This week KLM introduced their social media VIP (Very Important Puppet) named Flynt. Flynt has his own Facebook page and it’s actually pretty funny so far.
KLM has done a great job with Flynt. You should check out the interactive app. I clicked on the diary in the seat next to Flynt and a pop up calendar appeared with Flynt’s schedule. When I clicked on his bag, a map popped up. There was a post-it that said “get snow globe”. You can see the snow globe on the seat next to him…I wonder how he got that through security.
KLM’s social media team is very creative and I’m looking forward to following Flynt. The introduction of Flynt got me thinking – how many people have non-human, non-animal friends that they travel with? I know a few people, including myself, who have had a furry friend on a trip or two.
When I used to travel in the US, I stayed at a lot of Kimpton Hotels. If you know Kimpton, you’ll know they’re a pet friendly brand and go out of their way to welcome four-legged friends. I am not a pet person and as a joke, brought along a stuffed dog. He checked in with me and the staff offered him a dog treat (it was pretty funny) and then when I ordered dinner, I sat him in front of the ramekins. I had just joined twitter at this time and thought it would be a fun tweet. So I tweeted @KimptonHotels that my dog was joining me for dinner and included the picture. The tweet got a response from Niki Leondakis, Chief Operating Officer and President of Kimpton Hotels! Her response, “LOL! Is that butter in his bowl?” For one reason or another, my furry friend didn’t make another trip with me – I guess I stopped staying at stuffed pet friendly hotels.
If you read One Mile at A Time you know that Lucky’s friend – Elmo – has made at least one trip with him. I was very happy to see him seat-belted in!
Week 1 contest now closed
Winner – Caleb! Congratulations on winning 20k Starwood Points.
My name is Caleb. I’m 22 years old now and I’m a Marine. I’ve had a small stuffed dog since I was 5 years old and its gone everywhere with me. When I deployed for a tour in Afghanistan two years ago, my mom told me I had to take the dog with me. I packed it in my backpack.
On the flight from San Diego to New York I was seated next to a kid who was flying alone for the first time. He was 7 years old and didn’t stop crying from the minute he boarded the flight. He was hysterical. The flight attendants couldn’t do anything. It was going to be a very long flight!
Finally I got out my stuffed dog and told him that he was a great friend and always kept me company. I asked him if he could keep him safe while I was in Afghanistan. I knew I’d never see the stuffed animal again, but the kid stopped crying and was at ease for the rest of flight.
Have you ever traveled with a friend – a stuffed friend? Here’s the contest – tell me about a travel experience that you’d have with a stuffed friend. Don’t forget – creativity is king. Did your child lose his/her favorite friend on an airplane? Have you sat next to a child on an airplane that insisted on seat-belting and feeding his/her friend? Have you been questioned at customs because of your furry friend? There’s got to be some great stories out there! (Note: You don’t need to be the owner of the stuffed animal in question – you could have witnessed a funny story that involved a furry friend, etc…)
Rules:
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You may enter UP TO three times between today, October 1, 2012 and October 7, 2012 at 8pm EST. You can only enter 1 time per entry method. The methods are entry:
- 1) Twitter – you must include @VeryGoodPoints and the hashtag #1yr1Mpoints. Including @VeryGoodPoints & #1yr1Mpoints will leave you with about 110 characters on twitter, so that will force some creativity!
- 2) Facebook – you may post a picture of your favorite furry friend and explain the story in the comments. Post your picture on www.facebook.com/verygoodpoints
- 3) Comment on this blog post (and only this blog post) – leave a comment on this blog post telling your story. Note – you will not win by saying “I want to win” or “me, me!”. Your comment must include a story about an adventure with a stuffed friend.
- You do not have to enter on all three places to be eligible – all it takes is one great story!
- If you enter more than one time on any entry method you will be disqualified (don’t leave two comments on this post, don’t tweet twice, etc…)
- The winner will be selected by a panel of judges and will be selected based on creativity – we’re looking for a unique, funny, sweet, interesting…story!
- You must be 18 and a resident of the US (excluding Rhode Island and Puerto Rico) and Canada (excluding Quebec) to enter.
- For a full list of terms & conditions, please see the 1 Year 1 Million Mile Contest Home Page
Prizes:
One (1) winner will be selected from all entries on this blog post, twitter and facebook. The winner will be awarded 20,000 Starwood Preferred Guest Points. All entries (including those who are not winners) will be added to the grand prize drawing.
Good luck!
To recap all of the prizes by week:
Weekly Prizes –
Week 1 – Oct 1st – Oct 7th – blog post will be dated Oct 1st and deadline will be October 7th 2012, 8pm EST
Weekly prize – 20k Starwood Preferred Guest Starpoints
Week 2 – Oct 8th – Oct 14th blog post will be dated Oct 8th and deadline will be October 14th 2012, 8pm EST
Weekly prize – 50k Hyatt Gold Passport Points
Week 3 – Oct 15th – Oct 21st blog post will be dated Oct 15th and deadline will be October 21st 2012, 8pm EST
Weekly prize – 20k Starwood Preferred Guest Starpoints
Week 4 – Oct 22nd – Oct 28th blog post will be dated Oct 22nd and deadline will be October 28th 2012, 8pm EST
Weekly prize – 20k Starwood Preferred Guest Starpoints
Grand Prizes – two grand prizes will be given away based upon all entries submitted during the 4 week contest period (starting Oct 1 2012 through Oct 28th 2012 at 8pm EST). There will be one bonus entry announced during the contest period and that will count as 1 additional entry. Any participant who enters more than 3 times per week is be disqualified.
Grand Prize #1 –
300k Delta Sky Miles
200k Hilton Honors Points
Grand Prize #2 –
240k US Airways Dividend Miles
100k Marriott Rewards Points
50k Hyatt Gold Passport Points