During the month of June, Ouai tapped into an in-flight advertising alternative with JetBlue. The advert, that includes its St. Barts-scented physique merchandise, was meant to evoke a glamorous, attractive and complicated temper board for viewers. The month-long marketing campaign, referred to as “Wanna Get A-Ouai,” ran as a pre-roll video earlier than JetBlue’s security video, guaranteeing publicity to three million folks on 28,000 flights. The advert closely options fast flashes of fruits, St. Barts merchandise and fashions in bathing fits utilizing the merchandise, all inside an environment of sun-kissed seashores.

Ouai partnered with OOH company Quan Media Group for the JetBlue alternative after initially partnering in 2022 for the model’s first large-scale OOH marketing campaign in a very long time, mentioned Nicole Solorzano, director of brand name advertising. Solorzano mentioned the JetBlue alternative appealed to Ouai as an elevated and sudden strategy to present up and inform a model story versus a product-focused model. Ouai doesn’t at the moment have travel retail or any amenity or hospitality partnerships. However, it does have samples accessible by way of a partnership with PS, previously “Private Suites,” which is a non-public airport terminal for business flights at LAX and ATL airports.

“We were prescriptive about not making the ad feel sales-y. There was lots of internal deliberation over that. There was barely any call to action or copy; we wanted the campaign visuals to speak for themselves,” mentioned Solorzano.

Ouai has constructed itself up as a premium model by way of its refined scent portfolio, with jet-setter names like St. Barts, Cape Town and Melrose Place. Ouai initially launched St. Barts, a scent profile of dragon fruit, orange blossom, tuberose and musk, as a limited-edition scalp and physique scrub in 2021. The recognition proved robust, and it has since change into a everlasting product, with the scent now additionally supplied in a physique cream and physique cleanser. P&G, which owns Ouai, mentioned in its fourth-quarter and fiscal-year earnings on July 28 that its magnificence section’s natural gross sales elevated 11% year-over-year. Its hair care natural gross sales elevated by excessive single digits, primarily attributable to elevated pricing and a optimistic product combine.

“[Airline ads] are somewhat of a new out-of-home tactic,” mentioned Brian Rappaport, founder and CEO of OOH company Quan Media Group. “Since last year, brands have looked at airports and air travel as an extension of any given market or when they’re looking to add out-of-home.”

The timing labored out effectively for Ouai, as travel has improved for the reason that low of 2020. According to the U.S Travel Association’s most up-to-date knowledge from May, air travel demand seems to have stabilized considerably and remained up 10% in May year-over-year. Total travel spending improved to 1.4% above May 2022 ranges and was up 5.5% year-to-date by way of May 2023. Airlines additionally paint a definite image of the recognition of worldwide travel. Delta raised its full-year revenue expectations on July 13, as did American Airlines on July 20. United Airlines additionally boasted report quarterly revenue and forecasted a robust third quarter because of the development of worldwide travel. JetBlue, a predominantly U.S. home provider, reduce its full-year revenue forecast because of the ending of its American Airlines partnership and a shift away from home journeys towards worldwide flights.

Solorzano mentioned that, as a result of Ouai wished to attach the model with elegant travel, the standard KPI metrics of views and gross sales elevate didn’t apply. But Ouai did take into account the partnership profitable as a result of it secured JetBlue’s complete fleet. Plus, there was an sudden halo impact on social media of individuals posting a picture of the advert and tagging the model in response to seeing it on their flights. The St. Barts assortment offered out twice throughout this era, though Solorzano mentioned it was inconceivable to attribute that to its JetBlue advert instantly. She declined to touch upon the precise funding or price for the advert, however she mentioned it was cost-efficient, given the fee per million views and low barrier to entry.

“It’s incredibly cost-effective and for how many people you’re reaching and for the uncluttered environment and captive audience; there is a lower CPM [compared to other TV ads] and a high number of impressions,” mentioned Rappaport.

Ouai plans to increase its travel story and is at the moment exploring alternatives. That might are available in there type of an extended advertising marketing campaign or different airport advert alternatives. Travel retail and facilities are a future purpose, Solorzano.