tourism. Many consumers perceive the country as being left-wing extremist, and misinterpreted that as a tight governance on free speech, but the STA showed the truth couldn’t be more different. By opening up channels of communication between international consumers and residents, transparency was established. Within days, thousands of potential tourists discussed all kinds of topics with Swedes, ranging from Donald Trump’s candidacy to a typical Swedish lunch. In a reality where brands can buy a voice for just about any communication outlet, transparency is the steadfast way to establish trust and brand advocacy. 

Brand: S7 Airlines

Campaign: Upside Down & Inside Out #GravitysJustAHabit

Medium: Film

Category: Short form

Campaign Summary

S7 Airlines partnered with the band OK Go to create yet another one of their astoundingly creative music videos. If you aren’t familiar with OK Go’s music video work, it’s certainly worth a quick YouTube search. In this particular instance, they performed their shoot in zero gravity within an in-flight S7 Airlines aircraft over Russia. 

Why It’s Great

At heart, this is a stellar branded content piece. While it doesn’t necessarily communicate any specific brand attributes, leveraging OK Go is certainly an excellent choice to raise awareness for the brand profile. Tapping into OK Go’s global fan base earned from their visual creativity, S7 Airlines was able to create a language-agnostic marketing piece. With many international destinations such as Austria, Armenia, China, Egypt, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy and the United Arab Emirates, global outreach was crucial to their strategy. Reaching nearly 60 million video views across all platforms, the campaign is an astounding success. 

Brand: Deutsche Lufthansa

Campaign: AG Travel Compass

Medium: Innovation

Category: Medium innovation

Campaign Summary

The Lufthansa Travel Compass puts the power of exploration in the hands of German consumers with fully rotatable kiosk installations. By rotating the kiosk, travelers are immersed in an interactive 360° video to explore the globe's metropoles. Creating another layer of immersion, consumers can superimpose their face as digital graffiti on buildings in other cities.

Why It’s Great

At first glance this campaign might seem like a more elaborate iteration of Google Earth. What makes it so much more than that are subtle nuances that transform a web browser sized experience into an immersive gateway to new worlds. Starting with the format size, a door-sized digital display creates a visual that engulfs the consumer, giving them an almost perfect first-person perspective while still supporting shareability with their peers and other passersby.

Equally as important is the physical action required to explore, adding a level of interaction that feels more immersive than standard touch or gesture technologies. Lastly, the superimposed graffiti offers a staple for any interactive experience, a takeaway. This takeaway was executed in both an artful and unique way, generating a digital keepsake consumers will want to remember and share without the allure of an incentive. 

1 comment about "Travel Brands Up For CLIO's - What They Did Right".
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  1. Dyann Espinosa from IntraStasis, August 30, 2016 at 8:56 a.m.

    The CLIOs are proof that we don't need Ad Blockers, what we need are these kinds of ads. Clients have to understand that people will willingly watch their commercials--if they are good, even great. Yes, it's possible!
    And ad agencies have to just say "No" to crappy work.
    imho

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