benchmark report
airline marketing
last call
#loveatfirstflight
BRITISH AIRWAYS
British Airways and Ogilvy PR experimented with eight-inch ‘mini’ replicas of several bloggers to build awareness for its lastminute Last Call fares, which are aimed at travelers who book flights without much lead time. The airline collaborated with seven bloggers in the field of travel, fashion, culture and craft, as well as Quod - a 3-D printing company based in London - to print replicas of the bloggers for their mini-adventures. The creation of the very identical-looking ‘minime’s’ was documented in a video (available here ). The four women and three men with Instagram followers that ranged from 300 to 3,250 saw their alter egos visiting the likes of Amsterdam, Istanbul and North Carolina, where they were photographed at different
SEPTEMBER 2014 ISSUE
locations. The photos where then published on the Instagram account of the respective blogger. Examples here , here and here .
Last year, China Airlines used the power of social media to return a lost camera to the rightful owner, generated some earned media in the process.
The airline selected bloggers known for spontaneity and who would appeal to a wide-range of people. According to Ogilvy, each blogger was carefully selected as it was important they have a mix of interests, and have the affinity for trying something new in order to connect with consumers who would consider this type of booking.
The following ‘love at f irst f light’ story recently made headlines in both Canada and the UK and saw companies such as a limo service and a ‘hen par ty’ service – but no airline – jump at the oppor tunity to generate free PR.
The campaign ran from June 2 to July 31. According to social media tracking service SkiftIQ, the number of British Airways’ Instagram followers jumped after the airline launched the ‘Last Call’ advertising campaign in early June.
Irishman Jamie Kelly sought the help of social media users this summer to identify a mystery woman he met on a f light. Kelly’s friends launched the #loveatf irstf light campaign on Twitter after he made a connection with 27-yearold Katie Moreau from Riverpor t, Nova Scotia (Canada) as they sat together on a Ryanair f light from Barcelona to Dublin
in mid-July. The duo got separated when they went through customs and were unable to f ind each other on the other side. It turns out Katie had been looking for him at the airpor t too. Following the ‘online reunion’, Kelly and Moreau went on their f irst date in Water ford and were picked up in a Chrysler thanks to TLC Limos for a romantic dinner and had champagne thanks to HenPar tyCentral.ie, and even appeared on a radio show to relieve how it went. Katie had to f ly home to Canada the following day but said she had a great time on their date. The couple admitted there was a “chemistry”, conf irming that “there was a good night kiss.”
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EXPERIENTIAL SOCIAL DIGITAL TV, PRINT, OOH
