Travel Retail Highlight
Hailing a powerful ‘pentarchy partnership’ at Hamad International Airport
We present our choice of recent eye-catching launches, campaigns and openings from the travel retail world in the pages ahead, beginning with a landmark five-way partnership campaign in Qatar.
L’Oréal Travel Retail and Qatar Duty Free have saluted what they call a groundbreaking ‘pentarchy partnership’ in travel retail – a five-way collaborative campaign – to amplify the YSL Beauty brand at Hamad International Airport (HIA).
Running from July through October, the collaboration centred around YSL Beauty’s ‘Summer Mirage’ campaign, featuring an eye-catching pop-up retail experience at HIA.
The partners said: “This pentarchy partnership marked a new benchmark in travel retail, with a first-of-its-kind activation in Qatar, showcasing a fully integrated ecosystem where airline, airport, retailer, brand and media collaborate to deliver a seamless and personalised consumer journey.”
The personalised consumer experience began prior to arrival at the airport by leveraging Qatar Airways’ expansive loyalty programme. Through a targeted CRM campaign, travellers were invited to experience the YSL Summer Mirage pop-up on arrival, promoting the exclusive campaign and driving excitement pre-journey.
Upon arrival at the airport, YSL Beauty became a destination, noted the partners. Personalised digital out-of-home content, strategically placed throughout key areas of the airport, drove traffic to the pop-up. This was further amplified by Libre and YSL Loveshine campaigns, each featuring a call to action.
The experience drove strong traveller engagement, said the partners, underlining the impact of the collaboration
Two hours before departure, all passengers traveling through HIA received a notification from Qatar Airways’ mobile application, inviting them to visit the pop-up and receive a gift, with or without purchase, based on their loyalty status.
Upon entering the 65sq m Summer Mirage pop-up, travellers were immersed in a “cohesive and elevated experience” at every touchpoint.
Travellers could explore YSL fragrances through an interactive product table. They also experimented with their preferred makeup look via the Virtual Try-On app, which allowed them to try different styles before having them applied by a makeup expert. Gift personalisation was another element, with UV printing of YSL designs on best-selling products, with an exclusive wrapped design inspired by the desert fantasy.
The partners said: “By blending YSL Beauty’s cutting-edge luxury with Qatar Airways’ interconnected environment, this collaboration redefined the boundaries of travel retail, leveraging brand connection at every step of the journey.”
Comment: This campaign from June through October delivered on many levels. It represented a memorable and immersive experience for guests travelling through Doha.
As L’Oréal noted, it placed the consumer at the heart of the ecosystem, “surrounded and supported by brands, retailers, airports, airlines and digital partners, all working together to deliver personalised and engaging experiences”.
And as Qatar Duty Free added, “it showcases what is possible when an airline, airport, retailer, brand and media come together as one”.
Critically, it allowed joint learning about the traveller, with data and insights that can be used across the ‘pentarchy’ in future. Plus it added value for the brand and its investment, allowing YSL Beauty to “break new market share records” as well as adding incremental value to the beauty category. It also tees up many of our conversations at The Trinity Forum next week, with an example of just how powerful collaborative action can drive impact and growth across the industry eco-system.
Partner’s message
The Moodie Davitt eZine
Issue 340 | 4 November 2024
The Moodie Davitt eZine is published 14 times per year by The Moodie Davitt Report (MA Travel Retail). © All material is copyright and cannot be reproduced without the permission of the Publisher. To find out more visit www.moodiedavittreport.com and to subscribe, please e-mail kristyn@moodiedavittreport.com