Dive Brief:
- Expedia and the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) have teamed up to create a microsite that uses facial recognition technology to parse a video with images of spiritual significance to Hawaii and create a customized travel recommendation for each viewer.
- “Discover Your Aloha is the first campaign where we integrated facial recognition software, and is an example of the type of innovation we can bring, at scale with our global audience, to our marketing partners,” said Noah Tratt, senior global vice president of Expedia Media Solutions, in a release. “The campaign was custom designed and built for The HTA, from start to finish, as a unique way to inspire, inform and incite travel to the Hawaiian Islands.”
- The campaign includes both desktop and mobile elements and is targeted to the U.S., Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
Dive Insight:
The facial recognition software used in the campaign was created by Realise and is designed to identify what footage creates the most positive reaction from the video’s viewer. For marketers it should be interesting to see how people react to the effort – facial recognition tech requires an active camera which many people disable by default, and making travel recommendations based on facial reactions might be seen as invasive.
A growing number of brands are leveraging facial recognition technology to drive engagement with consumers. Nissan found success with an app that lets users virtually paint their sport team's colors on their face while Sephora continues to add cosmetics categories to an app and site enabling consumers to virtually try on different looks. The Expedia effort is an early example of integrating the technology with sentiment.
The campaign is targeted toward millennials and includes Expedia’s Instagram and Snapchat channels for sharing new, seasonal and behind-the-scenes content.
