The international airline market is more crowded than ever. In order to maintain their position as the world’s number one carrier, Emirates have continued to expand, grow and market themselves as a truly global brand. However in the process, the residents of the UAE have felt less connected with the company whose roots are firmly part of the Middle East.

So Emirates aim was to remind people closer to home in the UAE what they stand for and bring people together to celebrate the success and achievements of the nation. Their aim was to increase brand affinity & sentiment with the UAE audience and ultimately drive future consideration with Emirates.

FTF launched in November 2017 to coincide with UAE’s National Flag Day, published simultaneously on ESPN.com, the world’s biggest sports site, and Emirates.com/ae.

The launch was partnered with an extensive and intuitive co-branded media campaign, composed by Emirates global media agency. This included display, video and social assets targeting sports fans and frequent travellers across the digital network of ESPN, and its parent company Disney.

At the release of each episode a high impact HPTO ran across ESPN sites. Content shorts served natively within the home feed of ESPN, with pre-roll against relevant sports content, and VOD targeting frequent flyers across brand safe YouTube channels. The social campaign used global Facebook & Instagram handles, geo-targeted to UAE residence, with paid amplification reaching specific audiences.

The athletes supported through own social channels, and the content was further amplified through organic sharing from influencers, brands and news publishers.