Since opening our Mexico City office last year, we take immense pride in the work we’ve done to bring regional brands’ digital efforts to a global stage. In such a short amount of time, we managed to pull off a big win not just for a client, but for the country itself: a Gold Cannes Lion awarded to Aeroméxico’s “People are the Places” website at this year’s Cannes Festival for Creativity. The victory recognizes the region’s leaps in providing premier digital experiences, as well as the power in marrying global expertise with a local team’s insights and understanding of the market.

If anyone could pull it off, it would be Aeroméxico: airlines and other travel brands in particular must understand what kind of experiences and messages resonate not just with their primary domestic market, but with international travelers as well. And as an industry leader, engaging and unique digital experiences aren’t uncommon for Aeroméxico: the airline’s app topped the download charts in the first week since its launch. 

For Aeroméxico this was new, unexplored terrain, so it was fundamental that MediaMonks provided them with all the tools, capabilities and talent to face this exciting challenge. “What we did was build a bridge between creativity and technology,” said Carlos Rivera, Consulting and Platforms Lead at MediaMonks. One of the key elements of this process was a UX expert to guide the brand’s process with the new platform. 

In creating the platform for “People are the Places”, we wanted to craft a website experience that conveyed emotion and humanity, design a story-driven interface that fostered relatability, and build a frictionless platform where users feel invited into a seamless experience. In the end, the campaign succeeded, because users truly feel as if they are traveling to someone in the process of creating their destination. 

“Our Mexico City office served as the main partner guiding Aeroméxico through the creative steps required for this campaign,” said Marcelo Planchart, MediaMonks Head of Latam Expansion. “This meant not only providing new technologies, but focusing on solutions that would directly benefit customers and make their experience rewarding in every way.” Taking home a Gold Cannes Lion, the airline has certainly taken the country to new heights–what more could an airline hope to achieve?

Interested in seeing how our team can help you reach new heights?

But “People are the Places”–made in collaboration between Aeroméxico’s in-house team, MediaMonks and our partners at Google–is a wholly new experience. “With ‘People are the Places,’ we want to go from being a company that transports people to a brand that builds personal relationships,” said Andrés Castañeda, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Customer Experience at Aeroméxico. “It is a huge satisfaction for Aeroméxico’s marketing team to win a Golden Lion with a campaign developed 100% at home in collaboration with Google.”

Born from the belief that traveling is about people more so than the destination, “People are the Places” lets travelers experience locales like never before–through the people actually living there. Through a savvy site, users can select a person as a destination, resulting in a personalized e-ticket with the name of the user and their selected person, as well as a dynamic video that stitches together social media content. This information then becomes the basis for creating an actual ticket, transforming individual people into destinations themselves. With 60% of leisure and 41% of business travelers arranging their trips online, according to Smart Insights, it becomes essential for travel industry players to accurately measure customer experience and improve their services and products, enhancing the experience itself and directly impacting their business.

It’s a unique spin that prompts people to change the way they think about destinations. An airline can’t change the geography that divides or connects people, but it can provide novel new perspectives that change the logic of how people conceptualize places. Whether seeing the world for the first time from seven miles above ground or discovering a place through a person, Aeroméxico accomplishes such a feat in more ways than one.

To help accomplish this, we worked with Aeroméxico to build a web platform that integrates Google technologies and social media tools with Aeroméxico’s ecommerce backend. Instead of choosing a geographic destination, users can instead directly choose the person they want to fly to, wherever they are in the world.

Interested in learning how MediaMonks partners with our LatAm or Mexican clients?

Bridging Together Creativity and Technology

As brands have designed digital experiences that accomplish the same KPIs and goals, most digital experiences across industries—including travel—have begun to feel the same. There is little differentiating factor in travel destination search engines, for example, resulting in a proliferation of search aggregates with which price alone becomes the deciding factor in purchasing decisions. This trend highlights the importance of digital experiences that provide an emotional value to consumers’ interactions with the brand.

At MediaMonks, we often argue that the interface is the brand, and that no interaction is too small or insignificant to reflect a brand’s product or services. MediaMonks helped Aeroméxico take advantage of high-end technology to create a user experience never seen before for selling plane tickets, offering a truly unique and human-centered process for discovering and selecting a travel destination. And it’s not just a flashy customer experience: with this, Aeroméxico now offers a new, scalable way of selling tickets, offering a 100% data-centered and personalized solution to make each flight unique and human-driven. Marrying together a delightful engagement with clear business impact demonstrates the brand’s role as a major digital player in the industry.

Want to read this post in Spanish?

Desde la apertura de nuestra oficina en la Ciudad de México el año pasado, nos enorgullecemos del trabajo que hemos realizado para llevar los esfuerzos digitales de las marcas regionales a un escenario global. En tan poco tiempo, conseguimos una gran victoria no sólo para un cliente, sino también para el propio país: un León de Oro de Cannes otorgado al sitio web “Personas que son destinos” de Aeroméxico en el Festival de Creatividad de Cannes 2019. El premio reconoce los grandes saltos de la región en el suministro de experiencias digitales de primer nivel, así como el poder de unir la experiencia global con las ideas y la comprensión del mercado de un equipo local.

Si alguien podía lograrlo, era Aeroméxico: las aerolíneas y otras marcas de viajes, en particular, deben comprender qué tipo de experiencias y mensajes resuenan no sólo con su principal mercado nacional, sino también con los viajeros internacionales. Y como líder de la industria, las experiencias digitales únicas y atractivas no son poco frecuentes para Aeroméxico: la aplicación de la aerolínea encabezó las listas de descargas en la primera semana desde su lanzamiento.

Para Aeroméxico, este era un terreno nuevo e inexplorado, por lo que fue fundamental que MediaMonks le proporcionara todas las herramientas, capacidades y talento para enfrentar este emocionante desafío. “Lo que hicimos fue construir un puente entre la creatividad y la tecnología,” dice Carlos Rivera, Consulting and Platforms Lead en MediaMonks. Uno de los elementos clave fue un experto en UX que guiaría el proceso de la marca con la nueva plataforma.

Al crear la plataforma para “Personas que son Destinos”, queríamos crear una experiencia de sitio web que transmitiera emoción y humanidad, diseñar una interfaz basada en historias que fueran reconocibles y construir una plataforma sin fricción donde los usuarios se sientan invitados a una experiencia perfecta. Al final, la campaña tuvo éxito porque los usuarios realmente sienten que viajan a alguien en el proceso de crear su destino.

“Nuestra oficina en la Ciudad de México sirvió como el principal socio que guió a Aeroméxico a través de los pasos creativos necesarios para esta campaña”, dijo Marcelo Planchart, Head of Latam Expansion de MediaMonks. “Esto significó no sólo proporcionar nuevas tecnologías, sino también concentrarse en soluciones que beneficiarían directamente a los clientes y hacer que su experiencia fuera gratificante en todos los aspectos”. Al llevar a casa un León de Oro de Cannes, la aerolínea ciertamente ha llevado al país a nuevas alturas, ¿qué más podría esperar lograr una aerolínea?

¿Interesado en ver cómo nuestro equipo puede ayudarte a alcanzar nuevas alturas?

Pero “Personas que son Destinos”, realizada en colaboración entre el equipo interno de Aeroméxico, MediaMonks y nuestros socios en Google, es una experiencia completamente nueva. “Con ‘Personas que son Destinos’ queremos pasar de ser una empresa que transporta gente a ser una marca que construye relaciones personales”, dijo Andrés Castañeda, Vicepresidente Senior de Mercadotecnia y Experiencia al Cliente de Aeroméxico. “Es una enorme satisfacción para el equipo de marketing de Aeroméxico ganar un León de Oro con una campaña desarrollada 100% en casa en colaboración con Google.”

Nacida de la creencia de que viajar se trata más de las personas que del destino, “Personas que son Destinos” permite a los viajeros experimentar destinos como nunca antes–a través de las personas que viven allí. A través de un sitio inteligente, los usuarios pueden seleccionar a una persona como destino, lo que da como resultado un boleto electrónico personalizado con el nombre del usuario y su persona seleccionada, así como un video dinámico que une a contenido de redes sociales. Esta información se convierte en la base para crear un boleto real, transformando a las personas en destinos. Con el 60% de los que viajan por placer y el 41% de los que lo hacen por negocios organizando sus viajes en línea, de acuerdo con Smart Insights, es esencial para los jugadores de la industria de viajes medir con precisión la experiencia del cliente y mejorar sus servicios y productos, enriqueciendo la experiencia en sí e impactando directamente a su negocio.

Es un giro único que incita a las personas a cambiar la forma en que piensan sobre los destinos. Una aerolínea no puede cambiar la geografía que divide o conecta a las personas, pero puede dar perspectivas novedosas que cambian la lógica de cómo las personas conceptualizan los lugares. Ya sea viendo el planeta por primera vez desde siete millas por encima del suelo o descubriendo un lugar a través de una persona, Aeroméxico logra tal hazaña en más de un sentido.

Para ayudar a lograr esto, trabajamos con Aeroméxico para construir una plataforma web que integra las tecnologías y herramientas de redes sociales de Google, con el backend de ecommerce de Aeroméxico. En lugar de elegir un destino geográfico, los usuarios pueden escoger directamente a la persona a la que desean volar, en cualquier lugar del mundo.

¿Interesado en saber cómo se asocia MediaMonks con nuestros clientes de LatAm o de México?

Creando un Puente entre Creatividad y Tecnología

A medida que las marcas han diseñado experiencias digitales que cumplen los mismos KPIs y objetivos, la mayoría de las experiencias digitales en diferentes industrias, incluidos la de viajes, han comenzado a sentir lo mismo. Hay poco que diferencia a los motores de búsqueda de destinos de viaje, por ejemplo, lo que resulta en una proliferación de agregados de búsqueda con los que el precio por sí solo se convierte en el factor decisivo en las decisiones de compra. Esta tendencia resalta la importancia de las experiencias digitales que proporcionan un valor emocional a las interacciones de los consumidores con la marca.

En MediaMonks, a menudo argumentamos que la interfaz es la marca y que ninguna interacción es demasiado pequeña o insignificante para reflejar los productos o servicios de una marca. MediaMonks ayudó a Aeroméxico a aprovechar la tecnología de punta para crear una experiencia de usuario nunca antes vista para la venta de boletos de avión, ofreciendo un proceso verdaderamente único y centrado en el ser humano para descubrir y seleccionar un destino de viaje. Y no es solo una experiencia de cliente llamativa: con esto, Aeroméxico ahora ofrece una forma nueva y escalable de vender boletos, ofreciendo una solución 100% centrada en los datos y personalizada para hacer que cada vuelo sea único y enfocado en las personas. Unir un gran engagement con un claro impacto en el negocio demuestra el papel de la marca como un jugador digital importante en la industria.

Accede a nuestra colección de casos de América Latina.

This year’s Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity captured an industry in transformation, with brands extending their capabilities in-house, embracing performance and shifting attention toward emerging platforms and formats that have disrupted the environment.

And of course, there were parties. MediaMonks teamed up with MassiveMusic to host an embassy-themed rooftop party in which every attendee represented a unique fictional nation. In all the revelry, the party offered a diplomatic neutral ground to celebrate creativity—much like the festival itself. If you were unable to attend, we’ve got a nice summary of emergent trends and things to look out for coming away from La Croisette. 

A Push for Inclusivity

On a sober note, the MMMMbassy party signaled the power in bringing people together with creativity. And it’s a prescient message, as inclusivity and values-based messaging has struck a chord: Nike’s “Dream Crazy” campaign, featuring Colin Kaepernick, took both an Inaugural Entertainment for Sport Grand Prix win in addition to an Outdoor Grand Prix win, while Johnson & Johnson’s 5B, a documentary following nurses who cared for patients during the AIDS epidemic, also took a Grand Prix win in the Entertainment category.

Our own “Mind the (Pay) Gap” campaign, in collaboration with Serviceplan and German transportation company BVG, took away a Bronze Cannes Lion Direct. The campaign powered ticket vending machines throughout Alexanderplatz with facial recognition to determine passengers’ genders, rewarding women with a 21% discount on flat-rate tickets. The discount reflected the 21% gap in pay between women and men.

Maybe it’s time for a Cannes Lioness? Google showed off its Lioness AR app that surrounds the user with 3D lionesses representing women in the ad industry. When users tap a lioness, they hear a real woman’s story, then answer questions about their own workplace experiences. Users then see the percentage of others who answered similarly, breaking the silence of gender inequality with a lioness’ roar.

Renewed Focus on Responsibility

Social responsibility isn’t just about showcasing a great cause. Elsewhere, global brands and media partners alike came together to launch a Global Alliance for Responsible Media in response to growing unease from brands about sponsoring or appearing alongside harmful content. And with mounting anxieties about data practices, organizations will have to adopt responsible governance practices that place value and user benefit at the forefront. As MediaMonks Founder & COO Wesley ter Haar says, “People want to feel heard, not overheard.”

Our “People are the Places” campaign for Aeroméxico—which won a Gold Lion for Brand Experience and Activation—demonstrates how handing over personal data should be a value-based exchange. Noticing that travel destinations are just as much about the people and culture as they are the location, the “People are the Places” website prompts visitors to input information about themselves and the people they’d like to meet, resulting in a dynamic video pulling from social content that transforms individual people into destinations themselves.

Creative ingenuity can also poke holes through forms of oppression. On World Day Against Censorship, Reporters Without Borders launched an innovative playlist—found on major streaming services like Spotify, Deezer and Apple Music—that translates important stories by censored journalists into subversive songs. We worked with DDB Berlin to launch the platform for the initiative, which won a Titantium Lion award celebrating ground-breaking work. The campaign’s success shows the social impact that outside-the-box creative can achieve.

Offering a Taste of the Future

Of course, Cannes isn’t just about looking back at the most interesting creative produced in the past year; La Croisette was packed with demonstrations of new content formats and innovative ways to connect with consumers. Over at the Unity cabana, for example, attendees could step out of the French Riviera and into an alternate dimension powered by augmented reality with Pharos AR.

The AR experience, produced by MediaMonks in collaboration with Unity, Google and Childish Gambino, takes users on a cosmic voyage from an enigmatic cave to the furthest reaches of space and is infused with a soundtrack from the artist that features an exclusive new song. “The journey from cave to space feels like the story of humanity,” Donald Glover told Fast Company. As for the reason why he chose AR as a platform? “AR technology is going to play a huge part of everyday life in the future,” Glover said.

Not to be outdone, Facebook offered their own immersive stage for storytelling with its Stories Xperience, which we built in collaboration with 72andSunny. It comprises a series of monitors that display vertical video Story content, inspiring attendees to embrace the growing format. Users select the theme of content that plays, and can direct the kinetic monitors to come together or apart, offering several perspectives on the potential of Stories.

But you can’t highlight new creative opportunities without mentioning Fortnite, a game that’s dramatically risen in popularity over the past year and has turned into a hangout spot for digital natives. Fast food brand Wendy’s took the Social & Influencer Grand Prix for its Fortnite livestream, which recognized the brand for setting a new trend. “Fortnite is the new Facebook in some ways,” MediaMonks Creative Managing Director Henry Cowling told Ad Age earlier this month. “Millennials and Gen Z are much more used to living on platforms like Fortnite.”

Evolving Beyond Traditional Formats

In addition to flashy formats, attendees at Cannes showed an interest in reinventing and evolving more traditional types of advertising as well. In an interview with LinkedIn, S4 Capital Executive Chairman Sir Martin Sorrell discussed the importance in experimenting with tried-and-true formats, mentioning the 1.7-second videos that MediaMonks made with L’Oreal following a Facebook insight about video consumption behavior.

Even the humble radio ad has potential for an upgrade. Take Spotify, for example, who is looking to provide dynamic ad insertion for its podcast content. “The audio ad unit hasn’t seen any innovation in the last 80 years, so we feel we need to disrupt it,” Spotify VP and Global Head of Advertising Brian Benedik told Ad Age.

Similarly, Comcast expressed interest in opening up more inventory for addressable TV advertising, which is currently limited to two minutes on the hour. The growing use of addressable ads will vastly improve the personal relevance of TVC, whose strength had traditionally been to cast a wide reach across the general population. Both this and Spotify’s move toward dynamic insertion show how traditional formats are growing up—and brands will have to get their data in order to take advantage of these programmatic opportunities.

While the past year may have been a bit rocky for brands and agencies alike, you can’t deny that it’s an exciting time. This year’s Cannes International Festival of Creativity highlighted that energy, and conveyed an optimism for how the industry as a whole has set expectations for greater heights—not just in terms of creativity, but in social impact as well.