Challenge
In October 2019, KLM became the first airline in the world to operate for 100 years under its original name. To celebrate this important milestone, KLM requested MCI Argentina to design an experience that embodied their commitment to a more sustainable future for the aviation industry and the next generations of travellers.
Solution
KLM selected the proposal of MCI Argentina to celebrate its centennial anniversary with a project that left a positive mark in the local community while promoting creative expression. Several local artists were called up to propose murals ideas inspired by the anniversary’s core values:
- Sustainability
- Next generation
- Celebration
- Diversity
After presenting their first project outline, nine artists were selected to perform their artwork in ten locations around the city of Buenos Aires. To MCI Argentina the task of fully managing the project itself, with our project managers present on-site to make sure that KLM’s requests were respected in the final execution.
Each mural was painted with photocatalytic, an ecological non-toxic paint that has the property of absorbing CO2. With each mural, it was estimated that 6 kg of carbon dioxide could be eliminated. Thus, each artwork was also serving the purpose of an adult tree, contributing to the air quality of the city.
The initiative also caught the attention of the Instagram travellers’ community. To connect the real-life experience with the online world, the public was invited to join the campaign ‘Painting the 100 years of KLM’ by sharing their photos in front of the murals with the hashtags #KLM100 or #MuralesKLM. MCI Argentina ensured that the initiative generated high levels of engagement by leveraging the strong Instagram presence of the artists, the airline, and local travel influencers through hashtags, Instagram Stories and user-generated content.
Adding a digital touch to this artistic project, people were incentivised to visit the murals by the possibility of winning flight tickets when they scanned the QR code matched with each artwork.
Thanks to this colourful and sustainable project, KLM could strengthen its role of service-provider that adds value to the destination it serves while also promoting local excellence.
