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Challenge
Etihad Guest, the loyalty program for Etihad Airways, is a brand with thoughtfulness at its heart. As the Covid pandemic began to hit at the start of 2020, that thoughtfulness was needed more than ever. With virtually every Etihad flight grounded, good news stories both within the organisation and around the world were few and far between. We knew Etihad Guest had a pivotal role to play to help spread some joy and to champion the spirit of thoughtfulness. Cue the Etihad Guest relaunch campaign, Your Special Guest.

Solution
Your Special Guest was a member targeted campaign, activated through owned, digital and social channels. In a true gesture of thoughtfulness, Guests were given the opportunity to nominate someone in their life that had gone above and beyond. With no strings attached, Etihad Guest set out to reward each and every one of these nominations, and choosing the most special ones to be featured as hero content.
Thousands of video nominations rolled in. The best UGC content was posted on Etihad Guest’s social accounts to millions of followers, not only creating brand awareness but also encouraging more nominations. The most heart-warming nominations received a bespoke, thoughtful gift from Etihad Guest with the request to video the unboxing and post on social, tagging Etihad Guest. These “money can’t buy” moments were then heroed in Etihad Guest channels, creating further engagement and encouraging viewers to discover more thoughtful, uplifting stories on the campaign hub microsite.

Results
With over 5,000 nominations received, we quadrupled our original nominations target. New member acquisition increased two-fold with 83% of non-members nominators signing up to join Etihad Guest. In the face of a pandemic, Etihad Guests’ Net Promoter Score rose across all top five markets, alongside a positive increase to the Customer Engagement score, marking a big shift in member awareness and perception of the Etihad Guest brand. Social engagement increased by over 20%, with the number of shares and retweets showing that thoughtfulness really does make the world go round. Through “Your Special Guest”, Etihad Guest took one of the most catastrophic events in the airline’s history and found a way to maintain their meaningful role in their members’ lives.

AWARDS

WINA - Effectiveness
WINA Covid Response

MADEIT CREDITS

  • Etihad GuestClient

Who pooled - Your Special Guest