Case Study for Agency
03-1014796-823

EMIRATES

Overview
In 2004, our firm was selected by Emirates, the Dubai-based
international airline, as their advertising and marketing partner in
North America. Our assignment was to introduce Emirates' service to
North America, which included a daily non-stop flight between Dubai and
New York's JFK Airport. Specifically, our job was to fill seats,
especially in First and Business Class -- crucial to the route's
profitability.

Objectives
We were tasked with introducing an airline based in the Middle East to
New York City. In light of today's global tensions and the tragic
events of 9/11, we knew there would be some serious perception
challenges to overcome. At the same time, our mission was to fill seats
in First and Business Class.

the Emirates product
The typical American has probably never heard of Emirates. But if you
were an affluent international traveler living in London, Frankfurt,
Moscow, Tokyo, or Sydney, you'd know it well. Emirates is recognized
as one of the world's most profitable and fastest-growing airlines,
now serving over 70 destinations in over 50 countries. It has been
continuously voted as one of the "best in the world" for its service
and operations, receiving over 250 international awards. Dubai, their
hub in the United Arab Emirates has become an important global gateway,
serving millions traveling between Europe, North America, the Middle
East, Africa, Indian subcontinent and Asia-Pacific.

Consumer Aspirations
We began where all good communications starts, by talking to customers
and seeing how New Yorkers felt about the idea. In a series of focus
groups of New York area residents with over three First or Business
Class international flights in the past year, we simply held up a white
board with the Emirates logo, the word "Emirates" in English, with
the Arabic symbol for Emirates displayed above it.

As you can imagine, the results were quite interesting. Even though
they were seasoned international business travelers, surprisingly few
knew what the logo represented. Some were distressed by the Arabic
symbol. When informed it was an airline, a few wanted nothing to do
with it.

As we showed our groups some of the existing Emirates image advertising
that had been running in England and elsewhere around the world, the
results were equally curious. Usually, ads provide answers to a reader.
However, these provoked only questions. "How long have they been
around?" "How old are their planes?" "Who flies the planes?" "Do
they speak English?" "Do the flight attendants wear veils?" "Can
you drink?"

Repeatedly in the groups they raised a question that underscores our
geographically-challenged nation in all its glory: "Where is Dubai? Is
it in Saudi Arabia?"

Even though the United Arab Emirates have created a progressive,
modern, business-friendly, open society, and even though Europeans have
been flocking to their beaches for years, with jet-setters like David
Beckham (a.k.a. Mr. Posh Spice) owning villas there, and even though
Dubai is farther from Saudi Arabia than Vienna is from Serbia and
Croatia, it was a question that kept coming up. To Americans, and New
Yorkers in particular, anything viewed as Middle Eastern was filled
with a lot of apprehensions, stereotypes and misconceptions. The rest
was just details.

what is the Emirates experience?
The more we told them about Emirates -- its standards, awards, planes,
luxury and history of innovation -- the more their interest grew during
the focus groups. The truth is, Emirates is an incredible airline.
Ninety-nine percent of passengers who fly it once are enthusiastic
about flying it again. By the end of our focus groups, virtually all of
the participants were willing to give the airline a try, and many
expressed new-found excitement about the prospect of having convenient
direct service to Dubai and beyond. By creating this dialogue we knew
that success in New York was possible, if we could find a clear and
distinctive way to educate the marketplace, much like we had in the
focus groups.

Strategic approach
Our report back to Emirates boiled down to one simple idea:

"Americans need to know you before they will trust you.
And they need to trust you before they will fly you."

Our marketing plan and tactics were created to do just that.

-To let people see that Emirates was not a national carrier of a
Middle Eastern country, but rather an international airline based in
the Middle East.

-To let people know that the flight crews included over 95
different nationalities--including Australian, German, English,
Canadian and American.

-To tell people about the youth of their fleet, including the
new long-range Airbus A340-500 flying non-stop from New York to Dubai.

-To let people experience what Emirates offers--private First
Class suites, multi-course gourmet meals on demand, fine wines and over
500 channels of entertainment at every seat on the plane. Even mood
lighting on the cabin ceiling that simulates a starry night sky to help
passengers combat jet lag.

Creative approach
We worked with the Emirates team in New York and Dubai to craft an
advertising and marketing campaign that would continue to reflect the
"Keep discovering" theme that the company was using across the globe
and that had already been introduced in the United States. Built around
the idea that there are magic moments in life when people learn and
experience new things, we wanted every visual in our campaign to be a
"perception buster," from the Australian pilot to the blonde-haired
stewardess¡V- and we used actual Emirates employees, not actors.

We intended to develop a clear set of messages so that when the reader
now saw the Emirates logo, they would have already begun formulating a
new and positive perception of its meaning. And our advertising copy
(see sample work) spoke to New Yorkers like New Yorkers, proactively
addressing the issues brought up in our focus groups.

Media planning
The extensive campaign used a variety of media including national
newspaper, out-of-home, radio, television, online, trade print and
direct. We also coordinated a "station domination" promotion in New
York's Grand Central Station and leveraged various media partners to
add more reach to the campaign.

Target audience
Our integrated campaign was carefully planned to reach affluent New
York travelers wherever they were. Our media plan included print in
business publications like The Wall St. Journal, The New York Times and
Financial Times. Spot television and very cost-effective messages on
National Public Radio helped elevate awareness and allowed the airline
to be showcased in a culturally rich environment. Bus and transit
posters reached affluent New Yorkers on the streets of Manhattan.
Scores of targeted messages covered select sites and content areas on
the Internet, including roll-over banners with information on Emirates,
Dubai, and special offers. Plus we targeted exclusive e-mail promotions
to members of Emirates¡¦ Skywards frequent flyer program.

Brand infusion
Through a targeted approach of innovative advertising and marketing
tactics we deftly navigated the complexity of communicating with this
target audience through strategies and synergies across multiple
communication channels. Most importantly every aspect of the
communications and marketing activity-¡Vfrom the advertising to the
opening parties--focused on telling the same well-articulated and clear
story about Emirates.

Partnership marketing: success today requires the help and support of
select industry partners who can bring their assets to bear on growing
your business. It's an approach that we have used from the beginning
of our existence, and a skill that we apply to every account. We've
created partner programs with virtually every airline, cruise line, car
rental company, destination and hotel chain and we've grown to know
and anticipate the needs and requirements of each partner. For
Emirates, a marketing partnership was forged with American Express
focusing on Platinum Card members with travel to Emirates'
destinations and a desk-top model of an Emirates airplane was hand
delivered to key corporate executives and travel managers throughout
the region.

Distinctive promotions: we even orchestrated a unique "station
domination" in Grand Central Station, where every message for an
entire month was about Emirates (a total of 90 different images were
used), all strategically positioned to reach commuters arriving from
the affluent Connecticut suburbs.

Public relations: all the advertising and marketing programs were
carefully orchestrated around a concerted public relations push from M.
Silver Associates, Inc., which serves as Emirates' PR counsel in the
United States. Their comprehensive efforts included a visiting
journalist program, media events and tours, video news releases and the
creation of an Emirates News Bureau, all of which helped garner
coverage in such outlets as The Wall Street Journal, The New York
Times, USA Today, Travel & Leisure, Forbes, CNN, and CNBC.

Measured impact
Within two months after the launch of their non-stop daily service from
New York to Dubai, Emirates was experiencing the positive impact of
these activities. Load goals and revenue expectations were exceeded and
today the route is profitable. Acceptance of the airline among the
travel community, corporations and individual travelers is running high
and this momentum continues.

Like millions of people who had come to New York from other countries
to start fresh, Emirates had found success. And due to our success with
them, our agency has been awarded the global advertising campaign for
Dubai as a leisure destination and the launch of their new Boeing
777-300.