How Qatar Airways’ travel campaign blends AI and aspiration for user engagement

A common challenge for luxury brands is that potential customers can feel both intrigued and intimidated. A consumer may really like a product or service but assume the price tag or experience is out of reach, and too far off for them to imagine being part of that world. In these cases, the responsibility falls on the marketer to personalize and adapt the communication while still maintaining the brand’s image. By finding that right mix, you can attract new customers while validating current ones. At Qatar Airways, we created a new artificial intelligence-based video campaign to strike that perfect balance. Our user experience is always geared toward innovation, personal experiences and pushing harder, so it was a natural progression from a brand storytelling perspective to incorporate AI. By using this valuable tool, we were able to use top-of-funnel tactics to bring in new consumers while treating existing customers to a playful reminder of why Qatar Airways is their airline of choice. Let your customers play in the brand’s world Qatar Airways is not just an airline; it’s an experience brand. That was the key messaging for this campaign, and we worked around the concept of “it’s amazing how far a dream can take you.” We invited viewers to upload a photo of themselves and then used AI technology to place them in 10 luxurious scenarios from the main three-minute film, including shooting a film in London, boarding a plane in Doha, doing a fashion shoot in Cape Town and enjoying their own red carpet movie premiere moment in New York. It’s called AI Adventure and, of course, the videos are shareable. This wasn’t our first time using AI, but rather a natural progression. Earlier this year, we introduced Sama 2.0, an updated, interactive cabin attendant, and in 2022 we launched QVerse, our immersive digital platform where users can try the Qatar Airways experience online before they fly. In terms of the conversion funnel, Sama is mostly brand awareness, while QVerse focuses on consideration and conversion. The AI Adventure film is entirely focused on top-funnel user engagement. We wanted customers to be part of the aspirations of the campaign rather than simply seeing its utility. Think top-of-funnel, top-of-mind. Invite your customers to help you market Because the AI Adventure videos are so shareable, the user can show their red carpet moment or luxe business-class Qsuite to their friends either through texting or social media. This means our customers are actively helping us with this campaign. We’ve seen a great response from an engagement perspective. People want to participate because the technology is so advanced, and they want to share their results afterward. This way of using AI is new for us, so it’s innovative from a brand perspective. It gives people freedom to play with the brand at a different level, and we believe doing this makes us more relatable, approachable, attainable. It’s a different way of seeing the brand. The shareability aspect encourages word of mouth promotion rather than just virality. This campaign is really about that engagement, both in the moment and afterward with sharing. When it comes to brand awareness, it’s pure positive engagement. Choose your campaign’s tech to suit your brand Any brand can engage with their audience, but finding the right way to utilize technology to have that conversation must be strategic. For Qatar Airways, we saw the brand potential of using AI and began working with it through our QVerse. We used that as a stepping stone toward Sama and then advanced it further with this latest AI Adventure campaign. Other brands have had enormous success with NFTs or virtual reality; the key is finding the technology that will fit both your brand journey and that of your audience. We found that for a campaign like AI Adventure to work, it needed to be not only aspirational, but emotional. When you watch the original three-minute film on YouTube, it begins by building the journey and the connection between the hero protagonists, instead of focusing strictly on product. Most brands could take the same approach by focusing on connecting and resonating with the consumer and how the brand makes them feel, as opposed to promoting only the product and brand itself. We always strive to stay one step ahead—being a creator and an innovator rather than waiting and watching others do it first. We believe incorporating technology in our marketing while maintaining our premium positioning is possible by asking our customers to be part of that journey. By embracing the aspirational through AI, our brand becomes more inclusive, and everyone can be part of it. About Qatar Airways A multiple award-winning airline, Qatar Airways won the ‘World’s Best Airline’ for the unprecedented eighth time at the 2024 World Airline Awards, managed by the international air transport rating organization Skytrax. The airline continues to be synonymous with excellence, also taking home, ‘World's Best Business Class’, ‘World's Best Business Class Airline Lounge’, and ‘Best Airline in the Middle East’. Qatar Airways currently flies to over 170 destinations worldwide, connecting through its Doha hub, Hamad International Airport, the ‘World’s Best Airport’, as voted by Skytrax in 2021, 2022, and 2024.

How Qatar Airways’ travel campaign blends AI and aspiration for user engagement

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