The other night (December 23rd to be exact) I had a long and vivid dream about Air Canada, sounds weird right? Well yes of course, but let me tell it anyways…
I had arrived at the airport about three hours earlier than my flight was scheduled and for some reason had attracted the Air Canada Points Card representatives. They knew I was travelling alone, had some time to kill and they wanted a real person to go around the airport to persuade people to sign up for their card. Handing me a booklet with some info about the card and the different places it could be used, they also gave me a special security pass and a key to a locker so I could check my bags and walk around freely.
After trying to go through security and explaining what I was doing, an airport worker spotted me and helped me check my bags in some sort of employee lounge / bathroom. I remember that it was strange as all the toilets had different coloured seats; I guess each employee had their own stall or something. Anyways, with my stuff put away, I was now free to walk around and approach people about the Air Canada Points Card.
Now this airport I was at humongous, there were multiple terminals, an outdoor monorail linking them, and almost a full mall in the centre where people could spend their time. I travelled to lots of different sections and talked to people and showed them the brochure. Although it was sunny where we were at the time, there was a big storm coming and a lot of the flights were getting delayed. When it was nearing the time when I had to get back, there was an announcement over the PA system saying there was a special sale at a retail store where everything was half off for the next 30 minutes.
Just as I was headed back to the Points Card information desk, I discovered that my flight had been delayed as well. Before I could approach the attendant that had talked to me earlier that day, I overhead him telling his colleague that it was a waste of their time to set me up because I hadn’t convinced a single person to visit their booth. Seeing how my flight was further delayed, I decided to head back out and figured that I might as well check out the sale.
On the monorail towards to shopping area, I flipped through the information booklet and realized you could use the Air Canada Points Card at that particular store to get extra points. I ran into another shopper there and saw that she was purchasing some items. I asked if she wanted information about the Points Card and mentioned that she could be receiving points for her purchases. She told me that she already had the Air Canada card but she had no idea that it could be used at this store, which happened to be her favourite one.
It suddenly hit me. Rather than me trying to approach random people and do a sales pitch to convince them to sign up for a card, it would be much more effective to have testimonials from actual customers saying why they use the card, and what benefits they get from it. I asked if I could film her saying how she uses the card, and why she signed up for it in the first place and quickly took out my cell phone and captured the answers. From there, I headed back to my locker to get my things, as I had a proper DSLR camera stashed away and then started approaching more people using the same idea. Even though there were many flights delayed and people could have been irritated, I got some good responses and headed back to my gate, set up my computer and started editing the footage. After all, when the Points Card representatives had approached me earlier that day, they had never known that I was a Multimedia Designer and could do all this work; and even if they didn’t like the video I was still able to do something productive and would be able to use it as a portfolio piece.
So that’s it – my strange dream about Air Canada and their Points Card. Which by the way, I’m not sure they even have (well that I know of, other than Aeroplan – but for some reason it wasn’t Aeroplan that I was promoting). Anyways, all I have to say now is that if Air Canada is looking for someone to go around and interview people to create a promotional video… I’m your person! Oh, and I also remember a weird thing to, like that some games you played on your phone could also get you more Air Canada Points, but like I’ve said before… I have strange dreams!