Connecting Seats
Results:
• 20+ million views.
Number of shares and comments above benchmark with 110.000+.
• 95% positive response on social media.
• Emotional connection on social video scored well above benchmark.
• Global media coverage by authoritative media such as Trendwatching.com, PSFK, Yahoo! plus shared by Google Europe on its social channels.
• Among 10% best scoring KLM ads
Airports are some of the busiest places in the world, crowded with people from different backgrounds. But because of language barriers, passengers tend not to make human connections while waiting for their flights.
We created ‘Connecting Seats’: 2 seats that translate every language in real-time, allowing travellers with different languages to talk to each other. With this experience, we set out to bring random travellers together during the Christmas season.
Each seat was designed to rest your head in the centre with speakers on each side.
A directional microphone facilitated the audio connection. The Connecting Seats used Google’s Cloud Speech, Translation and Web Speech API’s to translate every language, including multiple dialects.
The Seats yielded some warm and emotional chats, in which people exchanged views on the world and holiday greetings. Travellers from over 30 countries put their phones or books aside and opened up to each other.
INSIGHTS
KLM’s Connecting Seats generated massive impact at Schiphol airport. By building translation software into special furniture at a place where the world normally gets together, but never meets, we were able to create connections that wouldn’t be possible otherwise. Next to engaging the travellers that participated in the event, it drew the attention of passers-by and stirred buzz in social media.
To maximize reach of the experience, we created a heart-warming social video of the experience. We sent it to selected media and shared it via social media.
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is in the business of bringing people together: it unites families, friends and other relations all over the world.
KLM wanted to use the days around Christmas to communicate a message of unity, togetherness and sharing. A message that would touch people, create sympathy for the brand and would contribute to KLM’s brand purpose “Moving your world by creating memorable experiences”.
A message that had to reach as many people around the globe as possible through ‘earned media’, since KLM’s media budget was limited.
Because of the cultural differences we had to deal with, we needed to come up with a concept that would appeal to just about any person in the world, no matter what (cultural) background.
As always KLM asked us to develop a story that would evolve around real people, not actors.
