From spring break to summer vacation, it’s the peak season at Schiphol Airport. It’s the time of year when most Dutch travelers depart from Schiphol for their holidays. This year, Schiphol, in collaboration with DEPT®, used influencer marketing to help travelers prepare for the updated security checks at the airport. This way, Schiphol ensured that even during the peak season, all departing travelers were well-prepared for their journeys.
Reaching millions of travelers
Located in Amsterdam, Schiphol is the main airport in the Netherlands and a premier international travel hub, with 50 million people passing through each year.
In 2022, a surge in post-COVID travel paired with the lower employment at Schiphol created long wait lines for passengers, which resulted in bad press and dissatisfied passengers.
Schiphol wanted to alleviate passengers from such long lines, so they partnered with DEPT® to inform potential travelers how to better prepare for departure. We needed to reach as many of the 8.9 million people in the Netherlands who travel by plane more than once a year. To achieve this, we unleashed the power of influencer marketing.
Collaborating with Dutch influencers
We collaborated with five Dutch influencers on Instagram and TikTok to ensure that departing travelers at Schiphol knew about the updated security process and rules.
Through insight mining, we were able to determine the key demographics of our target group and select the right influencers to reach them with. These incredible influencers were:
- Yasmine Berrag (@hijabsecrets)
- Pieter van Leijen (@pietervalley)
- Iris Rulkens (@irisrulkens)
- Sanne Akkerman (@laviesanne)
- Rebecca Boektje (@rebeccaboektje)
The brief: Get ready for security
The goal was simple: Show the recognisable (stressful) travel moments regarding the security check-in, and offer solutions for a better, faster, and more relaxed travel experience.
Schiphol wanted passengers to understand two core questions:
- What should you put/not put in your hand luggage?
- What clothes should you wear for faster security?
We gave the influencers guidelines for “smart packing” and “security dress code,” and then they crafted unique messages around traveling smart with the right at-home preparation.
Throughout the collaboration, we trusted the influencers on how to reach and activate their audience with the right tone of voice and creativity. By understanding the right balance between brand talking points and creative freedom, each of the five influencers found success.
A successful influencer campaign
The campaign had an impact across the board. We achieved an influencer cost per thousand (CPM) of €10, below the influencer benchmark of €30. For three of the five collaborating influencers, the organic impressions were higher than their personal content benchmark, which is rare since branded content doesn’t usually perform as well as non-branded videos.
While the original goal was 930K impressions, we are proud to say we are currently at 2.7M impressions and counting.
In addition, many positive reactions and messages have been received from people traveling in and out of Schiphol Airport.
Want to collaborate on your next influencer marketing campaign?
Marketing Coordinator
Cecilie Bligaard
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