How Ocelott Took KLM’s Campaign Engagement Sky High
Having turned 100 years old in 2019, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is the oldest airliner globally and one of the busiest carriers operating today.
The Dutch giant was searching for a new approach to digital marketing to showcase the hypnotic rhythms and fiery passions of one of its key destinations: Cuba and the Caribbean.
As places bursting with colour, life, and music, KLM’s target destinations required a marketing approach built on growth but with real creative flair.
Enter Ocelott: an interaction design and communication consultancy agency, carving a unique space in the digital marketing landscape using a creative yet scientific approach to solving client problems.
We spoke with Ocelott President & Chair Dr Sertaç Öğüt to find out how his agency tackled KLM’s unique demands.
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The Challenge
KLM is still one of the leading carriers taking passengers from Turkey, Greece and Israel to Cuba and the Caribbean.
The competitive landscape for airliners in this area is getting more crowded, especially with Gulf airliners starting to fly to these extremely popular tourist destinations. In order to maintain its position in an increasingly competitive geography, KLM turned to our agency.
Our job was to spread the word that KLM was still the number one carrier operating on South American & Caribbean routes. Catching the vibes, the spirit and the character of our destinations was massively important here.
After all, as destinations go, South America and the Caribbean islands are alive with great cities, intriguing culture, beautiful beaches, and much more waiting to be discovered.
We had to think carefully about whether we could capture all those disparate elements in a marketing campaign that could intrigue, entice, and excite an audience with multiple carrier options to choose from.
The Results
550k video views in two weeks
150k+ unique users
12k visitor registrations
9% online sales growth
Total season seat sellout
The Process: Catching the Vibe
The two destinations’ bustling rhythms, colourful life, and even more colourful people were the first things that came to our minds. Our approach was to distil this lively atmosphere found all over the target region into a targeted marketing campaign.
How? We created a powerful summer video in the middle of winter!
We set out to remind our audience that winter is actually summer in the southern hemisphere, presenting an unusual holiday concept that would stir travellers’ souls and make them take action. See below for the showpiece marketing video.
While we were seeding the video across various social media platforms, we also designed a campaign landing page to foster lead generation.
On this landing page, users chose their favourite destination, left their contact information and got the chance to win tickets as an extra detail-sharing incentive..
Identifying the marketing strategy gaps - and eliminating them
The biggest hurdle was the budget.
The client was unsure if they should make a considerable investment in video production since competition is very high for these locations. Return on investment was absolutely paramount.
We wanted to produce the video based on original live shots, but this became impossible during the planning stages as costs mounted. Instead, we used carefully selected stock videos to create the sensations we had in mind.
Ocelott’s secret ingredient
Music!
We needed to emphasise the main ingredient of the region: the infectious rhythms and music found in the souls of the wonderful people and cultures South America and The Caribbean hold dear.
Although we did not have the budget to create original pieces, we were able to capture the desired beat and rhythms with careful video editing.
What else ensured the campaign was a success was complete trust and deep chemistry with our partners in the KLM marketing team. KLM is a huge company and a beloved international brand, so nurturing their trust was key to this big win.
The video received 550,000 views in two weeks.
Over 150,000 unique users visited the campaign’s landing page. Additionally, 12,0000 visitors registered and left their data for marketing purposes.
As a result, all the season seats sold out with growth in online sales by 2.9% – a massive ROI!
KLM teams around the world were impressed and inspired by this campaign’s global success.‘Catch the Vibe with KLM’ became a case study on a global scale.
About Ocelott
With the idea of becoming a global player in mind, Ocelott has achieved substantial growth in today’s extremely competitive and dynamic digital scene.
Ocelott has created significant value for various local and global brands by making herself available at strategic and operational levels.
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