Air transportation is becoming an increasingly promising business for investors, Not surprisingly, the increase in demand is intensifying competition between market players. As a result, we are actually seeing a war between brands for potential passengers in the market. Let’s take the example of three airline giants to see what successful moves marketers invent to achieve their goals.
American Airlines airline marketing
American Airlines is the world’s largest airline carrier. More than 201 million passengers used the airline’s services in 2016. More than 1,270 airplanes fly with the company’s logo. Despite American Airlines being one of the top three most valuable airline brands at $4.8 billion, they had to settle for a modest 74th place in Skytrax’s 2017 ranking of the world’s best airlines.
Slogan
The slogan of any company reflects the philosophy of the brand. American Airlines slogans under different marketing strategies have accomplished such tasks:
- Positioning leadership and excellence. “America’s leading (local) airline”, “We, American Airlines, do what we do best”, “Founded here. Best here.”
- Emphasis on company expansion and consolidation. After merging with TWA, American Airlines launches the slogan “Two great airlines, one great future.” The airline’s modern slogan, “A New American is Coming,” came about after its merger with US Airways.
- Territorial reference and reference to patriotism. “Fly American,” “No other airline will give you more America than American/American,” “It’s good to know you’re on American Airlines/American Airlines,” “We’re an airline that’s proud to carry the American/American name.” The appearance of the latter was a reaction to the tragedy of September 11, 2001: two of the four airliners hijacked by terrorists belonged to American Airlines.
Separate here is the slogan “The On-Time Mashine”, which was used in the 80s. Literally, it translates as “The time-machine”, but it also reads “on the time-machine” (“on the time-machine”). Thus, the brand is positioned as ultra-modern and focused on new technologies.
But the first thing to consider is the incredible popularity of sci-fi movies in the United States in the 1980s. In the highest-grossing movies of those times (Star Wars, Terminator, Back to the Future, Flight of the Navigator, etc.), the action either takes place in the future or the plot is tied to time travel.
Therefore, such a play of meanings in the slogan can be considered very successful. The Star Wars reference is also read in the musical accompaniment of the 1988 American Airlines commercial.
Logo
The first American Airlines logo was created in 1934. Its main element was the attacking eagle. If you trace the evolution of the logo, you can notice a decrease in the detail of the eagle image in each new variant.
History of the American Airlines logo
At the moment the most famous American Airlines logo is the project developed in 1967 by designer Massimo Vinelli. The composition of the letters “AA” and the eagle at the top visually resemble a pyramid. One of the symbolic meanings of the triangle is the relationship of earth (base) to heaven (top corner). The triangle also symbolizes resilience, leadership, and upward movement. All these associations fit well with the image of a stable and actively developing company.
The eagle symbol in the American Airlines logo carries three meanings:
- The national symbol of the United States. The eagle in the logo is depicted in an attack pose, symbolizing strength and determination.
- The bird is associated with flight. This is why bird images are most commonly found in airline logos. Since the eagle is considered the king of birds and lord of the skies, the American Airlines logo also reads the airline’s commitment to leadership in the airspace;
- The eagle is a symbol of speed, confident achievement of the goal.
American Airlines rebranded in 2013 as part of its merger with US Airways. The eagle in the new logo has lost its aggressiveness and is now perceived as a symbol of dynamism and progressiveness. The new logo and livery “symbolize the inherent American thirst for success and soaring spirit,” according to Virasba Vahidi, the company’s chief commercial officer.
Read also: What it takes to build a brand: a set of “minimums”
Livreya and corporate identity
Before the rebranding, American Airlines planes had a polished-to-shine metal fuselage with blue, white and red stripes under the portholes. The logo was traditionally placed on the tail of the airliner.
On January 31, 2013, Boeing’s new 777-300ER aircraft, made of composite materials, began operations. It’s hard to give them a metallic sheen, so changing the livery was more of a forced move.
American Airlines airplane livery
In the new livery, the airline’s name and the following logo are located in the nose – between the wing and the cockpit. The tail is decorated in the style of the American flag and the fuselage is painted white, a traditional color for most airlines.
Retro livery
At airports, you can sometimes see “airplanes from the past”. Individual airliners are increasingly using the livery that the airlines’ fleets were decorated in decades ago to paint their individual airliners. The retro livery, which bears the new logo, shows the rich tradition of the airlines and the connection between generations. The airlines are not ignoring the livery of the absorbed brands either. Such a move allows them to show respect for the traditions of their former competitors while demonstrating the power of the airline that absorbed them.
Read also: Developing a corporate identity for an airline: the experience of major players
With retro livery, airlines are primarily playing on consumer nostalgia. It’s nice to step into an airplane that looks like the one on which young passengers once flew on a wedding trip or home for university vacations. This attention to the consumer’s feelings contributes to a positive brand perception.
In taking over US Airways, the company gained not only assets, but also the practice of using retro livery to decorate airplanes. The American Airlines fleet was enriched with Boeing 737s in the livery of operator Air Cal and several other airlines: Reno Air, Trans World Airlines and US Airways.
Flight attendant uniforms
In September 2016, American Airlines’ air and ground staff received a uniform. It consists of a dark gray suit, tie for men and a neckerchief in the airline’s signature colors for women.
Prior to that, airline employees wore 1980-style uniforms, and former US Airways flight attendants and stewardesses wore their former company uniforms.
British Airways: marketing airlines the English way
Established in 1974 from the major airlines, BOAC and BEA, and two other smaller regional carriers.
The airline was ranked 40th in the 2017 Skytrax rankings and was also ranked 9th on the list of the world’s largest carriers.
Slogan
From the day of its foundation, the management of British Airways has staked on world leadership in the air transportation market. The slogan “The World’s Favourite Airline” was developed to match this strategy. The phrase was also used in the “Best airlines in the world” variant.
Advertising campaigns have also featured slogans such as:
- “Upgrade/upgrade to British Airways” (call to action, positioning the company’s modernity);
- “Fly the flag” (appealing to British patriotic sentiment and emphasizing the new livery);
- “We’ll give you even more care” (a promise to the consumer).
In 2011, the main advertising phrase of British Airways is “To Fly. To Serve”. Under the new slogan a special logo was designed, stylized under the coat of arms of Great Britain. The essence of the new brand positioning concept can be clearly seen in the British Airways commercial. You don’t even need to be proficient in English to see the emphasis on the airline’s rich tradition and reliability in the advertisement.
Logo and livery
As mentioned earlier, British Airways has consolidated into four airlines. The most hyped brands were BOAC and BEA.
Livery of British Overseas Airways Corporation and British European Airways
When the development of a unified corporate identity for British Airways was discussed, the company’s BOAC employees stood up for their brand. A campaign was organized to protect the “bird” – the symbol of the airline. Therefore, the first branding was the inscription “British Airways” in the colors of Britain’s national flag. It was simply applied to the livery of airplanes of airlines that joined BA.
History of the British Airways logo
If you look closely at the 1984 logo, the red line below the lettering also resembles the BOAC logo. In a more rounded form, the “bird” also entered the logo that British Airways uses today.
In British Airways livery from different times, it’s hard to miss the influence of airline marketers BOAC and BEA on the British Airways brand.
The evolution of the British Airways livery
“Bird” appears on the nose of the fuselage, and the sharp coloring of the tail reads the BEA logo. The dark purple color in which these airlines’ planes were painted becomes the company’s livery color until British Airways’ 1997 rebranding.
Failed experiment
In 1997, marketers at British Airways, calculating that more than half of the airline’s customers were foreigners, decided to position themselves not as British but as a global airline. For this purpose, ethnic ornaments of the countries to which the airliner flew were painted on the tail section of the airplanes.
This marketing strategy by the airline has caused a flurry of criticism in the UK. Margaret Thatcher expressed the British position most eloquently. At the unveiling of the new livery project, she covered the tail of a model airplane with her handkerchief while declaring, “We fly the British flag, not these horrible things.”
British Airways’ marketing calculations were immediately exploited by rival Virgin Atlantic. They put the British flag on the vertical tips of their airplanes. Also on the bow was an image of Virgin’s symbol “Lady Scarlett” wearing a dress fluttering the British Union Jack and the inscription “British Flag Bearer”.
Ethnic livery flattered foreign passengers. However, the consumer of any country is accustomed to seeing the colors of the flag on the national airlines’ planes. Therefore, there was a certain dissonance between the brand name and the livery. If the company is to be positioned as a global company, then along with the use of ethno-livery, the company itself should have been renamed.
Read also: Analyzing the market of tourism services in Ukraine: problems and prospects
The idea of ethnic livery was also disliked by air traffic controllers, who found it more difficult to identify British Airways planes on approach to the airport. Therefore, the ethnic livery, not living four days before its two-year anniversary, was replaced by the British flag.
An interesting British Airways livery project that Mrs. Thatcher would surely have liked was designed by Antoine Calleja.
British Airways livery design
In this tail fin coloring, the British Union Jack seems to envelop the tail fin of the aircraft. Like it was Margaret Thatcher who covered it with her handkerchief 🙂
Stewardesses
British Airways flight attendants have always been considered a paragon of style. Their uniforms were changed to reflect fashion trends, designed by famous fashion designers. At the airline museum, visitors can admire British Airways flight attendant uniforms.
British Airways flight attendant uniforms.
Modern flight attendant uniforms keep the airline’s traditions alive. The colors of the suits, ties and neckerchiefs are a tribute to BOAC, while the badge design was inherited by British Airways from British European Airways.
A pleasant desert breeze: the Emirates airline brand
Emirates, founded in 1985, is one of the world’s leading airline passenger transportation companies. It was ranked 4th in the 2017 Best Airline ranking (by Skytrax Emirates). It was in the same position in the ranking of the most expensive airline brands (according to Brand Rakings), although it topped the list a year earlier.
Slogan
Today, Emirates’ tagline is “Hello Tomorrow.” It emphasizes the modernity and progressiveness of the brand and provides a call to action. The Emirates commercial concretizes this call: “Tomorrowland believes that the more of the world we see, the richer we become.”
Slogans such as these have been used at various times to position the brand:
- The slogan promise: “Emirates, the finest / the most beautiful in the sky”.
- A double call to action that reveals the company’s benefits: “Be good to yourself. Fly Emirates” (“Be good to yourself. Fly Emirates”).
- Double call to action (travel and do it with airline planes): “When was the last time you did something for the first time. Fly Emirates” and “Fly Emirates. Keep discovering” and “Fly Emirates. Keep discovering”.
Logo
The logo represents the company name in Arabic script and Latin script. The appearance of the logo was changed only once – in 1999.
The evolution of the Emirates logo
In the new version, the font has acquired more pronounced Arabic features, which reinforces the territoriality of the brand. The Latin script became more monumental and the ligature took on more elegant features.
Read also: The psychology of font perception or how to manage the mood of consumers
Livreya and corporate identity
For a long time, the livery of Emirates airliners, due to the image of tail coloring in the color of the UAE flag, looked very similar to the livery of the planes of competitor Etihad.
Etihad and Emirates livery
This similarity did not benefit both airlines: foreign passengers often confused them. Following Etihad’s rebranding in 2014, during which the company’s aircraft acquired dramatically new fuselage and tail fin coloring, there was no need to develop a new livery for Emirates aircraft.
Emirates also use themed livery. For example, to support the United for Wildlife global campaign, wildlife images were painted on the fuselage of two of the company’s largest airliners. The planes flown by clubs Arsenal and Real Madrid received their livery.
Read also: Airline promotion strategy
Unearthly beauty
Emirates flight attendants have long been a major calling card for the airline. It is these bright young women who are most often remembered by passengers around the world when it comes to Emirates.
The uniforms of the company’s flight attendants are unmistakable. Each of its elements is unique in itself. First and foremost is the Arabian shawl. This element of the uniform is also used by other Arab airlines. But, for example, the flight attendants of Bahrain’s Gulf Airlines attach the scarf to the top of the beret, while Saudia Airlines flight attendants tuck both ends under the cap. British designer Simon Jersey originally proposed to attach one end to the inner side of the beret and the other to wrap around the neck so that the shawl rests elegantly on the left shoulder. This original idea is the best safeguard against plagiarism, working for uniqueness and brand recognition.
The beige and slightly fitted shape emphasizes the gracefulness of flight attendants. Color has a calming effect on the psyche. The negative side of beige color – associations with sadness, monotony and boredom. To neutralize them, the image of stewardesses is complemented with a rich red color of beret, pocket edging and skirt inserts. And, of course, red lipstick. If the Emirates manager finds the lipstick not bright enough, the flight attendant may be penalized.
Fly Emirates
Sports sponsorship is one of the most lucrative ways to invest advertising dollars. The victories of a club or athlete are consciously or subconsciously associated by fans with the brand. Team losses don’t carry a negative brand name, unless of course they become a trend. That’s why Emirates has sponsorship contracts with top athletes, teams and sports organizations.
Emirates ads are often seen by fans of soccer, tennis, cricket, rugby, Formula 1 racing and other popular sports. At different times the slogan “Fly Emirates” could be seen on the shirts of such popular soccer clubs as Real Madrid, Milan, Paris Saint-Germain, Benfica and Arsenal.
Emirates has a closer cooperation with the latter. On July 22, 2006, the renovated Emirates Stadium in London was opened, the renovation of which cost the airline £390 million. Such cooperation allows the company to hold the annual Emirates Cup with the participation of the best soccer clubs in the world, as well as to attract Arsenal players to participate in Emirates’ advertising campaigns.
To evaluate the sports component in the marketing policy of the airline (or vice versa – to see an example of successful marketing in sports), it is enough to watch the following video.
The audience response to such a creative marketing move speaks not only about the success of the company’s advertising strategy, but also about the value of flight attendants as an integral part of the Emirates brand.
A brand can be compared to a complex mechanism. Every part must be quality manufactured and tuned so that the mechanism works like a Swiss watch. Brand failures will have more serious consequences than process line malfunctions. After all, if in a technical mechanism replacement of a part allows you to quickly resume the production process, then with a brand everything is much more complicated – often you have to redesign the entire mechanism.
In branding, a part can look beautiful (a capacious slogan, a beautiful corporate color) but not work for a particular brand, being as useless to it as a car engine part in an airplane.
KOLORO is a group of experienced designers who will design, assemble and launch your brand with half a turn. We have brought more than one business machine to the market with high starting speed and long effective life.
If your brand is floundering, we have a workshop where we can fix it, upgrade it, and polish it to a shine.
