Germany in winter: It’s always dark and everybody is stressed, wiped out and grouchy. We used that general insight and invented an algorithm that calculated the need for a vacation by analyzing biometrical data. Via “Human Emotion Tracking”, a camera captures facial movements like angle of the mouth, position of the eyes or the slant of a head. It then gives the facial expression a score and calculates the ideal destination, unique to each state of wintery weariness.

We used the algorithm in an interactive billboard at Berlin Central Station and invited tired commuters to take part, measured how in need of a vacation they were and provided a chance to win a free flight. When approaching the billboard, users were invited to pull their most miserable winter face to win a flight to one of Condor’s destinations – depending on the state of their despair. A road show later brought the Fly-O-Mat to train stations and tourism fairs all over Germany.

The Fly-O-Mat live events started January 2018 – the coldest and most depressing time of the year. As first location, we chose Berlin Central Station, one of Germany’s largest stations with more than 300.000 travellers daily. The results spoke for themselves: Over a thousand people took part, winning dozens of free Condor flights and generating attention, both on location and on social media. As for the efficiency, Fly-O-Mat generated 22% more holidaymakers on the booking platform. And, of course, some glowing holiday faces – even in winter.