Our creative strategy has redefined the meaning of an airline's brand. We convinced the client that it should not emphasize itself as an airline. Focusing on the airplane will make the brand being positioned as a vehicle. It should therefore identify itself as a travel brand that appeals to the different meaning travel brings.

China airlines has a history of 60 years. As the largest airline with the longest history in Taiwan, young consumers tended to see it as an old fashioned brand their parents would choose when they travel abroad. The client wanted to reinvent the brand to appeal to younger generations.

For a long time, the client had been appealing to the functional needs of consumers just like all other airlines. It showed consumers how good their planes were, how good their service was, and how well they valued their customers. However, none of these were relevant to young consumers. The biggest challenge facing the brand was to find out the brand value that young consumers could relate to.

We suggested our client not to think of themselves as airlines, but as travel brands. Young people love to travel, but they hate flying. They’ve got no choice but to fly to get to the destinations. Therefore, we should identify the meaning of travel for young consumers in each year’s brand campaign to drive brand recognition and preference among younger generations.

To young people, travel meant something more than making friends jealous with gorgeous pics on IG, crossing off many places from a wish list, or buying little key chains and other clutter we bring from far-away places. We found that travel meant the experience that leaves a mark on life, by changing the way we think, look, and feel, or even to change our whole life.

They are more fascinated by unpredictable events or experiences as they travel, because that means the opportunity to have new excitements, new possibilities, or new life adventures.

Everyone who travels brings back some local souvenirs, such as small key rings or T-shirts. These souvenirs usually represent a place you have been to. But what kind of souvenirs represent the experiences, stories and adventures that happened in this place? That’s when we started to list the “souvenirs” that could represent these truly valuable experiences. Based on the insight, we created different scenarios of travel “souvenirs” and their significances left in our life. We tested the scenarios internally, with friends and our clients, then chose the ones resonating with young Taiwanese the most. We want to inspire people to discover the new experience when they travel.

Once the film was launched, our organic views soared quickly. The initiative has charmed viewers worldwide, with its centerpiece video notching 10 million global views and more than 50,000 likes, 10,000 shares, and over 4,000 comments in just two weeks. The campaign widely discussed in social forums inspiring young people to share their stories on all the souvenirs they got from travelling.

The campaign had a significant impact on business and online sales increased by 213% compared to previous year within one month. (China Airlines internal data)