#OnlyInSouthAmerica: LAN and TAM Airlines UGC Success Story
I worked for LAN Airlines and TAM Airlines, now known as LATAM Airlines, in an exciting era. The two carriers had just gone through a merger, and I was crazy enough to join the company in such a transitional time.
My job was to oversee the social media for LAN and TAM in the North American market. That meant content, customer service, paid social media, public relations support - you name it. It was THE BEST job.
The work I’m most proud of is the #OnlyInSouthAmerica campaign. The campaign was killed about 4 years ago - along with the Instagram account @onlyinsouthamerica and the micro-site - when the airlines had yet ANOTHER acquisition, but the hashtag has a life of its own and still is being used by people who travel to South America.
THE CHALLENGE: Since the company was going through a merger, it was difficult to speak about either brand because of legal and character limitations - so we focused on the destinations. Green Team Global came up with an offline campaign Only in South America, and when I joined the team, I translated this to social media when the company had virtually no presence in social, and much less in the US.
A lot of executives were unsure about using this phrase on social media given that it could turn out to be a disaster (compare it to Only in Dade @onlyindade, for example - where Miami-Dade residents post proof that Miami is one of the most gloriously insane places on earth"), but I am proud to say that the narrative of this hashtag has almost 100% positive sentiment.
OBJECTIVE: Incentivize leisure travel to South America through online and offline communication platforms.
THE APPROACH:
Only in South America Influencer Program: I set up the company’s first influencer program, at the same time that we launched the airline’s first Instagram account @onlyinsouthamerica.
We traveled with AnnStreetStudio, WhatsGabyCooking, MattArmendariz, AdamPearson, and Cynthia Drescher (the coolest #AVGeek I've ever known!). to a series of different destinations throughout two years.
Here is an old deck I found on the initiative. Figured it could help someone!
Two other really fun projects that I worked on were:
Wine Bar Wars. There were two I was involved in - one in NYC and another in Miami. I loved both! Basically, the top sommeliers of these cities raced to create the best Wine Bar inspired by Chile. Sponsored by LATAM Airlines Group. Here's a video :).
Bocanova Restaurant Surprise. We surprised an entire restaurant in Oakland with round-trip air to South America. The BEST. See video below.
