A project that truly stands the test of time, the Qatar Airways’ “Gateway to the World” campaign launched at ITB in 2023 represents a proud moment for our team. Inspired by Qatar’s rich culture, intricate Arabian calligraphy, key elements of nature and innovative experiential technology to create a multi-sensory experience, the ambition was to create an unforgettable space that would encourage exploration and networking.
Setting The Stage
After a 2-year cancellation for the show, 2023 marked an important return for Qatar Airways (QA) to the world’s leading travel show ITB, as it reopened its doors to some 160,000 global visitors. Our brief was to create a 200sqm double deck and a 70sqm experience stand, both with a uniquely different experiential concept to epitomise the breadth and excellence of QA. Key elements included promoting brand attributes across QA’s loyalty programmes, crew members, sponsorships and subsidiaries as well as creating an environment for professional business meetings and networking.
Our response – a design that created an open and welcoming environment, precisely aligned to QA’s progressive and confident values, heritage, and luxurious award-winning brand – comprising:
- A monumental 126-tile LED wall as the ‘gateway’ to the main stand, playing a revolve of various chapters in QA’s global travel story to create maximum impact and attract attention
- an inner sanctum showcasing QA’s luxury brand, with the design treatments reflecting every facet of QA’s reputation for outstanding elegance and 5-star service and Qatar’s rich culture – from elegant flower arrangements and tranquil water features, to monochrome floor tiles and filigree screens
- zoned with angled and fretwork dividers to create clearly differentiated spaces for the key experiences
- complemented by strategic hospitality design, reception, lounge seating, holograms and interactive touchscreens placed on the lower deck reflected QA’s 5-star experience.
- with an exclusive upper deck with a private VIP lounge and fully catered dining area to create a professional business environment to conduct meetings and networking.
The WOW Factor
All of this was delivered with a keen eye on providing a unique experience across 3 key areas – the Hamad International Airport, the in-flight experience and QA’s exciting new position as Formula 1’s global partner.
An immersive angled hi-res LED screen and interactive touchscreen, complete with a custom-built application, took delegates into the stunning atrium environment of the new terminal at Hamad International Airport. Another section allowed them to try out QA’s multi-award-winning, “World’s Best Business Class Seat” with an interactive, hands-on virtual reality experience. At the heart of the visitor experience was a full-sized QA F1 car positioned centrally on the stand with a LED screen backdrop, encouraging delegates to test their driving skills on some of the world’s most iconic tracks. The emphasis overall was on creating an unforgettable “wow” factor.
For QA, ITB 2023 marked a triumphant return as the airline announced 7 new global destinations and promoted their high profile partnership with F1. From our perspective, we successfully delivered and exceeded expectations on every element of the demanding and ambitious brief.
