Emirates Airline will officially launch direct service between Toronto and Dubai on October 29. To support the first non-stop route between Canada and the Middle Eastern country, Mike Simon, Emirates divisional SVP, corporate communications, tells MiC a multifaceted outdoor, print, radio, online and sponsorship initiative is rolling out on a staggered schedule.
The primary target, says Simon, is upscale business travelers headed to Dubai and other regional destinations, while the secondary goal is raising awareness among Canadian tourists. The key message conveyed in each element, he explains, is that ‘The Emirates experience begins the moment you leave home. On the plane, we want you to feel welcomed, indulged and pampered.’ To that end, the campaign will feature images of Dubai and of the airline’s luxurious amenities and service, which he says ‘differentiate Emirates from the competition.’
That’s why, on Oct. 22, the world’s largest TV remote control (or at least a facsimile) will appear to dangle from an office tower opposite Toronto’s Dundas Square. The gigantic building wrap’s significance is that Emirates’ 600-channel in-flight entertainment system boasts what’s got to be the most entertainment options in the sky.
But the clicker is only one component in the campaign’s extensive OOH line-up. There are also exterior elevator wraps (pictured) in high-traffic downtown Toronto office buildings – with a snow-to-sand execution suggesting escape from the cold of Toronto to the warmth of Dubai. As well, Emirates launch messages are festooning the lengthy underground PATH system of downtown walkways. And nine-metre-wide wall murals, plus large floor decals, will be installed in PATH and key subway stations on Oct. 15.
At Toronto’s airport, a 3-D ad is adorning the baggage carousel in the international terminal to promote the airline’s free airport limo service for first- and business-class passengers. The visual features a uniformed Emirates chauffeur reaching for real luggage propped in front of the billboard.
A radio buy on CHFI-FM, CFMX-FM, AM 680 News, CIMR, CIAO and CHN-FM will begin Oct. 22 and run through December 2.
Print ads that broke in September will run until the airline’s launch date (with a post-launch, image-based print planned for later on) in the Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, La Presse, Calgary Herald, Vancouver Sun, Ottawa Citizen, Edmonton Journal, Canadian Business, Report on Business (Ontario edition), Travel Courier, Canadian Travel Press, Tourisme Plus, Oilweek Magazine, Journal of Canadian Petroleum Technology and Canadian Oil Register.
The campaign’s online media plan involves four of Canada’s most visited sites: Yahoo.ca, CBC.ca, globeandmail.com and thestar.com. These sites, explains Simon, ‘feature content that aligns with the interests of the Emirates customer – business, news and finance.
‘Sponsorships are another way we have started increasing our presence in the Canadian market,’ adds Simon, explaining that Emirates was one of the main sponsors of the FIFA Under-20 World Cup Soccer tournament in Canada this summer, as well as becoming a platinum sponsor of the Rogers Cup tennis tournament. Part of the latter sponsorship was a contest to give away a business-class trip to Dubai featured on Rogers’ Toronto radio stations 680 News, CHFI, Fan 590 and Jack FM.
The advertising and marketing portion of the Emirates launch campaign, including media strategy and buys, was developed by ISM in Boston, while Toronto-based Marshall Fenn Communications is handling PR.
