Guest Blog - the ISM team describes their approach (and subsequent jubilation!) to introducing Emirates Airlines to the San Francisco market…

They stopped. They looked. They smiled. They discussed.
To paraphrase Sally Field, “They liked it. They really liked it.”

But let’s back up 36 hours or so, to when we first started unpacking box after box of artificial palm fronds (1,280 fronds to be exact). The plan was to make a typical station domination anything but typical. For those who don’t know, a “station domination” is when a single advertiser buys every available unit in a particular station. In this case, the advertiser was our client Emirates, the world’s fastest growing airline. The site? San Francisco’s Montgomery Station. And the crew? Five installers, two ISMers, one Emirates client…and a partridge in a palm tree. Even before we had hung the first frond, onlookers began to take notice. In the middle of their commute, they’d take time to come over and ask what was going on. Some had heard of Emirates. Most hadn’t. (One even thought that Emirates was a cookie. And another was more interested in what kind of video camera we were using, but I digress.) Everyone agreed, this was gonna be a hit. And oh was it ever.

In addition to the 32 “Palm Trees”, we created wallscapes, floorscapes, dioramas, transit posters and banners. 215 different pieces in all. Let’s just say that Janice, our production manager, has earned herself a much needed vacation. (And don’t even get her started on the taxi wraps, news racks, billboards and monitors that we worked on for the rest of the city.)

But let’s get back to those palm trees. After weeks of searching for the “perfect frond” and experimenting with the proper rigging, we were finally ready to roll. Of course, it wasn’t until we saw the enormity of the task at hand that we realized, well, the enormity of the task at hand. (Who knew that there was a proper way to fold a frond?) Even our client had to get his hands dirty and help out. And at one point, when the installers were ready to call it a day, we actually had to bribe them with a Quizno’s run and sandwiches for everyone.

When all was said and done, the installation was a huge success. (And our hands and forearms were killing us from all that frond folding.) It was quite nice to see people walking into the station with no idea who Emirates was and walking out booking reservations on their iPhones. (Okay, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration.) But at the end of the day, we felt like we really left our mark on the city.

Sort of like our own little San Francisco treat.

-Ana Gonzalez

Watch the video here: http://ismboston.blogspot.com/2008/12/domination-jubilation.html

Founded in 1984, ISM has grown into one of the world’s leading firms specializing in marketing and advertising for the travel, hospitality and lifestyle industries. Premier brands from around the world seek out the company for its expertise, strategic abilities and creativity. Current clients include Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Emirates, American Express, Barbados, Best Western and others. The firm is comprised of a unique mix of talent that hails from both the travel industry and leading marketing communications agencies.

Tags: advertising, Airlines, emirates, hospitality, hotels, ism, lifestyle, Marketing, pr, san-francisco, Tourism, Travel

Guest Blog - the ISM team describes their approach (and subsequent jubilation!) to introducing Emirates Airlines to the San Francisco market…

They stopped. They looked. They smiled. They discussed.
To paraphrase Sally Field, “They liked it. They really liked it.”

But let’s back up 36 hours or so, to when we first started unpacking box after box of artificial palm fronds (1,280 fronds to be exact). The plan was to make a typical station domination anything but typical. For those who don’t know, a “station domination” is when a single advertiser buys every available unit in a particular station. In this case, the advertiser was our client Emirates, the world’s fastest growing airline. The site? San Francisco’s Montgomery Station. And the crew? Five installers, two ISMers, one Emirates client…and a partridge in a palm tree. Even before we had hung the first frond, onlookers began to take notice. In the middle of their commute, they’d take time to come over and ask what was going on. Some had heard of Emirates. Most hadn’t. (One even thought that Emirates was a cookie. And another was more interested in what kind of video camera we were using, but I digress.) Everyone agreed, this was gonna be a hit. And oh was it ever.

In addition to the 32 “Palm Trees”, we created wallscapes, floorscapes, dioramas, transit posters and banners. 215 different pieces in all. Let’s just say that Janice, our production manager, has earned herself a much needed vacation. (And don’t even get her started on the taxi wraps, news racks, billboards and monitors that we worked on for the rest of the city.)

But let’s get back to those palm trees. After weeks of searching for the “perfect frond” and experimenting with the proper rigging, we were finally ready to roll. Of course, it wasn’t until we saw the enormity of the task at hand that we realized, well, the enormity of the task at hand. (Who knew that there was a proper way to fold a frond?) Even our client had to get his hands dirty and help out. And at one point, when the installers were ready to call it a day, we actually had to bribe them with a Quizno’s run and sandwiches for everyone.

When all was said and done, the installation was a huge success. (And our hands and forearms were killing us from all that frond folding.) It was quite nice to see people walking into the station with no idea who Emirates was and walking out booking reservations on their iPhones. (Okay, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration.) But at the end of the day, we felt like we really left our mark on the city.

Sort of like our own little San Francisco treat.

-Ana Gonzalez

Watch the video here: http://ismboston.blogspot.com/2008/12/domination-jubilation.html

Founded in 1984, ISM has grown into one of the world’s leading firms specializing in marketing and advertising for the travel, hospitality and lifestyle industries. Premier brands from around the world seek out the company for its expertise, strategic abilities and creativity. Current clients include Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Emirates, American Express, Barbados, Best Western and others. The firm is comprised of a unique mix of talent that hails from both the travel industry and leading marketing communications agencies.

Contributed by Kevin Nicholas

Tags: advertising, Airlines, emirates, hospitality, hotels, ism, lifestyle, Marketing, pr, san-francisco, Tourism, Travel