Instagram Awesomeness: Airlines Master the Art of the Square
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APEX Insight: Several airlines have stepped beyond mere Instagram proficiency and into Instagram fluency. Behold, recent campaigns from Singapore Airlines and Delta Air Lines orchestrate clusters of photos and video like flocks of migrating birds, forming mosaics of images which bear messages of their own. “All airlines know that if they want to target the connected travelers better, digital is the way forward,” explains Shashank Nigam, CEO of SimpliFlying.
Above the Fold
Singapore Airlines’ No Detail is Too Small campaign focuses solely on attention to detail. In this series, designer Luca Iaconi-Stewart, who takes tiny airplane construction to dizzying heights, builds a Singapore Airlines A380 out of manila folders and glue. The task apparently took him 1000 hours, and Singapore Airlines depicts it across 13 Instagram videos with thumbnails that collectively show off the finished product.
From economy to first class, at no point in the campaign is an actual seat, IFEC unit, or tray table depicted. Just tiny folded models.
The attention to detail extends beyond the model building, beyond the video editing, and into the presentation of the campaign itself. Singapore Airlines is selling a mindset.
Multiple Personalities
Delta Air Lines’ Gift Guide campaign is a marketing matryoshka, with Instagram identities hidden within Instagram identities. A visit to @deltagiftguide features an arrangement of images in the shape of a flowchart, pointing to gifts for Him, Her, or Anyone. The thumbnails are carefully gendered to avoid overt stereotypes.
Once you click on one of those images, things get interesting.
Each image of a potential gift (Thrillseeker, Explorer, and more) reveals a new Instagram identity, with its own mosaic of evocative images.
All point back to Delta’s gift-card site, encouraging you to experience the real world through Delta’s services. Delta leveraged Instagram’s tagging functionality to get its audience to explore cascading levels of identity: both Delta’s identity and those of the would-be passenger’s loved ones.
I Hear You
The Instagram mosaic technique is certainly hot, but it’s been around for perhaps longer than many have realized… and it was an airline who first unleashed its branding potential. In 2013, Swiss International Airlines launched what it claimed was the first-ever genuine Instagram sales campaign. By targeting Instagram hashtags that corresponded with its flight destinations, Swiss Air inserted itself directly into the conversations about those events. As you scrolled through, say, #berlinfashionweek, Swiss Air’s flock of images would appear as a jet flying over everyone else’s photos. You could click through and book a ticket right then and there.
Does Anyone Here Speak Instagram?
Shashank Nigam, CEO of SimpliFlying, a consulting firm that specializes in aviation marketing and innovation, says, “Previously, we have seen LCCs (low-cost carriers) like AirAsia or JetBlue that are extremely talented at digital. But today, all airlines know that if they want to target the connected travelers better, digital is the way forward. Now, legacy airlines like Air New Zealand, Turkish Airlines and now Singapore Airlines have begun to roll out captivating campaigns on a regular basis.”
The elephant in the room is Snapchat, whose mayfly-like messages have flummoxed marketers since it launched. Has anyone figured out how get the most out of the ghost? Nigam notes that several airlines are beginning to solve the puzzle. For example, Aer Lingus began using Snapchat in 2014. Also, Nigam notes that Icelandic low-cost carrier Wow Air has even worked Tinder into the mix for flight giveaways, supplementing the campaign with Snapchat.
These social-media-native marketing strategies are more than they appear. Beyond selling a particular airline brand’s amenities, these campaigns convey a meta-message: “We deeply understand this platform; and by extension, you, the switched-on passenger. We speak your language and we know what you want.”