UK. Avolta has partnered with Manchester Airports Group (MAG) to launch the dynamic Depart from the Everyday summer campaign at London Stansted Airport.
The Moodie Davitt Report Brands Director Hannah Tan was on location yesterday (11 July) for the launch event, also attended by top executives from Avolta, Stansted Airport and Manchester Airports Group. The 12-week campaign, which kicked off on 1 July, is also running at Manchester and East Midlands airports.
Launched to coincide with the peak summer travel period, Depart from the Everyday has transformed the World Duty Free walkthrough store with a series of vibrant pop-ups inspired by a summer beach party.
Experiences range from live DJ sets and airport baggage claim-themed spirits tastings, to a Glow Up station offering free festival makeovers.
Avolta UK Commercial Director Eve Fifer commented: “Depart from the Everyday is fully aligned with our Destination 2027 strategy and focused on making travellers happier. We know that people want to maximise their holiday experiences at every stage of the journey, and at Avolta we strive to make the time spent in our stores as exciting as the destination.
“For the next three months, travellers visiting Manchester and Stansted airports will be able to kick start their get-away with interactive and memorable events, makeovers and sampling sessions, and fabulous summer offers.
“We’re delighted to be able to work in close partnership with our colleagues at MAG to bring this vibrant campaign to life for the many passengers set to visit the airport this summer and are confident that customers will love everything it has to offer.”
“We wanted to do something bold that added to the experience, something fun and exciting and completely 360. What we’ve created is massively experiential. Something that isn’t just in-store but an experience that passengers can engage with online, as they go through security and even through the car parks. It took 18 months of planning to bring this to life.
“The passenger experience is truly at the heart of this project,” Fifer added. “We are want to elevate the experience on the shop floor. We want them to stop, have fun and feel excited about hopping on a flight to Ibiza.
“None of this would be possible without our great partnership with Manchester Airports Group. This came to life because we share the same vision and goal of delivering something different, memorable and fun.”
Manchester Airports Group Retail Director Stansted Airport Stephen Martin added: “MAG, through our airports at Manchester and London Stansted, are proud to support the UK Avolta team with an exciting summer campaign, that will offer specifically curated brands and promotions to our customers.
“We are expecting another record year of passenger volume through our airports, so that provides Avolta with the perfect opportunity to deliver this colourful programme.
“MAG and Avolta continue to enjoy a long and very successful partnership across our airport terminals, and we wish them every success with its fun and exciting new Depart from the Everyday campaign.”
“This is all about fun,” Martin continued. “There was so much time and energy put into this and I’m really pleased in terms of the quality of what we’ve achieved and seeing our passengers’ reactions as they walk through the store.
“When you look at the different engagement points, you’ll see the vision that we tried to achieve. We have a great team in store and none of this can happen without the people who bring it to life. This is the perfect campaign to capture the attention of passengers during this very busy summer. Just today, we are welcoming around 50,000 passengers.”
The experience begins at the entrance where travellers are given pink Depart from the Everyday wristbands, allowing them access to all the exciting and engaging activations on offer.
Impactful archways, oversized props and bold graphics throughout the store serve as the striking backdrop, while DJ sampling sessions add to the festival atmosphere with a playlist designed to get travellers in the holiday mood.
Several World Duty Free brands, across various categories, are participating in the campaign with immersive experiences that cater to all five senses.
Jo Malone London is celebrating its ‘quintessentially British’ fragrance release, Orange Marmalade, by offering travellers luxurious hand massages. The Paddington Bear-inspired scent was launched in style in London last week – click here for our exclusive on-location report.
MAC Cosmetics is offering travellers flash festival makeovers using its vibrant travel retail-exclusive makeup sets and bestsellers, while Chanel has launched a South of France-inspired activation in-store. It is running for a four-week period.
At the Chanel pop-up, travellers can discover the brand’s different fragrance lines amid a sunny beach club setting. They can also play with different Chanel makeup looks and collect exclusive postcards as souvenirs of their visit.
Benefit Cosmetics has taken over the main activation space in the walkthrough store. The bright-pink pop-up invites travellers to explore the brand’s bestsellers and take digital selfies with the giant Benetint Lip Tint mascot. There are also props to pose with, including beach balls, blankets and oversized models of different Benefit hero products displayed on a replica conveyor belt.
After taking their selfies, visitors simply scan a QR code to send their digital photos straight to their mailboxes.
A festival makeover station is one of the standout features, with both parents and children getting flash makeovers using glitter, feathers and gems.
Travellers can get in the holiday spirit with tastings of the Tanqueray No. 10, Sevilla Orange and Rangpur Lime expressions at a drinks trolley pop-up by the entrance.
Elsewhere, an airport baggage claim-themed bar launched in partnership with Don Julio serves free samples of spirits while offering added gamification with the ‘Make Your Luggage Full of Liquors’ digital game.
The bar offers Stansted-themed cocktails across a variety of spirits brands. These include the Stansted Bubble, Stansted Spritz and Stansted Mule.
Other participating brands include Ophir, Sol de Janeiro and Dead Man’s Fingers.
Volta UK’s Fifer explained: “In every drink there is a different brand that we are promoting. The concept is very flexible. We are scaling up the cocktail experience and it’s changing throughout the campaign period, so there’s always something different for our passengers.”
Every Thursday to Sunday throughout the 12-week period, a live DJ plays beach club tunes for a summer party atmosphere across the store.
For those with a sweet tooth, Cadbury – celebrating its 200th anniversary this year – is using roaming Usherettes to offer customers mini samples of their much-loved favourites, including Dairy Milk original and Miniature Heroes.
“Our goal was to create a big festival in the airport and I think we have achieved it. We launched the campaign ten days ago and the response has been incredible in terms of dwell time, conversion and all other KPIs,” Fifer concluded.
Depart from the Everyday is being supported by a vibrant OOH media campaign throughout Stansted Airport. ✈
