Joel Kurtzman from the Milken institute is credited with creating the term “thought leader” in 1994. He defined that term as someone who has “ideas that merit attention”.
At See Inside Group, we are lucky to have Dan Root, our senior photographer and thought leader when it comes to Street View Trusted. Dan has inspired numerous brands with his ideas on how Street View Trusted can revolutionise their digital marketing. However, one particular example stands out amongst the others.
Back in September 2012, Dan shot a 360 degree photosphere mid-flight on an Emirates A380 in the business class bar as he was traveling from completing a photo shot in Dubai. He subsequently created a tour which he sent to the airline to show them the merits of the technology and how it would be a great means to showcase the A380 fleet.
After contacting Emirates airline, they were inspired by the idea and proceeded to contact Google directly to commission the photo shoot for them. Almost, 8 months later after the originally reaching out from Dan, Emirates Airline went ahead with a virtual tour through Google. Although, it was a bit disappointing that they didn’t utilise Dan’s services, he was nevertheless proud that he managed to inspire the airline.
Google’s A380 tour – https://goo.gl/maps/y3RKe
Take a look at date stamps in the top left of the screen on maps, you’ll see Dan’s photo shoot predates the “official” tour. The official A380 tour is proudly hosted on the Emirates Airlines A380 page and has been viewed by millions of online users ever since. Airlines from all over the world have followed suit, British Airways, Virgin America, and SASA are just a few who have seen the merits of Street View Trusted for their marketing efforts.
We wouldn’t be surprised if in the near future every update to an airline fleet is accompanied by a virtual tour as a way to choosing a specific seat when flying.