benchmark report
airline marketing
how 20 years have flown
price comparison
EASYJET With the theme “How 20 Years Have Flown,” EasyJet launched a TV-led multichannel brand campaign that aims to shine a light on people’s own travel journeys. The TV ad debuted in the UK during the opening Rugby World Cup game where England will take on Fiji and and uses a ferris wheel to demonstrate the passing of time while telling the story of a couple who meet and fell in love on an easyJet flight. On social media and a microsite , EasyJet asks customers to send in “iconic” images from their Easyjet travels over the years, using the hashtag #timeflies. The airline will print those customers’ pictures in a collage on a special 20-year edition EasyJet plane. It will also curate a content marketing effor t, with ‘top 20’ lists
OCT 2015 ISSUE
RYANAIR and guides for customers. According to EasyJet marketing director Peter Duffy , the airline star ted by asking customers whether there was any relevancy in celebrating its 20th bir thday. “We did research with customers to ask ‘was it even relevant to talk about our bir thday or do self congratulatory work?’ What we found is that consumers really recognised the journey as a metaphor for their own travel journey.” While the campaign is labelled as TV-led, Duffy emphasises that video content is consumed by customers on the platforms they prefer. “When I think TV, I mean video content and people will receive that on whatever device they choose.”
Ryanair is claiming a first for the airline industry with a campaign that compares its fares and complaints record against rivals EasyJet and British Airways in the UK. The comparison was built on Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) records of formal complaints against the three carriers. The ad is voiced by English up and coming comedian Doc Brown. Speaking to The Drum , Ryanair’s CMO Kenny Jacobs, said the campaign was inspired by German discount grocer Aldi which has run similar tongue-in-cheek style comparison adver ts to great effect in a bid to highlight its quality and value proposition. Jacobs said the airline wanted to avoid the predictable creative route most airlines take of a “white Caucasian family on a beach.” “It’s very samey,” he said. “This is a
fare and service comparison ad which is a first for the industry.” Different competitors will appear in the print ads depending on the region where they run. For example, in Ireland Ryanair pits itself against Aer Lingus. This ad is the latest work product of creative agency Dare, which has guided Ryanair through the tricky 18-month transition of establishing itself as a customer-centric brand under its ‘Always Getting Better’ campaign. “[Ryanair] wanted to be seen as more of a retailer than an airline. Like a retailer it’s trying to offer more at great value,” explained Brian Cooper, creative par tner at Dare. “That’s how it’s trying to talk and from a [strategic creative] point of view that’s quite a radical shift.”
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EXPERIENTIAL SOCIAL DIGITAL TV, PRINT, OOH
