British Airways - Meanwhile in Britain

How do you persuade Americans to visit the UK again post Covid? British Airways has teamed up with Visit Britain to develop a campaign called ‘Meanwhile in Britain.’

Beyond the press release buzzwords about ‘pent up demand’ and ‘multi channel campaigns’, what this appears to be is a series of curated experiences from a mix of BA staff and lifestyle / culture figures.

In fact, according to BA and Visit Britain:

“The campaign highlights handpicked tastemakers who are experts in their fields, including Jonathan Heaf, Chief Content Officer at Soho House, Aisha & Oreoluwa Ayoade, co-founders of art platform Yellowzine which champions work by artists of the African, Asian, Caribbean and Hispanic diaspora, Lynsey Verrillo, co-founder of Blackbook Winery, and Matthew Lindley, a British Airways 777 Pilot.

“The tastemakers will provide their tips and favorite experiences to do in British cities, incorporating food, the outdoors, and British icons with a modern twist.”

So, for example, BA pilot Matthew Lindley chose the ‘Dare Skywalk’ at the stadium of London football (soccer) club Tottenham Hotspurs, and the Cardiff Gin Distillery.

The joint BA / Visit Britain initiative feeds into a bigger Visit Britain campaign called ‘Welcome to Another Side of Britain’, which looks to introduce tourists to sites and experiences beyond the standard ‘Tower of London, Buckingham Palace’ that’s normally on a lot of visitors’ bucket lists. ‘Meanwhile in Britain’ will run through social, programmatic display and video, direct partnership, and video direct, amplified through partners including TrueX, GumGum, The Trade Desk and Conde Nast.

The creative campaign was developed by British Airways’ newly appointed agency Uncommon Creative Studio, while the media planning and purchasing was handled through OMD, VisitBritain’s current and British Airways’ new media buying agency.

In September 2021, VisitBritain and British Airways entered a three-year Global Airline Partner Framework Agreement. Both parties say that this “supports British tourism interests and values, with a shared goal of challenging perceptions of Britain.”

What we like about this campaign

Curated experiences are nothing new, many airlines have been running destination focused campaigns like this.

One of the best examples is the destination marketing and influencer campaigns developed by ANA pre COVID, called ANA Experience Class, which was fronted by Steve Aoki and other celebrities.

This campaign was backed up by video and a series of podcasts, and it will be interesting to see if British Airways and Visit Britain do the same.

However, curated experiences and influencer led content campaigns are done over and over again for a reason, they work in that they add genuine value to the tourist (tips on what to do), as well as promoting both the airline and the destination.