Rituals Multi-Channel Christmas Campaign

Melvin Broekaart director Global Travel Retail at Rituals elaborates; Christmas is one of the busiest travel periods and the peak gifting season, for this it made perfect sense for Rituals and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol to collaborate which resulted in the Festive campaign, a recurring campaign since 2018. This year's campaign featured a multi-channel approach in which 120.000 shoppers were surprised with a Rituals gift with purchase in all Amsterdam Airport Schiphol shops. They were also given a 10% discount coupon driving the travellers back to the Rituals store, next to this the campaign also consisted of adverts on all the screens, branded Christmas decorations including a scented Christmas tree of over 8 meters tall, and a gifting trolley conveniently placed next to the Plaza tree during the Christmas shopping peak. Perfect for the last-minute shopper!

Even for the 2500 travellers who parked their car at the P6 Valet during the end of December Rituals had a little gift being a car perfume from the Rituals Amsterdam Collection. All these joint promotions were created to boost the feelings of Christmas, the holiday spirit and in turn sales.

“Are we doing the tree again this year?” is a question that Melvin hears at Rituals a lot, often as early as May. “It’s something that everyone at the company gets excited about,” he utters. Every year the travellers are greeted in the main Plaza entry by an enormous Rituals Christmas tree, decorated with 900 ornaments and 150 Rituals gift sets. It might seem a little premature, but the preparations for the festive campaign start early in the year. “Take the gift with purchase; Rituals must develop and produce these products. These processes take time,” concludes Melvin. In August, all advertisements, products, plans are finished and ready for implementation in November. During the end of December, both parties evaluate the campaign and adjust if necessary. It is a continuous process.

Rituals and Schiphol have created an all-around festive campaign for the traveller - bringing cheer despite the pandemic. It is hard to tell what the future holds in uncertain times; however, what is clear is that Rituals and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol are far from done working together. For the campaign different touchpoints have been created throughout Schiphol:

• The Rituals Christmas Tree with the invigorating scent of the Ritual of Happy Buddha emanated from the branches.

• Promo locations in the lounges where visitors could purchase products and were treated to hot cups of tea and relaxing hand massages.

• Last-minute shopping at the gates, where Rituals created a last-minute gifting service at Gate B, C and in Lounge 1. Rituals offered stylish gift cards overflowing with gift sets. The very last chance to buy a gift for a loved one before hopping on board.

• With a new Rituals store that just opened in Lounge 3 and more campaigns planned for the course of next year, these two partners will certainly continue to create even more memorable campaigns for Amsterdam Airport Schiphol’s travellers and Rituals target audience.

“We feel that we can go even bigger and better - continuing with this momentum. The partnership between Schiphol Media and Marketing with Rituals can be used as a blueprint in their growth strategy towards other airports.” Maarten van Maaren Manager Schiphol Media explains. “We would love to help Rituals grow and elevate them; if we can do so by sharing our experiences, we will. Amsterdam Airport Schiphol will not profit from it. However, we feel that it is the right thing to do. It is not a true partnership if you do not want the best for each other.” He finishes off with a Dutch saying, “If you can't divide (or share), you can't multiply.” It is a sentiment that sums up this partnership quite well. A true collaboration between two invested parties is one to last.