Alaska Airlines and Virgin America - Different Works

Alaska Airlines and Virgin America - Different Works

More choices, great service, lower fares and a larger route network – all are things most passengers would likely say they want from their favourite airline. And yet while Virgin America and Alaska Airlines both feel that the acquisition of the latter by the former will result in these positive effects, there are a good many sceptics who disagree.

Loyal customers and industry analysts are wondering things like “What will happen to spunky Virgin brand and service I love?” or “Are prices going to change” or “Will I be able to keep and use my loyalty points?”.

Being proactive on the matter, Alaska Airlines and Virgin America have joined forces with ad agency Mekanism and launched an informative brand campaign called ‘Different Works’.

In an AdWeek write-up on the Different Works campaign, Sangita Woerner, Vice President of Marketing for Alaska Airlines says:

I think there’s a lot of uncertainty about how these two brands can live together. We thought why don’t we get out there ... with our own point of view, and our point of view is that yeah, on the outside our brands look different, but on the inside there are so many similarities.

The campaign uses a variety of mediums to challenge the status quo and explore the idea that ‘odd couples’ or unlikely pairings often result in the greatest innovations.

The home of the campaign is a microsite , with key text and background elements done in a colour gradient that starts in Alaska’s blue and transitions to Virgin’s signature red. A menu of sub-pages like More Flights, More Rewards, More To Love, FAQs and Newsroom, make it a fun and comprehensive encyclopaedia of facts, images and news for anybody with questions.

The focal point of the site is an embedded YouTube video (which got over 120,000 views between December 14th and January 2nd) also called Different Works. It features the 1989 #1 hit song “It Takes Two” by Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock, and is an energetic montage of viral web videos and classic film reel depicting unlikely things that somehow work; like an underwater wedding, trampoline basketball, chicken waffles and a pig on a skateboard.

Alaska Air posted it’s own thoughts on the campaign to its popular blog and USA Today and APEX.aero also covered the campaign online.

Airport events across the USA (where oddly wonderful bacon and salted caramel doughnuts were given out) and outdoor advertising (like billboards) have supported the digital aspects of Different Works.