2017 Winners & Shortlists

The Campaign

The Emirates Movie Index: Holiday packages that fluctuate according to the movie plots. In partnership with top TV networks in UAE, we used prime movie slots to sell destinations in real time. By using real-time banners, we displayed offers that went down every time something went wrong in the city featured in the movie; and up every time something went right. So, for example, if Aliens attacked Los Angeles, the price to LA went down instantly. If the aliens were defeated, the price went back up again, etc. We selected movies that covered over 16 destinations, with some of them covering even multiple destinations at the same time. Using all types of genre, from action to comedy to sci-fi and even Bollywood.

Creative Execution

A list of movies from the channels' programming grid was carefully selected depending on the location their plot took place - Locations that would match Emirates Holidays' offerings. These movies were reviewed and key plot moments were identified, all of them related to that particular location. Some of them good and some of them bad. These moments made the price of the city fluctuate up and down, depending if they would value or devalue the place. A banner was placed during the film with a starting price, as soon as there was a turning point the price changed and a call to action to book the ticket at that price at the call center was always present. The current price was available until the next turning point, where the banner announced once again the price variation.

Results

The Emirates movie index reached over 700,000 people across the UAE. In a span of a month, over 9,000 holiday packages were sold. The lowest season for Emirates Holidays had an increase of 16% in sales in comparison to 2015.

The Emirates Movie Index was a response-driven campaign. We carefully selected the movies according to locations contemplated in our offers and the target audience each movie had. After being impacted by the price fluctuation and the call to action, people could instantly buy the tickets at their current prices through the phone. Movies were already influencing consumers about traveling. We just made sure to take advantage of this behavior by offering the destination at the right time in the right place.

Tourism Competitive Intelligence, a research agency, estimated in Nov 2015 that some 45 million international tourists each year chose a destination because they'd seen it in a film or TV show. This would be our main ignitor for a TV activation. The TV channels would send us the complete movie grid, and we would cherry pick the movies with locations that matched our holiday offerings. We made sure the channels, film slots and content of the movies would appeal to our target audience, which is pretty much everyone that can afford a holiday package. The call to action was given in the most friendly way possible for users, without spoiling their movie experience. All they needed to do was contact our call center and book the package with a certain period of time.