When travellers run into problems, they start sharing it on social media. By analysing these complaints for six months, we compiled a list of hundreds of relevant search words. In the campaign week, we set up a control room at the Amsterdam airport and started searching, resulting in over half a million travel-related tweets. We read through every single one, to track down passengers in need of help. We then creatively replied to as many tweets as possible, using KLM’s Twitter handle and #happytohelp. We did not create pre-prepared answers, because we wanted to offer genuine personal support.

Results:

- Total impressions generated by the #happytohelp initiative: 37+ million

- Total video views: 7+ million

- #happytohelp accomplished a significant increase in KLM brand preference in all (8) KLM key markets we researched, except for KLM’s home market, where brand preference does not leave much room for improvement.

- 1 out of 5 people living in the researched focus countries spontaneously recognized #happytohelp.

Problem: KLM is proud of its excellent customer service, but you have to fly KLM to experience it. Insight: When travellers run into problems, they start sharing it on social media. Strategy: Let’s offer KLM assistance in real time to all travellers flying other airlines. Surprise them by tapping into their natural behaviour of sharing complaints on social media. Idea: #happytohelp. A 24-hour-a-day special KLM customer service team set out to help travellers flying other airlines. We put up a glass pavilion at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and from there we proactively started answering tweets and offering KLM’s customer support to any passenger. In addition to text replies, we created as much striking rich-media content as we could, to delight those who unexpectedly received support and to encourage sharing. Teams also proactively offering personal assistance at 4 major airports around the world.