Power of Online 7 | SunMatrix Ramble

KLM Messenger: Travel Updates in Chat

Facebook wants to transform their Messenger platform into an all-encompassing utility, where people will be able to conduct virtually any interaction, from buying products to paying bills to various other customer service related queries and tasks.

So together with KLM they have launched a new Messenger service. Travellers who book their flight on klm.com can now choose to receive booking confirmation, check-in notification, boarding pass and flight status updates all via Facebook Messenger.

For further questions they can also contact KLM directly through the Messenger, 24/7.

Why this is a meaningful shift in airline service

This takes airline communication out of the inbox and into a channel people already use all day. The value is not novelty. The value is reduced friction. Fewer app logins, fewer email searches, fewer “where is my boarding pass” moments.

Proactive updates. Confirmation, check-in prompts, and status changes arrive automatically.
One thread per trip. The travel journey stays readable in a single conversation.
Service in context. Questions can be asked and answered where the information already lives.

Messenger as a utility layer

If Messenger becomes a place where you can transact, track, and solve problems, then brands that show up with real utility earn repeat usage. In this case, KLM turns Messenger into a travel companion, not a marketing channel.

The more predictable the updates, the more likely customers are to opt in, and the more valuable the channel becomes for both sides.

In service-heavy journeys like travel, messaging becomes valuable when it carries the essential trip artifacts and keeps help in the same thread.

What to take from this if you run CX or MarTech

Meet customers where they already are. Messaging reduces the cognitive load of managing travel.
Design for opt-in value. People accept notifications when they are clearly helpful and timely.
Keep the thread “service-first”. Utility collapses if the channel gets flooded with promotion.
Support matters. Proactive notifications plus 24/7 human help (or well-designed escalation) is what makes it credible.

A few fast answers before you act

What did KLM launch on Facebook Messenger?

A Messenger service that delivers booking confirmation, check-in notifications, boarding passes, and flight status updates for travellers who book on klm.com, with the option to contact KLM through Messenger 24/7.

Why use Messenger for travel updates?

Because it reduces friction. Customers receive timely information in a channel they already use, without searching email or opening an airline app repeatedly.

Is this a chatbot initiative or customer service?

At its core it is customer service and trip management delivered through messaging. The key value is proactive updates plus the ability to ask questions in the same thread.

What is the main CX benefit?

One continuous conversation that contains the essential trip artifacts. Confirmation, reminders, boarding pass, and live updates in a single place.

What is the transferable lesson for other brands?

If you can deliver high-frequency, high-value updates through a messaging channel with clear opt-in, you can increase satisfaction by making the journey easier to manage.

Netflix: The Friendly Pre-Roll Campaign

How do you make a sitcom like Friends, which went off the air 12 years ago, a year before YouTube even existed, seem relevant to online video viewers today.

To promote the ability to stream all 10 seasons, Netflix launched a nostalgic pre-roll campaign built on a simple insight: no matter what you search for or watch, there is almost always a Friends moment that relates to it. The execution was described as tagging thousands of videos so that the pre-roll you see matches the context of what you are about to watch.

Contextual nostalgia, delivered as a punchline

The mechanism is a library-plus-matching system. Take a deep archive of instantly recognizable scenes. Build a mapping between common viewing contexts and a specific Friends clip that “fits”. Then serve those clips as short pre-rolls in front of the videos people already watch, so the relevance lands before the viewer has time to skip.

In subscription streaming marketing, making older catalog content feel culturally current often depends on matching the show to what people already care about in the moment.

Why it lands

This works because it flips pre-roll from interruption into payoff. Instead of asking viewers to care about Friends, it proves the show’s range by meeting them inside their existing interests. The result feels like the platform “gets you”, and the show feels less like nostalgia and more like a living reference library.

Extractable takeaway: If you can match your IP to the viewer’s current context fast and accurately, you turn targeting into entertainment. Entertainment earns attention where generic pre-roll loses it.

What to steal

Build a mapping, not a montage: relevance comes from one perfect clip, not from throwing many at the viewer.
Exploit depth as a feature: long-running shows have breadth. Treat that breadth like a targeting asset.
Design for the skip button: the first seconds must communicate “this is for you” immediately.
Let the idea do the explaining: the best contextual ads are self-evident without a voiceover.
Use nostalgia as utility: the memory hit matters, but the contextual “fit” is what makes it feel current.

A few fast answers before you act

What is “The Friendly Pre-Roll Campaign”?

It is a Netflix campaign that uses short Friends scenes as pre-roll ads, matched to the context of what people are searching for or about to watch.

Why use Friends for this?

Because the show has a huge library of recognizable moments across everyday topics, which makes contextual matching feel natural rather than forced.

What makes this different from uploading clips to a channel?

The value is in placement and matching. The clip appears where the viewer already is, and it relates to what they are doing right now.

What is the core marketing job it solves?

It makes older content feel current by connecting it to today’s viewing contexts, instead of relying on “remember this” nostalgia alone.

What is the biggest execution risk?

Bad matching. If the clip feels irrelevant, the magic collapses and the pre-roll becomes just another interruption.

NIVEA Creme: Second Skin Project

A mother puts on a headset and a skin-like suit. Her son does the same, thousands of kilometres away. The promise is simple. If they cannot be together for Christmas, technology will let them feel a hug anyway.

That is the set-up in NIVEA Creme’s “Second Skin Project” with Leo Burnett Madrid. The film introduces Laura in Madrid and her son Pablo, who is away volunteering in Paraguay. They are invited to test a “Second Skin” garment that is presented as a high-tech fabric designed to simulate human skin and transmit the sensation of touch at distance, paired with virtual reality headsets.

In global consumer brands where heritage products compete with endless alternatives, emotional proof often carries more weight than functional claims.

The story then pivots. What looks like a tech demo is used to make a point about touch, not technology. The most persuasive moment is not the suit. It is the human reunion that follows, designed to underline NIVEA Creme’s belief that nothing beats skin-to-skin contact.

The “Second Skin” mechanism that pulls you in

The film borrows credibility from advanced-sounding materials and VR. That framing creates anticipation, because the viewer wants to know whether the experiment can actually work. The suit and headset are the narrative engine that earns attention for long enough to land the real message.

The twist that protects the brand meaning

There is a risk with tech-led emotion. The technology can become the hero and the brand becomes a sponsor. This script avoids that by using the tech as a decoy. The reveal shifts the spotlight back to the product truth. A hug is still the best “gift” and NIVEA Creme wants to be associated with that intimacy.

What to steal if you are tempted by “purpose + tech”

Use technology as the hook, not the conclusion. Let it earn attention, then pay it off with a human truth.
Make the brand stance explicit. Here the stance is clear. Technology can be amazing, but touch matters more.
Cast real stakes. Distance, holidays, and family history make the outcome feel earned.
Keep the product role emotional, not technical. NIVEA Creme is not “the innovation”. It is the comfort cue that frames the story.

A few fast answers before you act

What is the NIVEA Creme Second Skin Project?

It is a Christmas-season film and experiment setup where a mother and son test a VR-led “Second Skin” suit that is presented as transmitting the feeling of touch at distance, then the story reveals the value of real human contact.

Why does the campaign use VR and a “second skin” suit?

Because it creates a believable question the audience wants answered. Can technology replicate a hug? That curiosity holds attention long enough for the campaign’s real point to land.

What is the core message NIVEA Creme is trying to own?

That skin-to-skin contact matters. The work uses technology to highlight that, even in a world of advanced tools, nothing replaces human touch.

What makes this more than a generic emotional video?

The narrative structure. It starts as a tech experiment, then pivots into a human reunion. That contrast makes the conclusion feel stronger than a straight sentimental story.

What is the biggest risk with “tech-as-story” campaigns?

Audience misattribution. People remember the gadget and forget the brand meaning. The fix is to ensure the emotional payoff clearly belongs to the brand stance, not the device.