Why does British Airways spend so much on ads that aren’t designed to sell flights?
There’s more than one reason to run a campaign
A few weeks ago British Airways dropped a new outdoor ad campaign, Windows, capturing the wonder felt by passengers peering out the window at 35,000 feet. The photography is standout, inspiring, and emotional. It also.. doesn’t feel like an ad. At least to marketers, who noted the lack of logo, buy button, and tagline. Instead of selling a product or price, the ad sells a feeling.
There’s no slogan, no website, no call to action. There isn’t a QR code for curious minds to learn more. In fact, the name of the airline is barely visible. — Skift
A history of emotional campaigns
In 2022, British Airways launched another feelings-forward campaign showing off all the reasons we fly. Agency Uncommon produced 512 (!) different versions for out of home, digital, and print placements.
While lovely, these ads also do not feel the most commercially savvy. Wheres the buy button? The call-to-action? The pitch for flying British Airways? In fact, British Airways’ focus on emotional brand advertising over commercial ads is incredibly strategic.
Understanding the customers’ decision making journey
The conversion moment for a flight is online. You have limitless options, and price comparison is incredibly easy. BA will never win on price. Their operations are too expensive. BA flies out of the best airports. They pay for the good gates that are closest to security. They offer better food, better seats, and better service than their low-cost counterparts EasyJet and RyanAir. BA’s advertising strategy is to get in your head before the price game begins. So when you see a flight from London to Paris and RyanAir is £45 and British Airways is £145, you pay £145. Easily.
Why doesn’t British Airways advertise their features then? Sell the fact that you don’t need to journey to a far off airport to catch a BA flight. Show off the more comfortable seats. The included food. Rename British Airways to Better Airways. The problem is, if BA focuses on amenities, then they risk inviting themselves back into pricing. Is a slightly better seat worth really $100 more? Do I need to pay to not walk to the far terminal? The cab to the far away airport will only cost $50 more..
BA wants you to avoid that conversation altogether. They want you to get excited about traveling and associate that excitement with BA. Make BA the default for a great trip.
When your brand is the default, the question shifts from savings to downgrade:
Before: do I pay $100 to upgrade to British Airways?
After: do I downgrade to RyanAir to save $100?
Instead of being on the backfoot, reacting to price, brand advertising puts BA in the driver’s seat, setting the bar for customer experience and expectations. And the ads are just one part of a cohesive strategy. Ads set the emotional tone for the brand, while the customer experience delivers on that expectation live.
“We were very clear that it will be a brand campaign and not an advertising campaign as it’s much bigger than an ad…The food menu’s part of it, the entertainment is part of it, the uniform is part of it and the safety video is part of it,” [BA Chief Customer Officer Calum] Laming says. Laming is of the firm belief that everyone in customer and brand roles in the service industry has a role to play in how the brand is perceived. -The Drum, Uncommon extends 500-ad Cannes Lions-winning British Airways campaign
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