Air Canada is running a pop-up restaurant serving gourmet versions of Canada’s national dish, Poutine, inspired by a selection of the airline’s destinations, for the second year running.

The ‘Poutinerie by Air Canada’, currently open in London’s Old Spitalfields Market, is offering variants of the dish – which usually consists of chips, curd cheese and gravy – including Hawaiian Loco Moco, Cancun’s Mayan Enchilada and Melbourne’s Prawn Star Chips.

The pop-up features an indoor and a covered outdoor area where visitors can enjoy their dishes with a selection of beer and wine, with destination-inspired music and imagery. There will also be a Virtual Reality (VR) installation allowing people to experience being on board an Air Canada flight. Visitors will also have the chance to win flights to one of the over 200 global destinations the carrier flies to.

The pop-up, created and managed for Air Canada by agency JWT London, runs until Sunday 14^th October. Proceeds from the activity will again support Great Ormond Street Children’s Charity.

Last year’s La Poutinerie activation, in Shoreditch, sold 2,133 meals and reached 47 million people via earned and owned media content, according to JWT.

The activation is part of an integrated campaign showcasing some of Air Canada’s ‘hidden gem’ destinations via Out Of Home, print, radio, video, social and programmatic channels around London.

Air Canada is Canada’s largest domestic and international airline, serving more than 220 airports on six continents and carrying more than 48 million passengers in 2017.

J. Walter Thompson London is a communications agency which offers a range of services including advertising, digital, social media, content, insight, shopper, experiential, employee engagement and partnership marketing. It is part of WPP Group.

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“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn” should be the mantra for travel marketers targeting Millennials, says Lucy Gillions of Jackanory

We often reference this quote – which has been attributed to a range of people, including Benjamin Franklin and a Chinese Confucian scholar writing 2,500 years ago – when discussing the importance and value of experiential marketing with clients.

That’s because, even today, it has huge relevance – arguably, even greater relevance as a “Millennial mantra”, a quote that underscores Millennials’ desire to be involved in hand-picked authentic experiences, using social media to validate their choice.

It’s no longer a surprise that this emphasis on being unique and growing their identity through culturally-rich experiences and the exploration of the unknown has led to travel being of the utmost importance for Millennials – more important than escaping from their student loans, buying a big-ticket item or even improving their relationships with family and friends.

Savvy travel companies have been quick to catch on to the fact that Millennial travel experiences aren’t the same as those of their predecessors, but rather involve more adventure and the desire for more customisation.

Millennials don’t want to be told by travel brands where they should be visiting and what they should be doing when they get there. They want to be involved in the decision-making, empowered to seek out unique activities and experiences that can be validated on social platforms through a mixture of likes, shares and comments. In fact, 43% of Millennials said that the comments and likes they receive from social media are as important or more important than the trip itself.*

So how can travel bodies, businesses and brands continue to connect with Millennials and benefit from their favourable attitudes towards travel and travel-related spending?

Understanding the motivations of this powerful group of travellers should be the first step. All travel brands should by now be aware of the tensions that exist for Millennials in the travel space: **

• Comfortable vs experiential – what am I expected to do vs how can I explore outside of my comfort zone?
• Digital vs in real life – is this an experience I want to share with my social networks vs how can I live in the moment and not be distracted by daily technologies?
• Realistic vs aspirational – what can I afford vs what do I want?
• Planned vs spontaneous – can I fit everything I want to do in my itinerary vs how do I take advantage of in-the-moment opportunities?
• Informed vs inspired – what brands can I rely on for accuracy and transparency vs what brands can I rely on to inspire my next adventure?

With these tensions in mind, it goes without saying that Millennials are less interested in packaged travel options and instead want to engage in immersive, interactive and hands-on opportunities. Millennials view travelling as vital to the development of their personal narrative and identity which is why the “involve me and I’ll learn” element of the quote resonates so deeply.

They are also reintroducing the trend of food tourism by planning trips with local cultural cuisine in mind. In fact, nearly three-quarters of Millennials seek unique restaurants and dining experiences when deciding where to travel.

If authentic travel experiences are vital to growing Millennials’ personal narratives, then surely one way of connecting with them is for travel bodies, businesses and brands to tap into their own narrative, share their own stories and tease them with authentic experiences on their doorstep?

The Hamburg Convention Bureau did exactly this in order to encourage Millennials to put Hamburg at the top of their city break wish list. By creating Hamburg on Tour, an interactive, socially-shareable, free experience at a venue in Shoreditch, Millennials could immerse themselves in the story of Hamburg, get a taste of the art, culture, food and music and gain some social currency to boot.

Of course, the experience needed to be bite-sized, so as not to replace the city break itself, but also had to be exciting enough to motivate the booking.

Travel Portland took a similar approach, bringing some of the city’s most inspired offerings to The Old Truman Brewery with its You Can, In Portland pop up. From April 19^th to May 7^th, 2018, they offered free vegan tattoos, intimate DJ sets, wine tastings, artists, fashion, comedians, craft beers, coffee and more – giving visitors a taste of what Portland has to offer.

It’s clear that travel bodies, businesses and brands could do worse than keeping “involve me and I learn” as their mantra when looking to engage with Millennials.

If you tell Millennials to do something, it’s unlikely they will. If you preach at them, they won’t listen. But if you work hard to involve them in the decision-making, and offer them unique, immersive and authentic experiences, sharing the story of the destination to motivate bookings, they’ll happily use and share these experiences to grow their personal narrative and identity.

*according to Iconoculture

**taken from FutureCast Millennial Brief on Travel and Lodging 2016

Lucy Gillions is co-founder of Jackanory, an experiential and events agency which believes in using the power of stories to create unique and memorable events and experiences.

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Yakult is giving customers the chance to enjoy a range of activities that are rewarding for both body and mind, in a on-pack promotional campaign created to celebrate ‘The Science of You’.

Customers can claim a free sports or wellbeing session with every promotional pack of Yakult and Yakult Light. Various activities on offer include tennis, swimming and golf lessons, personal trainer sessions and even out-of-the-ordinary experiences such as Disco Yoga and outdoor boot camps with British Military Fitness. There are over 3,000 venues taking part in the campaign nationwide.

For those more into wellbeing for the mind, Yakult has also collaborated with The Mindfulness App to offer three months free subscription to its premium meditation service.

Reshma Patel, Marketing Manager at Yakult UK & Ireland, says: “‘The ‘Science of You’ campaign aims to drive penetration over the summer-time, when people are increasingly looking for positive lifestyle choices. The simple mechanic, celebrating wellbeing and the science of the human body, connects the brand with our core values while also helping us deliver on our business objectives.”

The campaign is running until July 31^st, 2018 across 2.5 million packs. Customers who register within the promotional period can still download vouchers until September 30th, with vouchers being accepted at venues until December 3^rd, 2018. Promotional packs can be purchased in all major supermarkets and independents across the UK and Republic of Ireland.

To take part, consumers buy purchase any promotional pack of Yakult or Yakult Light, visit www.yakultactivities.com, register their details and enter their promotional code. They will then be able to browse thousands of independent studios, pools and gyms to find those in their local area and download a voucher. To claim their free activity, customers they must present the voucher at their chosen venue.

Campaign concept, partners and creative, which includes in-store POS, OOH media as well on-pack stickers, was developed and is being managed by London-based agency TLC Marketing. TLC also designed and built the campaign microsite, with the ‘Yakult Activities’ portal, which uses an interactive quiz to educate customers about what activities can help their body and why.

Martin Covill, Director of Business at TLC Marketing, said, “Dr Shirota, the scientist who created Yakult, believed that true health stemmed from both physical fitness and mental wellbeing. The ‘Science of You’ campaign embodies the history and vision of Yakult, but also pays homage to Dr Shirota – honouring his legacy with body and mind orientated rewards.”

TLC Marketing previously worked with Yakult on a 2015 campaign to celebrate the brand’s 80th anniversary with an on-pack ‘Culture Pass’ promotion.

TLC Marketing Worldwide is a global leader in loyalty, incentive and reward campaigns. It is the Institute of Promotional Marketing (IPM) Agency of the Year 2017 and won The Queen’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade in 2016. In the past two years, the agency has also won awards for its work with Continental Tyres, Bupa, Pallas Foods and Braun. Other clients include Eon, HSBC, First Direct and Yakult.

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Walkers, the UK’s leading savoury snacking brand, has launched an on-pack promotion offering shoppers 25% off Virgin Experience Days over the summer period.

The promotion will appear on the top five snack lines in the market, Walkers Quavers, Wotsits, Monster Munch, Squares and French Fries, in multi and single-serve packs.

This exclusive discount is available with every pack and can be used on the Virgin Experience Days product range, which includes over 2,000 activities to choose from. The on-pack promotion will run up until October 14th, 2018, driving sales of the products throughout the summer.

To enter, shoppers need to visit the promotional site stated on the back of their promotional pack to register for an instant unique code. The code then allows them to book any Virgin Experience Days activity of their choice and receive a 25% discount at checkout.

Walkers says that up to 60% of people plan summer activities at least three months in advance, and its promotion will help shoppers make the most of the British summertime, whatever the weather.

Rachel Holms, Walkers Marketing Director, comments: “We’re really looking forward to kicking off our latest on-pack promotion as we will be helping Walkers fans fill their holidays with exciting activities at a reduced cost. 45% of households in the UK already buy into the Walkers snacks range and purchase on average seven times a year, so we are confident that the activity will be a success.”

The launch of the Walkers and Virgin Experience Days partnership will be accompanied by major in-store support across both grocery and impulse channels.

The Walkers brand is owned by global drinks and snacks company, PepsiCo. PepsiCo generated approximately $63 billion in net revenue in 2016, driven by a complementary food and beverage portfolio that includes Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker and Tropicana. 22 of its brands generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.

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Cadbury and Merlin Entertainments’ partnership, offering consumers free tickets for memorable days out during summer, is set to continue for a third year running.

Launching on May 1^st and running through the summer to September, Cadbury promotional chocolate bags will offer a free ticket with every purchase of a full priced adult ticket to top UK attractions including Legoland Windsor Resort, Thorpe Park Resort, Chessington World of Adventures Resort and Sea Life centres.

The on-pack voucher entitles the holder to one free entry with one full paying adult at the attraction gate.

The promotion will be supported by a £1m marketing spend, including Out-Of-Home (OOH) and digital activity that will reach 80% of all adults, and should help drive further category growth in the chocolate bags segment.

The 2017 activity, which was extended to 32 pack variants, helped drive chocolate bag sales during the summer months, delivering a penetration growth of +3.7 percentage points with purchase frequency increasing to 2.7.

Chris Campbell, Brand Manager for Cadbury chocolate bags, says: “In partnership with Merlin Entertainments, we’re helping parents to spend quality time with their families during the holiday season with an instant saving. For 2018 we are making three million new more packs available to consumers – so there are even more opportunities for families to take advantage of the offer.”

The Cadbury brand is owned by Mondelēz International, the global snacking company with 2016 net revenues of approximately $26 billion. Mondelēz is a world leader in biscuits, chocolate, gum, candy and powdered beverages, with power brands including Oreo and belVita biscuits; Cadbury Dairy Milk and Milka chocolate; and Trident gum.

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Persil UK has been encouraging families in London to get outdoors and active to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the launch of the brand’s ‘Dirt is Good’ marketing platform with ‘Get Out Here’, a Digital Out Of Home (DOOH) activation delivering content triggered by the weather in real-time.

Running on Ocean’s full motion Eat Street screen at Westfield London, the campaign uses live weather data to trigger video content allowing the display to show current temperatures, weather conditions and the walking distance to Holland Park, their nearest source of outdoor fun.

Families can connect to the screen’s Wi-Fi to access a map and directions to the park, which is a short walk from the shopping centre.

Get Out Here reflects Persil’s commitment to get families outdoors and embrace dirt. The brand cites consumer research which reveals that dogs are five times more likely to be taken out to the park than children – and that only one in three kids has ever climbed a tree.

Created by MullenLowe London, Get Out Here was one of the commercial winners of Ocean Outdoor’s eighth annual digital creative competition, which aims to reward great creative concepts that push the boundaries of digital out of home (DOOH) advertising.

Video footage on the screen will also include a dynamic count of fun activities families can enjoy in the 22.5 hectare park, including the number of birds to count, muddy puddles to jump in and snowmen to build.

The idea is that families will break out of the urban jungle to experience the freedom of the real outdoors like kids used to, playing on Persil’s 10th anniversary of “Dirt is Good.” The campaign broke on March 1st 2018 and runs for two weeks.

Jennifer King, Senior Brand Manager for Persil UK, says: “Families love getting outdoors but we know that life can get in the way. This is an innovative way to nudge us all to embrace the outdoors and make more happy memories.”

Alex Okada, Global Executive Creative Director for Dirt is Good, adds: “Sometimes we are so immersed in our busy lives, distracted by the always on digital world that we don’t stop to think how close and accessible nature is to us. The idea is to use technology and data in order to remind and inspire people to enjoy the outdoors. Not having enough time outdoors is not a only problem for kids, but also a problem for all of us.”

Ocean Outdoor head of marketing Helen Haines comments: “Get Out Here is a really simple idea that actually works in all sorts of environments and out of home locations. It’s a fun execution and a wonderful way to encourage more families to go play and get messy. That’s why it was chosen as an Ocean competition winner.”

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Creative technology specialist CASSETTE has been appointed by leading tourist attraction Madame Tussauds Washington DC to deliver an Augmented Reality experience based around the Presidents of the United States.

The Madame Tussauds brand is part of the Merlin Entertainment Group, which also owns or operates a number of visitor attractions and theme parks in the UK and worldwide, including LEGOLAND, Sea Life Aquariums, Thorpe Park Chessington World of Adventures and the London Eye.

CASSETTE has developed a fun AR installation in the Madame Tussauds Washington DC museum. Visitors will be able to reimagine themselves as the 46th President of the United States of America, appearing behind the podium at the presidential inauguration.

CASSETTE is a new standalone business unit launched earlier this year by experiential marketing agency TRO to deliver innovative creative technology solutions for live experiential marketing campaigns.

The move follows the success of TROi (the agency’s previously-titled creative tech division). CASSETTE will operate as its own entity, servicing both TRO clients and the wider industry.

Headed up by Ben Taylor, who previously established TRO’s retail offering, CASSETTE is focussed on taking creative technologies into a physical world environment, and will provide an end-to-end service from strategy, UX and design, to development, build and installation.

Solutions encompass Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, Mixed Reality, mobile apps, interactive windows, eye tracking technology and more.

TRO was founded in Norfolk in 1982 as The Russell Organisation. It is now an Omnicom Group company. Previous digital work by TRO has included interactive windows for Vogue, and interactive wardrobe for Lucozade Zero, VR suitcases for Samsonite and an interactive football challenge for Nissan.

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Specialist ski airline Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) ran a one-day experiential campaign at King’s Cross station last week, bringing a powder day to London and encouraging commuters to dig out their salopettes and book flights to the Alps.

Designed by creative agency Space, the activation saw an interactive billboard delivering on-demand snow when prompted on twitter with #SnowNow. The experiential campaign targets the typically late-booking UK market, aiming the encourage them to get online to book with SWISS, with the billboard underlining the message that “snow is only ever one click away”.

The integrated campaign featured the specially-designed billboard with a promotional overlay activated by the hashtag. Every tweet triggered a cascade of snow, while all participants received £25 off their next SWISS flight and the opportunity to win one of five pairs of return flights to the Alps.

Activity at the station was promoted by a series of Instagram influencers while a PR campaign provides exclusive competitions in London publications.

Chloe Ravat, Senior Marketing Manager at SWISS, said: “The 360o campaign is a fun and engaging way to attract attention to our brand. The reactive nature of the billboard activity mimics how UK skiers typically book their holidays – online and at the last minute.”

David Atkinson, Managing Partner at Space, observed: “SWISS is the skiers’ airline, with more than 180 flights a day from London and free ski carriage as part of its inclusive fares. The #SnowNow campaign is the perfect conversation starter for SWISS, disrupting the humdrum of the London commute, letting us boost brand awareness and drive traffic online, as well as offering the chance to win a premium taste of the Alps with SWISS.”

Space is an award-winning agency with a client list including Heineken, Arla Foods, William Grant & Sons, General Mills, Eurostar, Sky, Coral, Bundesliga, UEFA, NBA and AELTC.

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Blackjack Promotions, which specialises in airport staffing, travel retail and experiential marketing, has seen massive growth in demand for market research services during 2017, as clients focus on understanding how passengers use airports and their feelings about the service they receive.

In recent months, Blackjack has been awarded new contracts or had existing contracts extended with a number of airports, including Stansted, London Luton Airport and Dubai – the world’s busiest international passenger airport.

Fiona Tindall, Head of Domestic Retail at Blackjack Promotions, says: “Airports can be incredibly challenging locations to carry out face-to-face research. Travellers can be tired, distracted and stressed, while there may be restrictions on how and where staff can deliver marketing activities and what they can say to people, particularly when you’re working air-side, beyond the security barriers.”

Blackjack has a large database of experienced brand ambassadors who are security cleared to work ‘airside’, in the areas beyond the security gates and passport control.

Tindall adds: “It’s vital that brand ambassadors working within the airport environment understand how travellers think and how to approach them in a way that reduces stress levels, rather than adding to them. Staff need much higher levels of diplomacy and general customer service skills than they would need, say, in a traditional retail environment, public space or festival or event.”

At Stansted, Blackjack staff worked over the summer (the airport’s busiest period), monitoring the quality of user experience, including queue lengths, passenger traffic flow, congestion points and other issues relevant to the journey through the terminal. This is the second year running Blackjack has delivered face-to-face research services at Stansted.

At Luton, Blackjack was appointed in 2016 to provide field agents to support an airport quality survey programme. London Luton Airport (LLA) constantly monitors all aspects of the passenger experience and was also keen to understand how passengers feel about its redevelopment programme, launched in 2016. That contract has now been extended for three years.

At Dubai, Blackjack was appointed to deliver research services during 2016 to understand more about the passenger experience and how they could improve passenger satisfaction. The data delivered by this initial programme was so useful that Dubai has extended it to run until May 2018, and has also added a ‘mystery shopping’ function.

For Dubai, Blackjack had to source multilingual research staff to cover 32 passenger interaction points across four terminals, 365 days a year. Staff have to have airside access. They input questionnaire responses onto tablets and upload the data in real time for Dubai Airports to access.

Blackjack Promotions is a leading staffing solutions, travel retail and experiential specialist. A subsidiary of US company ABM Industries, a global provider of facilities management services, Blackjack is based at Heathrow, where it employs approximately 1,000 staff, in addition to its database of 8,000+ field staff. Blackjack is a member of the IPM agency.

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DFDS Seaways is promoting its Newcastle-Amsterdam mini-cruise breaks this Autumn with Dutch-themed experiential activity and the chance to win a mini-cruise.

The shipping and logistical giants has conjured up a series of clog-related events taking place across the North East of England. The activations run across three weekends and will bring a taste of Holland to the North East, with four clog-wearing promotional models dressed in full Dutch attire roller skating around Northumberland Street in Newcastle and Market Square in Sunderland.  Roaming activities are also planned for North Tyneside.

The activation was created for DFDS by Newcastle-based brand engagement agency Independent Events.

Each staff member will be armed not only with information on the many cruise breaks available through DFDS, but will also be offering free tulips to passers-by along with a unique offer of a mini-cruise break for £45.  They will also be posing for photos with a giant wooden clog and members of the public.

Consumers are being invited to upload photos to social media, tagging them @DFDSUK and hashtag #GoDutch. Every person who does will be in with a chance of winning a free mini-cruise.

Independent Events, which has offices in Newcastle and Manchester, works with brands including Clarks, Coca-Cola, Greggs, Crabbie’s, Tsingtao and Boohoo.com.

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