Avios and British Airways are launching a new virtual reality campaign to encourage people to collect Avios when booking flights to Madrid with British Airways. The campaign features a 360 degree VR video allowing users to visit the city from the comfort of their own sofa. Created by Soul, the video centres on 360 degree footage exploring lots of different locations in Madrid, including the Temple of Debod, San Miguel Market and Retiro Park. Viewers can immerse themselves by exploring a full 360 degree view of parts of the city and learn interesting facts, such as the location of Botin, the oldest restaurant in the world.
The campaign will be the focus of an advert in the March edition of The Sunday Times Travel Magazine, out on the 2nd of February 2017, which will drive people online to experience the video. For consumers without their own VR glasses, the magazine will also come with Avios and British Airways branded Google Viewers in Tesco stores to provide a convenient, immediate and engaging VR experience.
“We love virtual reality and we like it even better when we can use it to bring to life the places that Avios collection can take our customers” Paul Miller, Director of Strategic Innovation at Avios
Additionally, Avios and British Airways have partnered with iProspect to push the video out via YouTube, TrueView ads and 15-second 360 teaser videos on Facebook. Using iProspect’s retargeting expertise, those who have watched the video will see direct response display and Facebook ads to drive them through to purchase, a first-time media approach for the airline and loyalty industry. iProspect’s retargeting programme will deliver valuable and in-depth audience insight for Avios, demonstrating the impact of truly immersive content on conversion rates.
Shaun Moran, Executive Creative Director at Soul, said: “Utilising the capabilities of 360° was a natural fit to give people an immersive experience of Madrid, with the end goal of encouraging more people to visit in person.” Thom Clark, Head of Video at iProspect UK, added: “We are delighted to be partnering with Avios for this innovative and exciting campaign. We have known that VR and 360 content increases engagement for a few years, but for the first time we’ll be able to see what effect it has on buying behaviours.”
