Marketing / Advertising
Brazilian TAM goes retro to celebrate its roots in a time of rapid expansion
5 October 2011 | As the airline industry has always captured people’s imagination, airlines – legacy carriers in particular – can tap their heritage to incorporate a bit of storytelling into the travel experience (see also our earlier ‘heritage marketing’ report). BA’s new ‘To Fly. To Serve’ retro-style brand campaign, for example, aims to showcase the airline’s history and emphasize its ‘Britishness’. Brazilian airline TAM, meanwhile, has taken this retro approach several steps further by creating a vintage onboard experience on two of its aircraft.
TAM Vintage
Since May 2010, TAM has offered passengers on shuttle flights between Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro a full retro experience on board two A319 aircraft. Highlighting two important moments of the airline’s history, the first aircraft is painted in TAM’s livery dating from the 1970’s, when the company launched its regional operations. The other aircraft was painted in a 1990’s color scheme, a time of great expansion and national level recognition.
The TAM Vintage project was launched at both Sao Paulo’s Congonhas and Rio de Janeiro’s Santos Dumont airports in May 2010. Actors dressed up like in the 70’s greeted passengers at check-in counters with a music band playing songs of that time.
On both aircraft, the seats, on board service, printed materials and other details are modified to create a nostalgic atmosphere. Cabin crew and pilots wear uniforms from the 70’s and 90’s: Red skirts below the knee for the ladies and a white cap and jackets with large gold buttons for the pilots.
The aircraft interior has also received a retro makeover, with seat covers, carpets and curtains refurbished in the fabric and pattern of old times. Meals are served on old-fashioned disposable tableware.
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Angry Birds take flight with Finnair
21 September 2011 | In a globalized world, airlines, especially legacy carriers, can differentiate themselves as a national brand ambassador. Think SWISS Air Lines’ ‘Taste of Switzerland’ food service, Alitalia teaming up with Italian luxury brands to improve the onboard amenities, KLM’s Dutch Design and British Airways renewed emphasis of its British heritage.
The latest addition to these ‘experiental marketing’ initiatives are onboard events. For example, Lufthansa currently operates so-called Oktoberfest flights, which sees cabin crew dressed up in traditional Bavarian costumes and serving hot pretzels. Estonian Air, meanwhile, has just operated its first ‘gourmet flight’, featuring a local restaurant chef personally introducing the menu of the month onboard. And today, Finnair operated an Angry Bird-themed flight between Helsinki and Singapore in partnership with fellow Finnish company Rovio, the creator of the popular Angry Bird game.
Angry Birds
In the Angry Birds game, players fling birds at structures to try to destroy pigs. It started on smartphones like the iPhone and on tablets like the iPad and then expanded to a large number of other platforms like web browsers and TV boxes that are powered by operating systems like Android. Since its launch two years ago, Angry Birds has turned into a worldwide phenomenon and has been downloaded over 350 million times. Thanks to the success of the game, it is also a sign of Finland’s prowess in technology (Nokia), entertainment (Sulake’s Habbo Hotel) and design (Helsinki is named world design capital 2012), something Finland’s flag-carrier Finnair intended to capitalize on with the launch of an Angry Birds themed flight, an idea which Rovio approached Finnair with last June.
Service and entertainment onboard the flight were in ‘Angry Birds style’, with cabin crew wearing angry birds approns and serving items from an Angry Birds’ menu to passengers. A real live Angry Bird was also present and passengers were offered passengers Angry Birds plush toys. Eight people were specially selected to be part of the trip and given free tickets in advance, including two Singaporeans, winners of an Angry Bird ‘Face-off Challenge’ at Singapore Changi Airport, who were flown to Helsinki the previous weekend. Read full article »
11 ways airlines are deploying the Apple iPad
8 August 2011 | Updated December 2011
The iPad, which began primarily as an entertainment device when it was launched in 2010, has captured the imagination of many other industries in ways that Apple never even imagined. We have reported several times on airlinetrends.com how airlines have made Apple’s versatile iPad device available to passengers in their lounges, rent them out in the air, or use them as self-service kiosk, customer survey tool, and food ordering tool. As the list of applications continues to grow, here is the latest overview of how airlines and airports are deploying the iPad worldwide.
1. Book, check-in
Cathay Pacific in July 2010 became the first airline to launch a dedicated application for the Apple iPad that lets users book Cathay Pacific flights, manage their flight booking, check the status of their flight, and check-in. Similar apps are today offered by American Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, THAI, and Alitalia.
In June 2010, Malaysia Airlines, in cooperation with SITA, introduced the world’s first airline kiosk that uses the iPad. Passengers can use the ‘MHkiosk’ to search and book flights and check-in online. The kiosks are installed at the airline’s ticket office at Kuala Lumpur’s central station.
2. Airport service
Spanish airline Iberia has equipped customer service staff at its Madrid-Barajas hub with iPads to provide them with real-time access to the information they need to make decisions and to keep passengers informed. Iberia’s so-called IBPad is loaded with 30 different applications which, according to the airline, together put the entire airport in the palm of the employee’s hand. Iberia says the IBPad has improved everyday operations and dealings with customers, boosting communications and staff decision-making autonomy, while eliminating the use of paper.
Since March 2011, so-called Changi Experience Agents (CEAs) have been walking the grounds at Singapore Changi Airport, assisting passengers with special needs, and helping passengers with wayfinding at the airport. Locating missing luggage, facilitating passengers with check-in needs and assisting transit or transfer passengers with their onward connections also form part of the CEAs’ duties. Each CEA is equipped with an iPad with which they can retrieve information, such as the latest flight updates, store location, check-in gates, etcetera. The CEAs are on duty all day except from 1am – 6am when passenger traffic is low.
3. Airport lounge
To keep passengers entertained whilst waiting for their flight, several airlines have made iPads available in their lounges. Since July 2010, KLM offers 8 iPads in each of its two lounges at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. Lounge guests can use the device to access the Internet, watch content from the airlines’s IFE programming, play games, view KLM images and use a series of pre-installed apps. Cathay Pacific, meanwhile, offers 21 Wi-Fi enabled iPads in its ‘The Cabin’ lounge, which opened in early October 2010. The devices come pre-loaded with apps such as newspapers, magazines and games. Other airlines, such as ANA and airBaltic, also make iPads available upon request to lounge guests at respectively Tokyo Haneda and Riga. Read full article »
Free printed guide books and random surprises from KLM this summer
3 August 2011 | Dutch national airline KLM is developing a reputation when it comes to digital media campaigns that combine the online, virtual environment with the offline, real world. Examples include a Delft Blue Tiles livery based on Facebook profile pictures, passengers who are randomly surprised with a personal gift, a commercial flight exclusively sold via Twitter, and free customized luggage tags. In the past weeks, the airline has launched several more “OFF=ON” initiatives.
Hard-copy customized city guides
KLM currently lets the public create and customize their own travel guide, to be printed and delivered to their home address for free. Visitors to the KLM Cityguide website can select the sites, activities and hot spots they would like to visit at their destination via a number of questions. The final result is then turned into a pocket-sized guide that consists of 3 chapters (and 12 activities in total) and a map. The printed city guides can be ordered by residents of 10 European countries, as well as the United States and Canada. Delivery is within 4 weeks. For other countries, the personalized city guide can be downloaded as PDF file. KLM’s free hard-copy guides were so popular that heavy traffic caused the website to go offline on the first day of the campaign.
KLM Surprise, summer edition
In a follow up to the very successful ‘Surprise’ campaign, which took place at the end of 2010, KLM has just launched the KLM Surprise ‘Summer Edition’. Combining social media with real-world interactions, the KLM ‘Surprise team’, consisting of staff from the airline’s E-commerce, Ground Services and Inflight Services departments, from mid-July to mid-August randomly surprises passengers with ‘little acts of kindness’ based on information found on the passenger’s social network profile(s) or in recent tweets. Since most people have profiles on social networks such as Facebook and Linkedin these days (in fact, more Americans now have Facebook accounts than have passports) it is relatively easy to find some interesting facts about a person in order to come up with a creative surprise.
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British Airways turns to the British public to co-create menu, movie and livery
11 July 2011 | Following earlier crowdsourcing initiatives by airlines like Air New Zealand, Cathay Pacific and Emirates, which have been turned into actual products such as elements of in-flight menus and amenity kits, British Airways has launched a co-creation campaign in the run up to the London 2012 Olympic Games under the strapline ’We Can Help Your Talent Fly’.
BA Great Britons
As part of its ‘Great Britons’ programme, launched in 2009, BA is inviting aspiring chefs, scriptwriters and artists to submit their ideas for an onboard menu, in-flight movie and aircraft livery. The winner of each category will then receive one-to-one mentoring from culinary expert Heston Blumenthal, actor Richard E Grant and artist Tracey Emin to develop their idea further.
The winner of the food category will produce a bold British menu, in cooperation with Michelin-star restaurant owner and chef Heston Blumenthal, which will be served on board BA flights around the Games. The winner in the film category will receive mentoring from actor, scriptwriter and director Richard E Grant, to write a short film. The final production will be broadcast on board BA flights in the run up to the Games, and showcased at the pre-show to the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony. In the art category, Turner Prize nominated artist and Royal Academician Tracey Emin will mentor the winner to produce an iconic piece of artwork for the livery of 12 BA aircraft.
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Airline ‘fare clubs’ offer regular travellers a standard discount
7 July 2011 | As ancillary fees for checked baggage, priority boarding, extra legroom seats, etcetera, become more commonplace in the airline industry, several airlines have been introducing branded/bundled fares and annual ancillary subscriptions as a next step. United Airlines, for example, offers unlimited checked baggage for USD349 a year, while airBaltic recently introduced a similar fee in partnership with luggage brand Samsonite. Another category are ‘fare clubs’, which for an annual fee, provide regular travellers with a standard discount or access to member-only fares.
Wizz Air ‘Xclusive Club’
Wizz Air, a low-cost airline from Poland that offers flights from several bases in Central and Eastern Europe, has recently launched a new membership program called Wizz Xclusive Club. For an annual fee of EUR 29.99, Wizz Xclusive Club members get exclusive access to a pool of tickets that can be cheaper by up to 10 EUR per one-way flight than regular prices. Up to 9 passengers can be booked together with the Xclusive Club member on the same reservation and benefit from the discounted fares. Wizz Air is the first airline in Europe to offer a ‘fare club’ and says that in the first two weeks following the rollout, almost 50 thousand customers signed up.
Spirit Airlines ‘$9 Fare Club’
Wizz Air seems to have been inspired by Florida-based low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines, which in 2008 launched its ‘$9 Fare Club’. Spirit guarantees a member-only sale, with ticket prices as low as a few dollars, at least once every six weeks, but usually offers at least one sale per week. The special fares are offered on a first come, first serve basis and travellers flying on the same ticket will receive the members-only fare as well. Annual membership of the $9 Fare Club costs USD59.95, but those who sign up for a Spirit-branded MasterCard also obtain a free membership to the $9 Fare Club.
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Kenya Airways lets the ‘unbanked’ pay for their ticket via sms
11 June 2011 | We have reported earlier how Brazilian airline TAM is reaching the rapidly growing middle class in Brazil in innovative ways. The airline sells tickets via low-end retail chain Casas Bahia and at bus stations, lets customers pay in multiple installments, and provides ‘how to fly’ advice to first-time flyers. Meanwhile in East Africa, airlines such as Kenya Airways and Uganda Airlines have teamed up with mobile payment services M-PESA and Airtel Money to allow people without a bank account to purchase air tickets.
M-PESA
M-PESA (M for money, pesa is Swahili for money) can be regarded as the African equivalent of the credit card and was first launched in 2007 by Kenyan mobile phone operator Safaricom, an affiliate of Vodafone. M-PESA allows Kenyans to transfer money via SMS instead of via a bank account, an important aspect in a country like Kenya where an estimated 30 percent of people (the so-called ‘unbanked’) have no access to formal or even informal financial services.
With M-PESA, the user can buy electronic money at one of 24,000 M-PESA agents around the country and send this ‘e-cash’ to any other mobile phone user in Kenya, who can then redeem it for conventional cash at a snearby agent. M-PESA customers can do transactions of up to Ksh 140,000 (USD 1600, EUR 1100) per day and a maximum of KShs70,000 can be deposited, sent or withdrawn per transaction. A variable fee for transaction applies (example Ksh 150 for transactions between Ksh 20,000 and 35,000).
Originally launched as a money transfer service for relatives abroad to send money home, M-PESA is also often used to pay directly for goods and services, from groceries at selected supermarket chains to electricity bills and taxi-cab fares. An M-PESA enabled mobile phone can also function as an electronic wallet that lets users pay directly for goods and services at one of 600 participating organizations. M-PESA does not pay interest on deposits nor make loans and users only need to sign up for the service with an ID card.
As of March 2011, the M-PESA service had nearly 14 million customers, or over 80 per cent of Safaricom’s customer base. M-Pesa has also been launched in South Africa and Tanzania by Vodacom, another Vodafone subsidiary.
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airBaltic and Samsonite introduce innovative checked bag fee
30 May 2011 | Latvian-based hybrid low-cost carrier airBaltic has introduced an innovative ancillary product, called the airBalticBag. Regular flyers with the airline who purchase an airBaltic-branded Samsonite suitcase can carry it as free checked-in luggage on an unlimited number of airBaltic flights for twelve months from the day of purchase. AirBaltic normally charges passengers in Economy a fee of EUR20 per checked bag one way when pre-booked online and EUR30 when purchased at the airport.
How it works: Travellers can purchase the airBalticBag (which is the lightest Samsonite suitcase available) in two sizes: The smallest suitcase weighs 2.3 kg and can also be taken into the cabin, while the larger model weighs 3.2 kg and can be used as checked-in baggage only. Prices for the suitcases are EUR169 and EUR181 respectively, which is within range of Samsonite’s suggested retail prices.
Passengers then register for airBaltic’s BalticMiles frequent flyer program and receive a personalised ‘free baggage tag’ with their full name and BalticMiles number, which should be attached to the Samsonite suitcase and correspond with the name on the flight ticket when taking a flight. The airBalticBag can be purchased online or in airBaltic ticket offices in Riga, Vilnius and Tallinn.
Tangible product
The outcome of an internal brainstorm session at airBaltic, the airBalticBag is a smart way to sell a checked bag fee, which many passenger regard as just another way of making money by airlines. Besides the annual subscription, which should save regular travellers in Economy class money when they fly more than four times a year, the product gives passengers a tangible product instead of just another fee. For Samsonite, the airBalticBag is a new way to promote its lightest suitcase, the B-Lite. It is unclear however, what the annual fee of the annual subscription will be for the second year and airBaltic says it is currently evaluating various options. Passengers in airBaltic’s Business Class as well as Executive and VIP-level members of BalticMiles will continue to be able to can check in luggage for free.
Lufthansa gives its virtual fans real discounts on A380 flights
26 May 2011 | In early May 2011, Lufthansa’s 7th A380 entered into daily service on the Frankfurt – San Francisco route. To promote its A380 destinations in the USA – New York, San Francisco and Miami (from 10 June 2011 on) – Lufthansa has launched a Facebook campaign in which it offers its virtual fans a real, tangible, reward.
Facebook members can book a virtual flight on a Lufthansa A380 flight from the USA to Frankfurt, and the more ‘likes’ their flight gets, the bigger the discount voucher.
How it works: Participants must ‘like’ Lufthansa on Facebook, submit a ‘virtual flight’ by selecting an origin and destination from Lufthansa’s timetable, get their Facebook friends to ‘like’ their virtual flight within a 24 hour time period that begins upon the submission of the virtual flight. Participants who create a virtual flight but receive less then 10 ‘likes’ on Facebook automatically receive a USD25 discount voucher, with the amount rising to USD50 with 10 to 29 ‘likes’, USD75 with 30 to 59 ‘likes’, while those who get 60 friends to like their A380 flight, receive a USD100 discount voucher. A maximum of 15,000 discount vouchers will be awarded in each denomination and a purchase is required to use the discount voucher.
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Airlines are experimenting with latest online phenomenon Groupon
29 April 2011 | In recent years, airlines have been experimenting with a wide range of non-traditional distribution channels, a development dubbed ‘Pricing Pandemonium’ by trendwatching.com. Examples include flash sales, happy hours, Facebook and Twitter-only fares, eBay and reverse auctions, as well as vouchers offered for sale in supermarkets and newspaper kiosks.
Airlines are using these new platforms to temporarily offer heavy discounts without disturbing their main distribution channels. However, after initial experiments, some airlines also have made some of these new channels a more mainstream feature. For example, Tnooz reports that Air New Zealand has recently turned its popular reverse auction into an always-on service. ANZ’s ‘GrabASeat’ auction originally launched around three years ago and was only used ad-hoc to shift seats on specific occasions. However, as it did attract a reasonable following, the airline now offers a ticket deal through reverse auction every 15 minutes, 24 hours a day.
Groupon
The latest online phenomenon that has caught the eye of airlines is Groupon, a web site and e-mail service that offers extremely discounted deals only if enough people sign up. Subscribers must first pay for a Groupon (‘group coupon’) that unlocks the deal. Typical offers include discounted hotel stays, spa treatments and restaurants and Groupon makes money by keeping approximately half the money the customer pays for the coupon. Groupon rapidly became hugely popular and is credited for making virtual coupon-clipping exciting by having offers expire after just a few hours and cancelling them if they do not attract a minimum number of buyers.
Launched in November 2008, Groupon already had over 50 million subscribers worldwide by the end of 2010 and in December 2010 turned down an USD 6 billion takeover bid by Google. Meanwhile, Groupon’s success has attracted numerous competitors, including Facebook, which has just started a similar service called ‘Deals on Facebook’.
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KLM offers its Facebook fans the chance to be featured on a ‘Delft Blue’ Boeing 777
27 April 2011 | KLM has just launched a new social media campaign that invites Facebook users to convert their Facebook profile picture into a Delft Blue tile with an inspiring message. Four thousand of the most inspiring ‘Dutch Delft Blue tiles’ will then be placed on the body of a KLM Boeing 777-200. In KLM’s words: “KLM is proud of its Dutch heritage, in which Delftware played a huge role. Now KLM invites you to create your own Delft Blue tile, add an inspirational saying and you might end up on the body of a KLM Boeing 777-200.”
Delft Blue tiles are part of the Dutch tradition. The porcelain tiles were decorated with typically Dutch scenes, such as windmills or fishing boats. These Dutch scenes were commonly supported by some words of wisdom or an inspirational proverb. For nearly 60 years, KLM has also handed out small Delft Blue ceramic replicas of historical Dutch houses filled with Dutch ‘genever’ to passengers in Business Class.
The emphasis of KLM’s ‘Tile & Inspire’ campaign is on Facebook, but anyone can also create a personal Delft Blue tile via tileyourself.com and Hyves, the largest social network in the Netherlands. The campaign will run until the end of May 2011 and the tiles with the most creative messages will be selected by a jury of native speakers in English, Spanish, French, German, Chinese, Russian, Portuguese, Dutch, Norwegian and Swedish. The final 4,000 Delft Blue tiles will be randomly drawn out of the selected tiles and be featured on a KLM B777-200 aircraft from June 16 on. See this video for more on the campaign.
Update 10 May: KLM reports that in the first two weeks of the campaign nearly 50,000 people have created a personal Delft blue tile. Read full article »
SAS launches ‘crewsourced’ city guide app and sells new magazine via newsstands
11 April 2011 | Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) has just launched two interesting media initiatives that are an indication where the publication business of airlines is heading to. The airline is making its ‘crewsourced’ city guide available as a free app for mobile phones and has launched a new lifestyle magazine that is also available for sale at newsstands and bookstores.
SAS Crew Guide app
The annual ‘SAS Crew Guide’ is a pocket-sized guidebook consisting of recommendations by SAS cabin crew and pilots for accommodation, shopping, dining, sightseeing and nightlife in many of the cities served by SAS. In the airline’s words: “When you’re visiting a new city, surely the best person to show you around is someone who visits regularly. And who’d be better travelled than airline crew?” The 350-pages guide also contains 13 personal profiles by individual crew members and their favourite cities and is sold online for EUR15 (or 4,410 SAS Bonuspoints) as well as in select bookshops in Scandinavia, the UK and the U.S.
With the launch of its first direct flight from Oslo to New York at the end of March 2011, SAS decides to also launch a mobile app of the New York section of its Crew Guide city guide. The SAS ‘Crew Guide app for New York’ is based on the SAS Crew Guide and features guides to five of New York’s most interesting areas as well as personal profiles of the crew that contributed to the New York edition. All the content (except the map) is downloaded to the phone once the application is installed, so users don’t have to worry about roaming charges when travelling.
Besides the free app (available for the iPhone and Android-based phones), SAS will also launch the Crew Guide as a separate website and as a tab on its Facebook page.
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Air France food truck tours Manhattan sampling onboard catering
7 April 2011 | In recent years, gourmet food trucks have been all the rage in the U.S., serving up all kinds of high-end cuisine, ranging from Korean BBQ to upscale desserts, while using Twitter to let customers know where they will be parking on any given moment.
Air France ‘Gourmet Food Truck’
To promote the airline and its service, Air France has also jumped on the food truck ‘trend’ and for 5 days (March 24th through March 28th) an Air France ‘Gourmet Food Truck’ toured Manhattan, New York, serving complimentary food. Chefs from airline caterer Flying Food Servair handed out free food samples based on the recipes of Air France’s Michelin-starred chef Joël Robuchon.
Items on the menu included Pain au Chocolat for breakfast, cucumber and smoked salmon brochette (lunch), French Shepherd’s Pie with duck confit (dinner) and assorted French macarons and petits fours as a dessert.
Parked in one location per day, the Air France food truck could be found at respectively Rockefeller Center, Union Square, SoHo/Broadway and Wall Street. The exact location could be followed via Air France USA’s Twitter stream and Facebook page.
An estimated 600 samples of breakfasts, lunches and dinners were served each day during the promotion. There was also a sweepstakes for two Air France tickets to Paris, and those who received a free meal were encouraged to make a donation to City Harvest, a rescue organization dedicated to feeding New York’s less fortunate citizens.
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World’s first Skype video booth launches at Estonia’s Tallinn Airport
5 April 2011 | Launched by three Estonian software developers in 2003, Skype allows users to make voice calls over the Internet free of charge. At the end of 2010 the popular service had over 660 million registered users worldwide. To showcase Estonia’s (one of the three Baltic states) high-tech capabilities, the world’s first Skype ‘video telephony booth’ was recently unveiled at Tallinn Airport in Estonia, enabling travellers to make free worldwide video calls to other Skype users.
The Skype video booth is a collaboration between Enterprise Estonia, which promotes Estonian companies abroad and Estonian ad agencies AdTech and Brilliant. Says Enterprise Estonia communications coordinator Merilin Pärli, “Skype was an idea that was developed in Estonia, and the company still has a development unit in Tallinn, so it was quite logical that the initial home of Skype would have a Skype station at Tallinn airport – as one Skype station says more than 1,000 words about Estonia.”
The Skype video booth can be used by anybody who has a Skype account and those who have purchased Skype credit can also call regular telephone numbers. When a user steps on the floor of the station, the color of the futuristic-looking booth changes from blue to green signalling that he or she can log on. Inside the booth is a 22-inch touchscreen and a headset (alternatively, users can connect their own headseat as well), and after logging in, users can dial their friends and family. If the receiving end also has got a camera installed, then the service works just like an ordinary video call. To log off all one has to do is to step out of the booth.
With the first Skype video booth now in place, AdTech, who designed the booth, says it wants to bring the service to other airports, hotels, cruise ships, hospitals and shopping malls around the world, extending Skype’s service beyond computers and mobile phones to dedicated physical devices. The cost of a video booth is reportedly around 4,000 euros (USD5,600) and AdTech is also working on several new prototypes.
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Airport perfumes and t-shirts let consumers tell a story
We have been covering the concept of ‘storytelling’ several times before on airlinetrends.com (short recap: In our million channel world, it is the brands who tell the best stories (or even better: the brands that let consumers tell the best stories), that win. Or as trendwatching.com puts it in their ‘Status Stories’ brief: “Expect a shift from brands telling a story, to brands helping consumers tell status-yielding stories to other consumers. What can be better for consumers hoping to tell peers an (impressive) story than to be asked for one?”
The airline industry has always captured people’s imagination, with the jet-setting lifestyle providing a popular ‘conversation starter’. Now, a new perfume concept and a company that sells customized t-shirts are capitalizing on the storytelling trend.
The Scent of Departure
The Scent of Departure is a new fragrance concept designed to capture the essence and spirit of cities. Each fragrance has been inspired by and created exclusively for a specific city, and comes in bottles labelled with a luggage tag with the three-letter symbol of the airports that serve them. To further add to the story, each fragrance will only be available at the duty free shops within the international airport it is named for.
The collection starts with Munich / MUC, Vienna / VIE, Istanbul / IST, Budapest / BUD, and Frankfurt / FRA. In a nice twist, consumers can participate in the design and creation of future destination scents by filling out an online form asking them about the city they see for the collection, the perfume notes they think ought to be included and the image to put on the flacon.
Scent souvenir
Developed by Paris-based perfume brand Histoires de Parfums, The Scent of Departure aims to let travellers bring home a scent souvenir from their trips abroad. In the company’s words: “The sense of smell is such a strong device for recollection that every city should have its own scent, which traveller can take with them to remembers their travels by.“ […] “A unique amalgam of rich raw materials reminiscent of a great city’s energy and personality, each Scent of Departure fragrance is offered a keepsake, a scent souvenir for a traveler to keep or give as a gift.” Read full article »
