1. S A T U R D A Y S T A R N o v e m b e r 1 2 2 0 1 6 19MEDIA & MARKETING
I
MAGINE being transported
from your desk to anywhere
in the world, landing in a
strange new city or town and
having to identify your location
by your immediate surroundings.
Virtual reality has made this
possible and the Lufthansa Group
was quick to see the potential for
its new summer campaign. For
the group, thinking and acting
strategically in a highly competi-
tive environment is the key to a
successful future.
This applies to the way the
group is “talking” to its biggest
distribution channel – the travel
industry – where it needs to stand
out from other offerings and
remain top of mind for travel
agents.
To increase awareness, Arti-
fact Advertising proposed a novel
solution: A 360° app for travel
agents that takes them around
the world by combining the use of
Virtual Reality and Google Street
View to show users the locations
within Lufthansa’s network.
The brief to Artifact Advertis-
ing was to develop something fun
and interactive for Lufthansa’s
travel partners.
With this in mind, Guesstina-
tions was born; a quiz-type game
that begins fairly easily in places
such as Paris, but progresses
through several increasingly
difficult levels incorporating 60
destinations from across their
network for both airline brands
– Lufthansa German Airlines and
Swiss International Air Lines –
operating out of South Africa.
When travel agents “land” in
a destination, there is a full 360°
view of their surroundings, with
interesting landmarks, and agents
have to guess where they are.
The game incentivises agents
through free flights and other
prizes, creating a scoreboard
along the way to encourage com-
petition among users.
Artifact’s Brent Simpson says:
“Google cardboard is a cost-ef-
fective; personalised alternative
for expensive virtual reality gog-
gles and it worked perfectly for
what we were trying to achieve.
It also provides the same immer-
sive experience as virtual reality
goggles so it made sense for us to
use it.”
The Lufthansa marketing team
expressed that in an exceptionally
competitive environment where
costs are critical; it is no longer
effective to stick to conventional
“tried and tested” advertising.
The Guesstinations campaign
pushes the boundaries of the
industry and sets the Lufthansa
Group and its airline brands apart
as true innovators.
Artifact business unit manager
Caitlin Anley says: “It takes a bold
team to experiment with new and
sometimes untested technology
and working with the Lufthansa
Group to keep the Lufthansa/
Swiss brands top of mind, as
well as align ourselves with their
global mandate of pushing innov-
ation, was achieved in abundance
with Guesstinations.”
Sky’s the limit for Guestinations
Lufthansa takes travel industry
on whirlwind virtual-reality tour​
SPECIAL WRITER
Lufthansa uses a game to show you their destinations around the world.
APART from Mango not
keeping tabs on their ban-
ner ads they have also not
updated their site on the
internet. If you google
Mango Airlines and the dif-
ferent sites come up, Mango
on the right still lists Nico
Bezuidenhout as their
chief executive.
He departed months
ago. Slack.
Peter Rolland
l SPIRITS in the FCB Cape
Town office, already high
after beating out 20 other
agencies to win the West-
ern Cape government’s
R40 million communica-
tions services tender, have
been lifted further by new
work coming the agency’s
way.
Long-standing client
Distell has tasked the
agency with extra
responsibilities – below-
the-line, activation and
experiential – on five
spirit and cider brands
the agency already servi-
ces, from a strategic and
mother brand perspective.
The alcoholic beverage
giant has also awarded FCB
Cape Town new business
from its wine portfolio
(Durbanville Hills, Zonne-
bloem) and cooler stable
(Esprit) while Bosch has
briefed the agency on cam-
paigns it needs rolled out
in four countries in Africa.
NEWS
MAKERS
LETTERS
THE IAB SA Bookmark Awards
recognise best-in-class digital work
in South Africa.
As the definition of digital
rapidly expands within today’s mar-
keting climate, the Bookmarks seek
to promote and award the country’s
digital pioneers in the Emerging
Technology category.
John Dixon, jury chair for the
2017 IAB SA Bookmark Awards,
says: “The Bookmark Awards have
always tried to evolve the categories
of entry to reflect the emergence
of new technologies into the main-
stream digital conversation.
“We’re excited this year to con-
firm new categories, such as Pro-
grammatic Media, Virtual Reality
and Internet of Things.”
The Programmatic Media cat-
egory recognises new ways of buy-
ing and optimising media spend
through the algorithmic purchase
and sale of media space.
The judges will be looking for
advanced targeting, cost-effective
campaigns using platforms like
Xaxis, which achieved exceptional
results.
In the Virtual Reality category,
the judges are looking for immer-
sive, 360º campaigns that tell a
powerful story to promote a prod-
uct or brand. The Emerging Tech-
nology category also acknowledges
the way chat, messaging and dark
social is changing the game, and
will celebrate campaigns that have
successfully used chat, chat bots
and messaging platforms (dark
social) to achieve a marketing or
communication result.
The Emerging Technologies
category next year would not be
complete without reference to the
Internet of Things. As communi-
cation begins to extend beyond
smartphones and computers, this
category will feature the success-
ful use of atypical internet devices
such as the Apple Watch or Apple
TV to achieve a marketing or com-
munication goal.
The category also features some
familiar sub-categories – Digital
Installations and Activations,
as well as Customer Experience
Design – providing exciting oppor-
tunities to showcase fresh talent.
Digital Installations and Acti-
vations will award the best use of
digital technology to engage audi-
ences in an out-of-home or events
setting. Customer Experience
Design will celebrate successful
digital customer journeys.
Josephine Buys, chief executive
of the IAB SA, concludes: “Winning
a Bookmark Award provides instant
credibility and exposure within the
industry. We encourage all those
doing great things within Emerging
Technologies to enter their work.”
●● Entries close on November 25.
See www.thebookmarks.co.za
Honours for country’s digital pioneers ‘give instant credibility’
THERE are just some people in the
world you don’t want to mess with;
the sort of angry thuggish types
who can so easily misread situa-
tions and take offence. The latest
George Clooney TV commercial
reminded me of a time like that.
Much younger and possibly
somewhat more attractive than I
am these days, I found myself in a
really uncomfortable situation.
Not long to South Africa and
interested in the developing politics
of the right wing, I found myself the
only reporter who bothered to cover
the Transvaalse Landbou Unie
(Transvaal Agricultural Union)
annual conference in the City Hall
in Pretoria. I was clearly the object
of attention, sitting alone at the pers
bank (press table) right at the front
of the hall, facing the audience.
And that audience was inter-
esting. Around 90 percent of the
men were wearing khaki and all
were enormous. Many were angry.
They regarded then-President FW
de Klerk as a veraaier (traitor) who
was giving away their country…
and they regarded a young snot-
kop from the Engelse pers (English
press) with similar disdain.
The wives, however, were
another matter.
To be honest, I have not been
lusted over many times in my life,
but I noticed a good few of the
women – and very attractive ones,
not your stereotypic tannie-in-
crimplene – were giving me the eye.
Hungrily.
Ordinarily, they would be flat-
tering. In those circumstances, it
was simply frightening. Were I to
be caught by a husband returning
those lingering looks, the last thing
I would probably have remembered
before ending up in the casualty
ward would have been something
like Wat soek jy met my vrou? (What
do you want with my wife?)
I kept my eyes strictly down.
So, when I saw the latest George
Clooney funny ad for Nespresso, I
had a wry smile. Could have been
me, Boet…
We see the immensely charming
Mr Clooney again taking a foaming
Nespresso from the machine when
an attractive woman walks up, also
wanting a coffee. They share a few
words, a smile or two… which is
enough to spark the interest and ire
of two burly minders.
They pounce within seconds and
whisk George away, still clutching
his bag of Nespresso capsules.
He’s presented to the boss, a Lon-
don East End gangster lookalike,
who asks him, roughly, what do you
want with my wife?
Then looking at the Nespresso
bag, the boss asks George what he
is going to do to make him happy
again… and looks meaningfully at
the bag. No way! George clutches
the Nespresso closer to him and
then we see him being dragged out
of the mansion unceremoniously,
face down and hitting his forehead
and nose on every step.
Next we see him taking another
brew – suitably patched up. The
message is clear: Nespresso – you
wouldn’t change a thing. And that
it’s worth getting pummelled for.
It’s humorous and it gets across
the point that Nespresso is special –
as do all of the brand’s ads… So, an
Orchid to Nespresso.
I realise that getting abused is
the default mode in South African
society, but if you – as a shopping
centre – annoy me, then I’m not
going back. That’s why The Zone@
Rosebank shouldn’t count on seeing
me anytime soon.
I went there the other day for a
late afternoon meeting and on the
way out decided to go to the toilet.
The first one was closed. After
a longer wander around, I found
another one… but was rudely told
by cleaning staff “this is closed”.
I was directed to the other side of
the centre, where what looked like
the last loo was still open, but a gag-
gle of cackling cleaning ladies made
it plain to the few men going in and
out that they had better hurry…
closing time was about to be called.
Closing your toilets simultan-
eously before 5.30pm, even when
there are shops (and restaurants)
still open, is bound to make people
angry. But, wait… there’s more!
At the pay station for the under-
ground parking, I discovered the
machine could only take coins and
R10 and R20 notes. R50s and R100s
were not accepted. In this day and
age when ATMs frequently only pay
out R100 notes?
Fortunately, a guitar player with
an eye for business was offering
hapless customers change… and
making a nice bit of money on the
side. Nowhere was there any sign-
age to indicate an apology or where
one might find alternative toilets or
break a R100 note.
That’s an insult to your custom-
ers. So TheZone@Rosebank gets a
Double Onion from the ATM (Angry
Transaction Machine).
And the guitar man won’t even
have to break it…
The right brew can be
worth a plaster or two
edited by
brendan.seery@inl.co.za
Orchids
Onions&
Brendan
SeeryWhen a babe eyes you,
keep your head down