Qantas is set to embark on a multi-million dollar advertising campaign built around the new tagline “You’re the reason we fly”.
The campaign will include the airline’s biggest ever social media push, which will include emblazoning the names of thousands of Australians onto the side of a Qantas Airbus A380 and Boeing 737.
People can submit their name at the new Qantas.com/You website, and also upload a photo which can appear in online and TV advertisements.
“Over the next two weeks, we’re asking Australians to upload their photo and name via qantas.com/you or by using a specially developed mobile phone or Facebook app” explains Qantas Executive Manager Marketing Lewis Pullen.
Put your name on a plane...
“We’re hoping we can get around 1,600 names on the A380” Pullen told Australian Business Traveller.
“There are some analogies to what Coke did, which was a great campaign, and also Bonds, but we’ve got our own twists on that.”
Qantas will set up photo kiosks at Westfield shopping centres in Chatswood (July 5-8), Bondi Junction (July 12-15) and Doncaster (July 12-15) where people will be able to get a hair and make-up ‘touch up’ and a professional photo to be used to participate in the campaign.
The airline has also created special Qantas You apps for the iPhone and iPad plus Android devices, and developed what it claims to be world-first ‘personalised banner ads’ placed on selected websites, which will show your submitted picture in the advertisement.
This will be followed in early July with digital billboards, including a 3.5m display at Sydney’s Town Hall railway station, where people using the Qantas You app will automatically see their name and photo appear in the displayed Qantas ad.
But they still call Australia home
However, Pullen is quick to assure that Qantas’ iconic “I still call Australia home” campaign – which launched over a dozen years ago, with the Sydney Olympics in 2000 – isn’t being put out to pasture.
“There’s no doubt customers love it and it will still play an important role for us, especially around national occasions” Pullen says. “It’s very much our ‘national anthem’.”
As part of the campaign, Qantas has also subtly changed the slogan on the sides of two aircraft from “Spirit of Australia” to “Spirit of Australians”, as featured in the video below.
Avoiding the #QantasLuxury #fail
Following the trainwreck of last year’s ill-timed #QantasLuxury contest on Twitter, Pullen is well aware of the risks involved with asking people to submit a name or a photo which will then be used in advertising.
“One thing I would say is we’re had a lot of experience in that area!” he admits. “But we’ve gone through risk assessment with this, we have things in place to make sure it’s not abused. There is a 24 hour period where we will assess the name and picture before publishing it.
"We’re confident that we have enough safeguards to do this well but also have a lot of fun with it. We’ve also gone through a lot of legal terms and conditions to get this right and respect people’s privacy. I think it’s a fairly innocent campaign.”
“This is just the first stage of the campaign, encouraging people to get involved and be part of the conversation” Pullen adds. “It build to a crescendo after the Olympics, to a final phase that’s about substantiating our brand proposition – that you’re the reason we fly.”
What's your take on the new Qantas tagline? Have your say in the comments area below or shout out on Twitter: we're @AusBT.
David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
03 Jul 2011
Total posts 187
I actually like it. I think its about time they realised that without their customer base they wont have an airline.
11 Jan 2012
Total posts 20
Oh dear! More focus on the fluff and BS whilst continually whittling away the true brand values. This has mega #fail stamped all over it.
16 Dec 2011
Total posts 49
What's the bet they get hundred's of Richard Branson's signing up ?
10 Mar 2011
Total posts 526
I like it... There will always be naysayers but I think it's a good campaign.
15 Aug 2011
Total posts 33
Blah, blah, blah Qantas this Qantas that haven't we heard it all before and what about the engineers#
04 Nov 2010
Total posts 670
I'm with Colin and AusFlyer, I like this new slogan. It's very personal and connects with the traveller, puts them at the core of what Qantas like any airline or business is all about.
Hopefully it signals that QF will take the core message to heart, that their customers ARE the reason they fly and have jobs so they better look after them.
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
30 Jun 2012
Total posts 6
"You're the reason we fly" what a typical arrogant conmment from the airline that stranded approx 100,000 of it's passengers all over the world.
I for one would not want my name on the side of a plane belonging to an airline that does that to its passengers. Wonder if this might bite them on the @#$ like their last twitter effort
10 Apr 2012
Total posts 59
A return to using the old Australian Airlines the way we do the things we do would have been better.That was a modified version of a 60's Motown Song which to anyone other than Australians had more meaning than the late Peter Allan's I still call Australia Home
Air New Zealand - Airpoints
01 Jul 2012
Total posts 8
This is quite a lame advertising campaign. It lacks anything innovative and hardly inspires me to fly with Qantas. I don't think they should try and take on multimedia big shots like Air NZ because it just looks second rate.
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