Cathay Pacific & Asia Miles: Card Linked Earn

Woman using her phone beside a 3D card-linking interface in Cathay’s Card Linked Earn advertisement

Cathay Pacific and Asia Miles were introducing Card Linked Earn, a new feature that let members link a payment card and earn miles automatically on eligible purchases. They needed an advertisement that made the benefit easy to understand and showed how it fitted into everyday life.

We had a tight production schedule and three locations to film in a single day. EuCan helped bring the project together, from finding locations and casting through to live-action production, custom CGI and the finished film.

Card Linked Earn title beside a Cathay campaign character using his phone

Giving the client something they could picture

Combining live action with animation asks a client to imagine quite a lot before filming begins. We wanted the Cathay team to have a clear view of the idea early, so they could give useful feedback while there was still time to shape it.

We developed storyboards and animatics to show how the scenes would flow and how the graphics would work alongside them. These previews made discussions about pacing and the product explanation more concrete. On a short timeline, they helped us align on the visuals and move into the shoot with a shared understanding of the film.

Early Card Linked Earn interface concept showing card linking and illustrative miles rewards — Early UI concept, not the final design. Values are illustrative, not current offer terms.

Early EuCan storyboard showing the planned card-linking and miles animation sequence — Early storyboard showing the planned UI animation, not the final film.

Early live-action previs above the final Cathay Card Linked Earn restaurant scene — Early previs (top) compared with the final film (bottom).

Working through a last-minute location problem

The first location came close to being cancelled and was only confirmed on the morning of the shoot. With three locations planned for that day, there was pressure on both teams.

We worked alongside Cathay to explore alternatives and find a way forward. The client already had a lot to coordinate, so our focus was on bringing workable options to the conversation and helping with the problem, without adding to their workload.

Once the location was confirmed, we went ahead and filmed the entire advertisement across all three locations in one day.

Three characters featured in Cathay’s Card Linked Earn advertisement

Restaurant scene from Cathay’s Card Linked Earn advertisement

That day depended on the preparation around it. We had sourced locations, run casting calls and planned the shots around the spaces we would be using. The storyboards gave everyone a reference as we moved between the retail and hospitality settings.

Camera and lighting setup at Cathay Shop for the Card Linked Earn film.

Making the feature visible

The filmed scenes put the story in familiar situations. Custom UI elements, CGI and 3D visual effects helped explain the card-linking feature and the miles earned through eligible spending.

Animated miles graphics beside a shopper in the Cathay advertisement

Animated card-linking interface integrated into Cathay’s live-action shopping scene

We worked the graphics into the live action so viewers could follow the benefit as the story unfolded. Alongside the voiceover, the UI animation gave Cathay a visual way to explain a digital feature within a short advertisement.

Animated Asia Miles rewards graphics integrated into a restaurant scene

Crew adjusting camera and lighting for the Card Linked Earn restaurant scene.

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From production to the campaign’s screens

The main production took around a month, with language and format adaptations prepared for different uses, including the website and in-flight entertainment.

The advertisement was released across digital out-of-home screens and billboards, as well as on Cathay Pacific aircraft.