Say Yes to the World: Let the Audience Complete the Invitation

Read the campaign story

Lufthansa’s 7 February 2018 brand-design announcement introduced Say Yes to the World as a campaign about curiosity and openness. UNIT9’s 13 February project record describes a digital globe where visitors selected a place and phrases to create a visual statement. A creator portfolio connects the broader work with Kolle Rebbe, while the digital record credits DDB Hamburg and UNIT9.

Later expressions belong to this same platform. The sources establish the question-led format and an interactive execution, not an independently measured increase in travel, booking preference or openness. An imagined destination is not a verified route, current fare or safe travel recommendation. Nor does creating a shareable statement demonstrate that a participant has made a practical decision or granted permission for unrelated use of their response.

Editorial interpretation: completing a phrase can lower the effort required to participate while leaving enough room for personal meaning. The interface supplies structure, and the participant supplies a choice. That combination can produce a recognisable family of outputs without making every contribution identical. The useful question is whether people feel they have expressed something relevant or merely selected from a narrow set of prewritten sentiments chosen to flatter the brand.

Editorial interpretation: a visual result gives the interaction an endpoint. Without that result, the experience might feel like an unfinished questionnaire. The output also creates a potential sharing object, but sharing should remain optional rather than a condition of seeing what was made. The design must distinguish a private exploratory choice from a public declaration, particularly when a destination or phrase could reveal personal plans that the participant did not intend to advertise.

Choose a question with a useful range of answers

Write several plausible responses before designing the interface. If every answer leads to the same generic message, the question may be decorative. If the range is too broad, the result may be difficult to interpret. Look for a bounded choice that connects to the category while allowing different motivations. Test whether people understand the question without explanation and can decline to answer without feeling that they have failed the experience.

Make the transformation from choice to output legible

Participants should understand how their selections shape the result. A visual treatment can be expressive, but it should not imply a personality assessment, recommendation engine or factual insight that the system does not provide. Keep editing and restarting easy. Show a clear preview before any public sharing and avoid automatically attaching identifying information. The value comes from helping someone express a choice, not surprising them with a profile they never agreed to create.

Separate imaginative exploration from practical availability

A campaign can invite people to imagine places or experiences without promising that every option is currently offered. Label the boundary and provide a separate route to accurate service information where relevant. Avoid using emotional momentum to hide restrictions, costs or uncertain availability. Measure whether visitors understand the distinction. A memorable interactive output is not a substitute for a dependable booking or information journey when someone wants to take the next step.

A small test for another brief

Proposed adaptation: a local arts centre could offer a private prototype asking adults which creative skill they would like to explore and why. A short selection of approved phrases would generate an original illustrated card. Compare the interactive version with a static programme guide using the same information. Do not publish responses or imply that the card recommends a course based on personal profiling.

Measure question comprehension, perceived ownership of the output and accurate understanding of what the centre actually offers. Track voluntary interest in further information separately from completion or enthusiasm for the illustration.

Stop if the output implies an unsupported personal assessment, reveals plans unexpectedly, pressures public sharing or makes unavailable experiences appear bookable.

• Use fictional workshop options or clearly mark actual availability, dates and limitations.
• Provide a plain-text alternative and let participants revise or discard their card.
• Keep the test private, with no social login, location collection or automatic sharing.