2020/2021 Winners & Shortlists

Background

On March 23, our fleet – which operated over 1,000 flights a week – was immediately grounded, with all passenger flights coming to a halt. While we weren’t flying our passengers, what we did have, was a global following of over 10 million people seeking content and information on our channels. This was an audience that was looking to be engaged, entertained and informed. We wanted to ensure that our content meets the following objectives: 1. Keep the excitement and passion of travel alive 2. Create content that was relevant to our brand and meaningful to our audience 3. Maintain our loyal followership by providing useful, inspiring and engaging content 4. Create content that put our brand at the forefront for when guests were ready to fly again

The Interpretation of the Challenge (30% of vote)

One of the key driving forces of this series stemmed from the way our audience consumed social media during the pandemic. With people around the world stranded at home, content consumption increased by 80%. In addition, audiences also consumed long form video more than they did before and were looking for ways to continue feeling productive while at home. Based on our research, most brands around the world were reaching out to their fans with the same kind of messages – messages focused on hope and solidarity. Something the audience was getting an overload of. We wanted to differentiate ourselves by creating content that was positive, helpful, Action-driven and most importantly, provided a sense of normality amidst the pandemic.

The Insight / Breakthrough Thinking (30% of vote)

With over 2,000 crew from 120 countries, all with rich stories and insights to share. We leveraged the skills of these grounded employees, drawing on their diversity and expertise to create online tutorial videos on Facebook. We created videos featuring cabin crew, in-flight chefs and our in-flight nannies, each catering to a diverse audience to maximise effectiveness and ensure inclusivity. Our cabin crew taught new languages. Our in-flight nanny presented at-home arts and crafts for children. Our in-flight chefs showed us how to make delectable dishes from around the world with cook-along videos. We also monitored audience sentiments and engaged in positive conversation with them. With the growing popularity of Etihad@Home, at the start of Ramadan we also created three more videos with our in-flight chefs. They taught our fans how to make famous Iftar dishes eaten during

The Creative Idea (20% of vote)

We wanted our cabin crew to re-connect with our audience the way they would usually do inflight. That’s why we allowed each cabin crew to craft their own scripts using their own personal experiences. We also wanted to move away from the washed-out palette, sombre music and a slow-paced execution which most brands adopted in efforts of communicating hope. We wanted to stand out the from the rest to ensure our content was thumb-stopping, refreshing and quirky. We used bright colors, animation and typography to bring our video to life. In addition to that, we also used text and prompts that made it easier for our audience to follow through everything they were learning. To give each video it’s unique identity, we chose music that was inspired by the country the video featured.

The Outcome / Results (20% of vote)

The Etihad@Home series reached over 117 million people globally through 13 pieces of content. Viewed over 13 million times and received over 5 million social media interactions. The results from the campaign were a true testament of showing the value of delivering useful content, which customers can continue to enjoy as routes re-open. Most importantly, it gave our consumers a reason to engage and interact with us at a time when travelling was out of the question for many. Etihad@Home was also featured as a best-in-class Facebook Business Case Study for COVID-19. But it doesn’t stop there, with 90% positive sentiments from our fans, they were left wanting more. Following the success of Etihad@Home, we launched Etihad Travelscapes in September. As the world starts to fly again, this brand-new series provides an insight into destinations that our guests can travel to and learn new languages that our fans requested.

Please tell us how disruption in your market place inspired the work

The Coronavirus pandemic posed one of the biggest challenges the aviation industry has ever had to face; with most countries closing their borders to international tourists, travel had come to a complete stop. For a brand that aims to inspire people to pick up their bags, book a ticket and get on their next flight, our communication strategy had to change completely without losing our core message – our challenge was to continue to inspire people even though they couldn’t travel. If they couldn’t explore the world, we had to take the world to them. In a pre-pandemic world, travellers would flock to various countries to experience new flavours, unique culture or even interact with new people. Our challenge, was to bring each of these elements to them through our content and position our brand at the forefront. Etihad@Home was the perfect marriage of each of these elements.