Tag: The Monkeys

Qantas Out Of Office Travelogue

Qantas, Australia’s national airline, wants a new way to inspire travel with an increasingly younger audience. Their answer is a smart twist on a familiar behaviour. The out-of-office email. Instead of the usual “I’m away” message, Qantas turns it into a personalised travelogue powered by the user’s Instagram photos.

The mechanism is simple and effective. Qantas’ research shows that tips from friends and colleagues are a major driver for choosing the next holiday. So the brand uses Instagram’s API to transform a mundane autoresponder into something people actually want to read. A short visual story of where you are, what you are doing, and why it might be worth visiting.

What elevates the idea is the commercial bridge. The email does not just inspire. It incentivises recipients to book flights directly from the out-of-office message. This is social proof plus direct response, built into a format people already accept as normal workplace etiquette.

As a result, users created over 10,000 Out of Office Travelogues. The activity generated 100 million media impressions worldwide for Qantas.

Why this works as modern email strategy

Most marketing emails fight for attention in an overcrowded inbox. This one arrives with a built-in reason to be opened and read. It is a message you expect when you email someone who is travelling.

It also uses the strongest distribution channel many brands overlook. People’s real networks. When your colleague shares their trip, even passively via an autoresponder, it carries more credibility than a brand-led destination ad.

The real innovation is the data-to-story pipeline

At a tactical level, the campaign is “just” an API integration. In practice, it is a reusable pattern.

  • Pull customer-owned content from a platform they already use.
  • Convert it into a lightweight narrative unit that fits a communication norm.
  • Add a clear, transactional next step without breaking the tone.

If you can operationalise that pattern, you can treat email not as static creative, but as a dynamic surface where personal context becomes relevant storytelling.

What to watch if you replicate this pattern

The moment you use personal photos and automated messaging, the trust layer matters.

  • Permissioning and transparency. Make it obvious what is being pulled and why.
  • Control. Users need an easy way to curate what appears.
  • Brand safety. You need guardrails so the travelogue stays on-message without becoming intrusive.

A few fast answers before you act

What is the Qantas Out of Office Travelogue?

A personalised out-of-office email reply powered by the user’s Instagram photos, designed to inspire travel and drive bookings.

Why is the out-of-office format such a good carrier?

It arrives with intent and legitimacy. People expect it, and it is naturally tied to travel.

What is the core growth loop?

One person travels. Their network sees the travelogue via everyday email behaviour. The recipient gets inspired, and is pushed toward booking directly from the message.

What results does Qantas report?

Over 10,000 travelogues created and 100 million media impressions worldwide.

IKEA Klippbok

IKEA Australia wanted to create a utility that IKEA customers could regularly use to help inspire them in their home. So they created an iPad app called Klippbok (Swedish for “scrapbook”) that gave users access to IKEA products all year round. With easy-to-use design functionality, users were able to mix and match IKEA products and create collages, swatchbooks, roomsets and more.

Making inspiration feel hands-on, not aspirational

The mechanism is straightforward. You drag IKEA products into a blank canvas, experiment with combinations, and build a visual “plan” you can refine over time. It takes the part people enjoy most in-store, imagining how it could look at home, and makes it repeatable on a device.

In retail marketing, the strongest “always-on” utilities are the ones that turn browsing into making.

Why the scrapbook metaphor is the right UX

Calling it a scrapbook is not just a name. It sets expectations. This is playful, remixable, and personal. That framing lowers the pressure of “designing a room” and replaces it with “trying ideas”, which is a much easier behavior to sustain.

It also makes sharing feel natural. If you build a collage or roomset, the next instinct is to show someone and get a second opinion. That social loop is what turns a private tool into a brand platform.

Business intent: stay present between store visits

Klippbok’s real job is frequency. Instead of only showing up when a catalogue drops or when someone is already planning a store run, the app gives IKEA a year-round touchpoint that keeps products in consideration while customers are still forming preferences.

Reported outcomes and craft credits

The app was created by The Monkeys and built by Nomad. In industry reporting around the work, Klippbok is credited with roughly 53,000 downloads across 100+ countries and reaching number two in the Australian iTunes Lifestyle category.

What to steal if you want customers to return regularly

  • Turn your range into a creative system. Let people assemble, not just browse.
  • Design for quick wins. Fast collages beat perfect room planners for repeat usage.
  • Make sharing a native next step. If “show someone” is easy, your users do your distribution.
  • Build for year-round relevance. Inspiration tools age better than campaign landing pages.

A few fast answers before you act

What is Klippbok, in plain terms?

Klippbok is an IKEA iPad app that lets people create mood boards, collages, swatchbooks, and roomsets using IKEA products, so they can plan and experiment with home ideas.

Why does an inspiration app matter for a retailer like IKEA?

Because the purchase journey is rarely one session. If you can keep customers playing with ideas between store visits, you stay in the consideration set longer and influence what ends up on the shopping list.

What is the key mechanism that drives engagement?

Drag-and-drop creation. The user is making something of their own, not consuming content, which increases time spent and makes sharing more likely.

What is the biggest mistake with “catalogue as app” launches?

Copying print into a screen. The app has to behave like a tool, not a PDF, or it will not earn repeat use.

How do you measure whether an inspiration app is working?

Return frequency, creation rate, share rate, and the percentage of users who save or revisit projects. If you can connect it, track downstream indicators like store visits or product adds-to-list after app sessions.