This month, British Airways launched its largest brand advertising campaign for a single decade as part of a 5-year business investment plan intended to benefit consumers. To kick things off, the company designed an updated, 3-dimensional version of its coat of arms, which is being reapplied to all planes in its fleet and will be used extensively in advertising going forward.
The launch includes a significant social media piece with YouTube video content that is being cross-promoted on the British Airways Facebook page. You can see a video that highlights the British Airways coat of arms heritage and update process below.
The new brand campaign focuses on the To Fly. To Serve. tagline in an effort to bring the needs of customers back to the forefront of the brand’s promise. As part of the overall business investment to benefit consumers, British Airways plans to introduce new planes, special cabins for World Traveller and World Traveller Plus passengers, an updated First Class experience, improvements at the Gatwick Airport, and upgraded lounges in airports throughout the British Airways network. Furthermore, a British Airways press release explains that investments will be made in better catering and technology enhancements to make traveling more convenient and comfortable for customers both in the air and on the ground.
British Airways is running print ads and a 90-second television ad to promote the initiative, but for the first time in the company’s history, that commercial debuted on the social web on the company’s Facebook page. You can see the commercial below.
There is no doubt that British Airways wanted to roll out this brand campaign and significant business investment with a bang. Now, the company has to live up to the big expectations it’s creating for consumers. Can they do it? Leave a comment and share your thoughts on the British Airways brand initiative.
Susan Gunelius is the author of 10 marketing, social media, branding, copywriting, and technology books, and she is President & CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc., a marketing communications company. She also owns Women on Business, an award-wining blog for business women. She is a featured columnist for Entrepreneur.com and Forbes.com, and her marketing-related articles have appeared on websites such as MSNBC.com, BusinessWeek.com, TodayShow.com, and more.
She has over 20 years of experience in the marketing field having spent the first decade of her career directing marketing programs for some of the largest companies in the world, including divisions of AT&T and HSBC. Today, her clients include large and small companies around the world and household brands like Citigroup, Cox Communications, Intuit, and more. Susan is frequently interviewed about marketing and branding by television, radio, print, and online media organizations, and she speaks about these topics at events around the world. You can connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Google+.
