Advertising agency ZenithOptimedia has done an innovative outdoor campaign for British Airways at the Terminal 1B of the Mumbai airport. Satyajit Sen, Zenith’s CEO, talks of the unusual campaign and its footprint:
What was the idea behind the campaign? What was the brief given to you by British Airways?
‘World Traveller Plus’ is a premium economy product which sits between ‘World Traveller Economy’ and ‘Club World Business Class’. The four-cabin model is not common for most of the international airlines and the campaign was to build and spread awareness about the many highlights and benefits that World Traveller Plus had to offer.
The campaign sought to build a clear differentiation on the value that the World Traveller Plus cabin delivered over an equally strong World Traveller product.
While there were many highlights, we aimed at picking the one we felt was most dear to an Indian traveller – baggage. The World Traveller Plus caters to both leisure and business travellers and we wanted to build a connect with the target audience
The suitcase is a perennial symbol of travel and adventure. The particular design of the suitcase which was used in the print and outdoor campaigns reflects certain attitudes and compulsions of an avid traveller.
The sturdy design and the buckles are for security and a certain style, glamour in travel. The stickers show a clear pride and love for travel and an adventurous spirit to visit new places. The tag on the suitcase highlights the other key benefits of the product.
What parameters were considered for the media planning?
Since British Airways operates from five major cities (Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad), traditional media like print, radio and out-of-home (OOH) were key to drive home the message to the key audience. Dailies tend to dilute the message due to the clutter levels. Therefore, we chose niche magazines like the ones in business, travel and lifestyle genres which cater to both premium leisure and business travellers. Apart from this, there was a critical requirement of localised media, which can give both reach and frequency with economy of cost. Therefore, OOH was the other chosen medium.
Share the execution details of the campaign. Who was your target group for this campaign?
It’s a product which both leisure and business travellers would enjoy travelling in. In media terms, it is male or female, 25-54 age-group, SEC A. We spread the awareness drive in business hubs and residential areas across all cities. Apart from this, airports are the nerve-ce ntres which generate footfalls most crucial to reach out to regular travellers. Popular shopping places , influential residential areas and business hubs were key to the success of this campaign. For instance, south Mumbai, south Delhi, Gurgaon, M G Road in Bangalore and Delhi... were key.
Share the details on innovation.
Visiting family and relatives form a huge percentage of the Indian travelling population. Most of us love to carry gifts and savouries and our whole world with us while travelling. It’s something we are all sensitive about -- and this forms a connect. While there were lots of key benefits to this unique product, we chose ‘double baggage allowance’ both for its emotional connect as also for the fact that it was a very attractive creative to get audience consideration.
Airport was a natural choice and offered a viable backdrop to showcase the compelling product. It was the right place to create synergy with the message at the right place and at the right time. We proposed an innovation to the client wherein we could create and place an actual representation of the suitcase they had used in the print and outdoor campaign and bring it to life and highlighted the USP of the World Traveller Plus - “Extra legroom, baggage and business class meals”. We specifically proposed domestic airport due to the volume of travellers that it caters to, who also travel overseas for work or leisure. The suitcase was fabricated with a size of 10 feet (length) by 6.5 feet (height) by 4 feet (width) and placed outside the Terminal 1B departure of the Mumbai airport. We plan to do a similar installation outside the domestic airport in Delhi for a fortnight each. The execution was really appreciated by the client.
Where else is this campaign being executed?
The campaign is on in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad. Delhi and Mumbai are the two key markets as they (British Airways) operate twice daily from these metros; and for competitive reasons, it’s the most natural choice.
