Going Viral: Turkish Airlines Channels Generation YouTube
Share
APEX Insight: Airlines know that YouTube represents a huge marketing opportunity, especially among younger travelers, but not all understand what it takes to go viral.
Turkish Airlines is a YouTube star. By pursuing a paid strategy, leveraging the popularity of YouTube stars and creating content with an emotional connection that inspires wanderlust, it has become the fastest-growing airline channel on YouTube. The airline’s videos have almost 500 million views – nearly five times more than runner-up Air France.
The Turkish flag carrier’s success on the platform skyrocketed thanks to its viral video campaign “Kobe vs. Messi: Legends on Board,” which depicts the two sports superstars performing a series of outlandish tricks. This was quickly followed by “Kobe vs. Messi: The Selfie Shootout,” where the American basketball player and FC Barcelona forward once again compete to snap the best selfie in different destinations. Combined, these videos have upward of 250 million views and have resulted in a nine-percent uptick in global brand recall.
While it’s hardly surprising that content starring these two would garner so much attention, Turkish Airlines has also turned to comparatively lesser-known personalities to make its mark. For its #FortuneTraveller campaign, the airline sought out YouTube stars in 10 major markets and invited them to Istanbul, where, after meeting with a fortune-teller, they were jetted off for an adventure – all captured on video, of course. Devin Super Tramp and Damien Walters might not be household names, but with four million and close to 700,000 subscribers, respectively, their reach is undeniable.
Last fall, Turkish Airlines partnered with VIP Tourism to produce their first feature film and take YouTube influencer collaborations to new heights. Non-Transferrable tells the story of a young woman who plans a European vacation with her boyfriend, but before their trip, he breaks up with her, and she is stuck with a non-transferrable ticket in his name. Instead of missing out on the experience, she finds someone with the same name to take his place and in the process also finds love. Following in the footsteps of #FortuneTraveller, the movie boasts a cast of well-known YouTube celebs like Ashley Clements of the popular Lizzie Bennet Diaries.
This investment in the platform’s homegrown talent seems to be a smart one; according to a 2014 study by Variety, five of the most influential figures among American teens were all YouTube celebrities. And it seems to be paying off for Turkish Airlines – the number of passengers flying on the airline increased by 11.8 percent in 2015.
This story was originally published as “Generation YouTube” in the June/July issue of APEX Experience magazine.