Tag: travel
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Wpromote’s AI Strategy: Let the Bots Pitch, But Keep the Keys
Kargo has rolled out “Project Kera,” a chat-style planning and buying interface (closed beta) aimed at making cross-channel activation feel less like stitching together five different dashboards. The pitch: one agentic layer that can pull together biddable and non-biddable inventory, with beta testers including Hershey, travel media network Navigator, and indie agency Wpromote. Kargo’s CEO…
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New virtual reality experience brings an epic medieval adventure to life in London
Fever is adding another stamp to its London “VR expeditions” passport with The Last Stronghold: An Epic Medieval Adventure, launching 12 March 2026 at W12 Shopping Centre in Shepherd’s Bush. Built by Excurio with France’s Centre des monuments nationaux (CMN), it uses free-roam VR to drop visitors inside medieval Carcassonne—a UNESCO-listed fortress city—at its early-14th-century…
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AdAge Top 5 AI activations
From AI-generated cruise ads to YouTube fan parodies, brands (and unofficial creators) are leaning hard into generative content. Recent hot examples include a parody video pitting Netflix against Paramount in a fictional “Streaming Bowl”—complete with Harry Potter, Superman, and a stadium’s worth of IP cameos. Posted by creator Muhannad Nassar, the spot has racked up…
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Virgin Australia Lands AI Co-Pilot with OpenAI
Virgin Australia is claiming a first for the Australian airline industry with a new partnership with OpenAI, aiming to simplify how travelers search, plan, and book their flights. Now building directly on OpenAI’s developer tools—like ChatGPT’s new Apps SDK—the airline is testing ways for customers to describe travel plans conversationally and receive relevant flight options…
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Orlando’s New AI Tour Guides Are Made of Pixels and Google Reviews
Visit Orlando and Razorfish developed The Morelandos, 1,200 AI-generated characters created from Google reviews to promote Orlando’s attractions. Using tools like Gemini and Imagen, they focused on emotional storytelling and character consistency. These characters serve as ambassadors in various media, offering new avenues for brand storytelling and evolution across campaigns.
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Authenticity Boarding Now: Icelandair’s Anti-AI Ad Flight
Icelandair has launched a cheeky but pointed campaign titled “This is not AI,” tackling the growing skepticism around image authenticity in travel marketing. The airline noticed that even its real, awe-inspiring shots of Icelandic landscapes—like a volcanic eruption beneath the Northern Lights—were being doubted by social media users as AI-generated fakes. Instead of leaning into…
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AI on the High Seas: Holland America’s Super Bowl Bet on Generative Tech
Holland America is making waves at this year’s Super Bowl—not with a flashy national ad, but with a regional spot that’s almost entirely AI-generated. The cruise line, owned by Carnival Corp., tapped into a suite of AI tools like Midjourney, Runway, and OpenAI’s Sora to craft a visually stunning 30-second commercial. The ad takes viewers…
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Emirates Takes Flight with VR: Training 23,000 Crew in Virtual Cabins
Emirates is pioneering VR-based training for 23,000 cabin crew members, leveraging its MIRA platform to streamline essential safety procedures on Airbus and Boeing aircraft. MIRA offers self-guided, multi-user training modules, enabling staff to virtually practice operations like door handling and fire-fighting in lifelike cabin environments. With 3D modeled interiors and accessible via both VR headsets…
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4A’s Noteworthy News – 19th Edition
NOTE: this post first appeared on LinkedIn here. THE BIG STORY: How AI, AR and Wearables Will Transform Brand Experiences Meta Connect 2024 unleashed a whirlwind of announcements, showcasing Meta’s next steps in AI, AR and wearables—highlighting developments that could dramatically impact how consumers interact with brands, unlocking potential new advertising formats, and further blurring…
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How Hilton and Wendy’s Are Using AI to Improve Customer Interactions
Hilton and Wendy’s are leveraging AI to streamline customer interactions, focusing on enhancing efficiency without compromising the human touch. Hilton uses AI to automate routine tasks like selecting the right hotel room photos and allowing guests to choose their rooms from a floor plan. This frees up time for more creative, customer-centric work. Wendy’s has…
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4A’s Noteworthy News – 18th Edition
Note this post first appeared on LinkedIn. THE BIG STORY: Big tech platforms make text-to-video available to the masses It’s been another week of rapid AI advancements, with several major platforms launching new text-to-video tools. Amazon, YouTube, and Snapchat have all joined the race to make video creation accessible to the masses. What was once…
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Qatar Airways’ new AI campaign lets you star in your movie
Qatar Airways’ new AI-driven campaign allows customers to “star” in their own personalized film by selecting scenes where AI models reflect their appearance, including facial features and skin tone. This highly personalized experience underscores the airline’s focus on creating deeper connections with travelers. According to Qatar Airways executives, the campaign highlights the brand’s commitment to…
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Google unveils new augmented reality features in Google Maps
Google has introduced new augmented reality (AR) features in Google Maps, enhancing how users can explore Parisian landmarks. By selecting the “AR Experience” icon in the app, users can view historical recreations of the Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame Cathedral, and other iconic sites from different time periods. These immersive experiences are available globally via Street View,…
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TRG’s Sean Donovan on a new AI / XR program for Choctaw Landing
Sean Donovan, Chief Innovation Officer at TRG, recently shared this interesting new work for the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.
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Booking.com on the Sphere
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Kentucky Tourism Launches Interactive Game to Turn State Landmarks into Kid-Friendly Adventures
Kentucky Tourism has launched “Great Big Kentucky Adventure,” a unique video game aimed at engaging children during family vacations by turning famous state landmarks into game levels. This innovative approach intends to refresh the concept of road trips, integrating attractions like Louisville’s giant baseball bat into a side-scrolling adventure game. This campaign represents an inventive…
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Explore Wales in the metaverse
To promote tourism, Wales has launched a new metaverse experience available via smartphone, tablet, laptop, computer, and the Meta Quest headset. The immersive experience has been created by Visit Wales to inspire future tourists by showcasing the range of experiences, places and attractions available to explore across Wales in real life. Visitors can navigate the…
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Metaverse ‘Qatar Adventure’ in Roblox attracts 7.1 million visitors
We’ve covered Qatar Airway’s “Qverse” experience previously, and now Qatar’s International Media Office is reporting some impressive results from its first Roblox activation, including 7.5 million visitors from 32 different countries. Survey results show that 78.5% of respondents reported acquiring new insights into Qatar, while 86.8% expressed a desire to translate their virtual exploration into…
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Hilton partners with Hilton for metaverse activation with real world reward potential
This is a really interesting collaboration – Paris Hilton’s Roblox world, Slivingland, is integrating a new Hilton Hotels activation. Players can earn actual Hilton Honors reward points by engaging with the experience. And, the hotel chain re-created it’s “It Matters Where You Stay” commercial using Roblox avatars – marking the first-ever commercial to be fully…
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Airbnb Taps AI to Block Unauthorized New Year’s Eve Parties
From AI Business … Holiday rental platform Airbnb is set to use AI yet again this holiday season to predict which bookings will lead to illicit New Year’s Eve parties and reduce the risk of “unauthorized and disruptive parties in local neighborhoods.” The eagle-eyed AI system will take effect in the U.S. (including Puerto Rico),…
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Qatar Airways “Qverse” helps shoppers try before they buy
The airline virtually showcases the travel experience from check in to in-air to help potential passengers become more familiar with the brand’s premium offerings. Accessible from mobile and desktop using only a browser. Consumers tend to hesitate before making a high-dollar purchase for goods or services. This is especially true when they can’t touch, taste…
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Explore a Korean Royal Court Ceremony From the 1800s via AR
From AdWeek… To increase public interest in South Korea’s cultural heritage, marketing agency Cheil Worldwide worked with the Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea, the Seoul Metropolitan Government and woomihope.org to recreate a royal ceremony from 1887 in augmented reality. Visitors to Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul will be able to experience the Joseon Dynasty’s royal court…
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Behind the scenes of Virgin Voyages’ JenAI campaign
We covered Virgin Voyages’ super-cool JenAI campaign featuring Jennifer Lopez helping potential sailors create personalized invites for their friends back in June, and AdWeek recently published a great story and video describing how the whole thing came together. Worth a read and a watch! Pre-pandemic, Virgin Group was ready to set sail on a grand…
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Snapchat, the LA Rams, disguise and Meptik transform the Ram’s first home game into an AR experience for Princess Cruises
This stadium-scale AR experience features a virtual race though an oceanic obstacle course to be the first player to reach the cruise ship. Fans were also invited to text to win a cruise. What a fun combo of live events and AR. From Snap for Business on LI: Additional coverage and detail at AdWeek.
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Virgin Voyages uses AI to personalize pitches delivered by JLO herself
This is a fun example, though the video promo sort of over-promises on the extent of AI integration. Still, it’s a cool example of a brand leveraging an AI-enhanced celebrity to deliver a customized pitch message to friends and family. More detail at Virgin’s web site.
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Discover St. Louis Park Uses AR to Encourage Exploration of Minneapolis Suburbs
Destination marketing organization Discover St. Louis Park aims to drive visitors to Minneapolis suburbs St. Louis Park and Golden Valley through an augmented reality campaign highlighting local attractions. This AR campaign features artwork by St. Louis Park artist Adam Turman and was created by immersive experience agency REM5 Studios. It will let residents and visitors…
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Singapore Tourism Board Leans Into AR
Unedited summary from ChatGPT: The article reports that the Singapore Tourism Board has partnered with Snapchat to create an augmented reality (AR) campaign aimed at encouraging travel to Singapore. The AR experience allows users to virtually visit some of Singapore’s iconic landmarks and try out local activities. The campaign is part of Singapore’s broader efforts…
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Delta testing ability to talk to customers with Messages app via Apple Business Chat
Delta Air Lines is testing out a new way to communicate with its customers through “their channel of choice” – a messaging app. Customers with an iOS device can chat with a live airline representative or a Delta Virtual Assistant through the Messages app via Apple Business Chat, Delta said in a news release Wednesday.…