Emirates and Spotify help Australians find their True North in latest work via Havas Media

| | 4 Comments

True North Screenshot (1).jpgEmirates is helping Australians find their ‘True North’ as part of a new collaboration with Spotify via Havas Media, to discover their ideal travel destination.

The ‘True North’ campaign is an interactive, personalised experience that connects users with destinations across the globe that are aligned with their musical preferences. The collaboration is a world-first in the aviation industry and will see the launch of the True North microsite, which takes a user’s Spotify listening history and uses a custom algorithm to find the destination for them.

People can identify their True North by linking their Spotify account and answering a series of questions about their music taste in order to be matched with one of 12 destinations from Emirates’ global route network. Their recommended destination, which can include Glasgow, Singapore and Madrid, is determined by matching the musical genres distinctly popular in that region with the genres that are distinct for that person based on their Spotify profiles.

Upon arriving at their True North destination on the microsite, users will be delivered a unique Spotify playlist developed exclusively for them based on their music taste, as well as a bespoke guide by hand-picked locals in each destination. The ‘insider guide’ will include the music scene of each destination, ranging from curated Spotify playlists to local music hotspots and best places to stay in the heart of the music scene.

Says Boutros Boutros, divisional senior vice president corporate communications, marketing and brand, Emirates: “Emirates is committed to connecting travellers to new destinations, music and cultures as part of its vast global route network. We strive to be at the forefront of innovation and have worked closely with Spotify to bring this exciting new concept to life, helping Australians find their True North.

“Each destination has a story to tell, from the music to the people, which is why we continue to improve connectivity for our passengers. From the moment they step aboard our world-class aircraft, we want them to have the best experience possible.”

Says Matt Bryant, creative lead at Spotify Australia: “We partnered with Emirates to create a truly personalised, data-powered experience, combining human curation and the Spotify API. It is interesting to look at what’s uniquely popular in different places; revealing genres that, although known locally, are largely unknown to music fans in Australia.”

Spotify and its technology vendor, Hydric Media, used a combination of data science and human curation to create unique music ‘profiles’ for each featured city that defined what was unique, musically, about that destination. The custom-built True North algorithm analyses an individual’s music taste to reveal the place that’s most likely to be in tune with them.

The experience is not limited to Spotify listeners alone, people without an account can still visit the microsite and discover their True North by answering questions on their musical taste.

The collaboration was spearheaded by Emirates’ media agency Havas Media who worked closely with Spotify and Hydric Media to bring the concept to life. As part of the campaign, Havas have also produced a series of audio, video and display advertisements across all devices on the Spotify application.

Havas Media has leveraged its global talent network of over 5,000 writers, journalists, photographers and videographers to produce ‘insiders guides’ to each destination, the music and its place within local culture. The collaboration will also be amplified through social media and online video.

Says Mike Wilson, CEO, Havas Media: “This project is a fantastic example of Havas Media’s and Emirates’ shared desire to merge media, technology and data to produce innovative experiences and services with partners, and in so doing drive great business results.”

Australian travellers will have more connections to their True North destinations, with a fourth daily Sydney service, operated by Emirates’ iconic A380 aircraft, set to launch on 25 March 2018. Emirates will also upgauge its third daily Melbourne service to an A380 from the same date and introduce a third daily Brisbane service, operated by a B777-200LR, from 1 December 2017.

With over 2,500 channels on Emirates’ award-winning inflight entertainment system ice, there’s something to keep the whole family entertained. All passengers can enjoy 20MB complimentary onboard Wi-Fi, gourmet food and wine and generous baggage allowances.

Emirates operates 77 flights per week from Australia to its hub in Dubai, with services from Brisbane, Perth, Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney, including seven daily A380 flights.