easyJet
Advertising • Social • Content • Experiential • Digital • International coordination
In 2010, easyJet found itself facing challenges from all sides.
Over the course of fifteen years, the brand had successfully forged out a low cost positioning, with marketing support almost entirely focussed on driving short-term direct response. But it was obvious this approach needed to change. Industry profit margins had plunged to 0.7%. And easyJet were being beaten by ultralow cost carriers on headline prices, and by flag carriers on customer experience.
The first task was to re-position easyJet as more than just a low-cost airline. We believed air travel was more than a stark choice between cost and experience. Our simple insight was that the real benefit of easyJet is to help more people travel to more places, more often. Because it’s affordable.
This allowed us to engage in a different conversation with customers – a conversation that avoided the traditional price-quality trade-off and, instead, engaged in terms of experience and mindset.
However, it needed to be a journey rather than an overnight transformation. We began the transformation by creating a new brand identity, with the purpose of dropping easyJet’s ‘bargain basement’ body language.
Then we mapped and re-engineered the entire customer experience across 17 markets and 21 languages.
This included the development of the Inspire Me tool, redevelopment of their website, the creation of online content explaining their internal processes, the introduction of the easyJet app, airport branding across their hubs, updating the design of their planes, redesign of the inflight magazine and the integration of their eCRM into our new look and feel.
Every element from the first thoughts of holidays, the in-airport and in-flight experience, to managing the post-holiday blues was covered.
We also invested in advertising that aimed to build longer- term affinity and consideration in addition to generating leads, championing the experience at the destination.
The campaign blended the best of easyJet’s cheeky and irreverent low cost heritage with a more sophisticated, premium body language.
Our latest campaign, 'Why not?’ launched across Europe in 2016. In a climate of global uncertainty, the campaign set out to inspire the get-up-and-go in all of us. Its provocative invitation called on Europe to embrace the spirit of spontaneous adventure that easyJet’s network and low fares make possible.
In addition to above- and below-the-line comms, ‘Why not?’ came to life in a trilogy of experiential pop-ups throughout 2016-17.
These saw easyJet join forces with tourist boards from the Netherlands and the Côte d’Azur to increase visitor numbers via easyJet’s London routes. All parties involved were determined to take these partnerships far beyond the traditional approach of badged posters and into an engaging world of imagination and escapism.
At three moments over the course of 12 months, a mysterious plane door appeared across London. Over 2,600 people of all ages and walks of life said, ‘Why not?’ and stepped through, to be whisked away on an inspiring voyage of discovery without leaving the city.
Behind the first door, ‘passengers’ found a heightened reality, immersive theatre tour of the Netherlands. Behind the second, an enchanted carousel ride through the Côte d’Azur.
Behind the third, a colourful ‘Café van der Sprinkles’ that turned Holland’s favourite breakfast treat (sugar sprinkles on bread) into London’s hottest food craze, while showcasing the diverse range of destinations the Netherlands has to offer.
Every event was supported with bespoke social content to create mass exposure and engagement before, during and after, reaching millions of people through easyJet’s channels. Attendees extended this reach by tweeting and Instagramming their experiences, encouraged by spaces designed to be irresistibly social and sharable.
PR amplification ensured the events were covered by consumer and trade publications, generating a reach of tens of millions more. The events sent easyJet’s metrics soaring, generating almost universally positive sentiment on social media.
In September 2017, easyJet’s thought leadership was recognised when its first Plane Door activation scooped Campaign’s ‘Marketing New Thinking’ award for Live Brand Experience.
What’s more, easyJet’s reputation as a creative and above all effective partner for tourist boards means the airline is well-placed to attract more partnership funding in the future.
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