How Air Canada Captured 200+ Leads Per Event with NFC Business Cards

Air Canada Vacations wanted a faster, more innovative way to connect at events, and traditional business cards weren’t cutting it. With V1CE NFC business cards, their team now shares contact info with a simple tap, capturing leads and saving thousands in printing costs. The result? Smoother networking, better follow-ups, and a more modern experience for staff and customers.

“Our staff and team are very excited about having these new NFC business cards and can’t wait to show them off while we make sales!”– Julia Lucarelli, Facilities Manager, Air Canada Vacations

Transformation: Measurable Gains in Efficiency and Engagement

The impact of switching to V1CE’s digital business cards was immediate and quantifiable across multiple business areas:

• A 64% increase in lead capture at events and meetings, attributed to V1CE’s two-way contact exchange
• More than 6,000 paper business cards are avoided annually, supporting the brand’s environmental commitments
• An estimated $7,800 saved per year on printing, distribution, and redesign of traditional business cards
• A 50% improvement in follow-up engagement, driven by automated WhatsApp and email messages sent directly after contact exchange
• A 70% faster turnaround time in updating job titles and contact info, made possible by the digital profile’s real-time edit capability

Team members were empowered to share their contact details and promotional content effortlessly, while customers enjoyed a sleek, frictionless experience. The new NFC cards created stronger connections and allowed staff to stand out from competitors in a crowded market. The practicality of NFC technology in enhancing networking by enabling users to share information effortlessly was a key factor in this success.

Background: Travel That Transforms Lives

Air Canada Vacations has built its name by offering unforgettable holiday packages worldwide, combining the trust of a legacy airline with curated travel experiences. As part of Air Canada’s commitment to innovation and excellence, its vacation arm has continued to evolve its services to meet the changing needs of travellers and the travel industry.

While delivering award-winning customer journeys is core to the business, internal efficiency and brand consistency have become just as important. From travel expos and industry conferences to corporate partnerships and retail travel agent visits, the ability to connect and leave a lasting impression is a critical part of how Air Canada Vacations generates leads and builds relationships.

Near field communication technology allows NFC business cards to wirelessly transmit data to other NFC-enabled devices, offering a convenient, efficient, and eco-friendly way to share contact information and link to online content.

But as their business accelerated, one part of their toolkit remained unchanged: traditional paper business cards.

The Challenge: When Traditional Cards Can’t Keep Up

In an increasingly digital world, Air Canada Vacations found that paper business cards no longer met the pace or professionalism expected by their teams or potential customers. These cards were easy to misplace, lacked integration with digital systems, and could only deliver information, not collect it.

With sustainability playing a significant role in the company’s ethos, printing and disposing of thousands of paper cards yearly aligns with their environmental goals. Additionally, paper cards didn’t offer the ability to follow up meaningfully. Once handed out, there was no way to ensure a next step, or even know if the connection was remembered. NFC chips in NFC business cards provide a modern solution to these limitations by allowing users to share information with smartphones, enhancing the user experience seamlessly.

As Julia Lucarelli, Facilities Manager, shared, “We needed a modern, efficient, and eco-friendly solution.”

Discovery and Decision-Making: Finding a Smarter Way to Network

The Air Canada Vacations team began exploring alternatives that could align with their digital-first direction and support their commitment to sustainability. They weren’t just looking to replace paper but to elevate the entire process of making and managing business connections.

That’s when they discovered V1CE, a leader in the digital business card space. With its combination of innovative design, NFC chip-enabled sharing, and integrated CRM features, V1CE offered everything the Air Canada Vacations team needed—and more. An NFC digital business card's creative features and customisation options allowed them to create unique digital business cards with personal branding elements, enhancing their networking experiences.

Each V1CE NFC card was designed to work with a simple tap or QR code scan, providing compatibility across Android phones, iPhones, and other NFC-enabled devices. Even in areas without strong internet access, the cards could function offline through stored QR codes, ensuring no interruption in the networking game.

Implementation: Personalisation, Automation, and Adoption at Scale

Air Canada Vacations deployed V1CE NFC business cards starting with its sales and customer-facing teams. Each employee received a custom NFC business card to reflect the company’s branding, including logo placement, colours, and personalised contact details.

But the cards went beyond visual branding. Every V1CE card is linked to a personalised digital profile that can be updated in real time, ensuring all contact info remains current, regardless of job changes, travel dates, or department shifts. NFC tags in these cards facilitated professional connections with just a tap, making networking seamless and efficient.

The company also fully took advantage of V1CE’s Exchange Contact feature, allowing team members to share their contact info while simultaneously collecting that of potential clients. With a single tap, the system stored valuable data like name, email, phone number, and more, automating a process that previously required manual data entry and follow-up.

Integration with the V1CE free mobile app meant employees could manage contacts, customise profiles, and view engagement data on the go, streamlining operations and giving the marketing team valuable insights into lead behaviour.

Team Reactions and Customer Feedback: The Power of a Simple Tap with NFC Technology

Adoption across the team was enthusiastic. Employees quickly embraced the new NFC-enabled networking solution, reporting that sharing contact info had become more professional and fun.

The sleek metal NFC cards and custom card designs helped the team personalise their outreach, leaving a lasting impression on customers and collaborators alike. Each tap of a card created a memorable moment—an opportunity to show innovation in action.

“Clients and partners love the cards,” said Julia. “It feels premium and aligns with our brand, and at the same time, it solves real business challenges around connection, follow-up, and sustainability.”

Looking Ahead: Digital Business Cards Across the Travel Ecosystem

Following the successful rollout, Air Canada Vacations is considering a company-wide adoption of the V1CE platform, extending it to marketing, partnerships, and executive leadership teams. They’re also exploring additional V1CE features, including CRM integrations, dynamic landing pages, and video embeds to deepen customer engagement.

With full device compatibility, integration across their tech stack, and the ability to create cards with just a few clicks, V1CE is essential to the company’s future networking efforts.

Conclusion: Flying High with Smarter Connections

Air Canada Vacations’ partnership with V1CE illustrates how even a globally recognised brand can upgrade its networking efforts through the right blend of design, technology, and strategy.

By replacing traditional paper business cards with digital, eco-friendly, NFC-based solutions, they’ve gained more than operational efficiency; they’ve created connecting moments.

Whether it’s the sleek look, the real-time updates, or the effortless ability to capture leads, the V1CE digital business card is helping Air Canada Vacations build stronger relationships one simple tap at a time.

Want to connect like Air Canada Vacations?
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