Browsing: Air New Zealand

News
The customer is always wrong
By

They say the customer is always right. But ‘they’ have probably never flown on a budget airline. Air New Zealand is lauded for its customer service and, as a result, has legions of loyal fans. But other airlines focus on price at the expense of almost everything else and have legions of loyal haters. And in the world of aviation, it’s a strategy that seems to work.

Movings & Shakings
Movings/Shakings: 25 March
By

Spark Group’s silo-breaking, DDB to welcome some senior muscle, Dow Design adds a senior (and musical) creative, Nikki Walker joins Finch, Yukfoo looks overseas, Air New Zealand honoured (again) and Social Media Club gets a jolt.

Movings & Shakings
Movings/Shakings: 11 March
By

ZO completes its management team, Clems chief financial officer heads for the rum, Y&R adds to its digital chops, Air New Zealand puts even more emphasis on the customer experience, Dita De Boni heads to PR, The Pond adds a digital heavyweight, Commando gets one back, Southern PR bolsters the line-up, On the Grill takes biscuit and Linda Clark returns to TV.

News
Air New Zealand gets a hunger for the wild with new Bear Grylls safety video—UPDATED
By

Hobbit mania has thankfully subsided (although some embers sparked yesterday after the release of a few interesting emails). And Air New Zealand is back with another new safety video, this time featuring intrepid explorer/eater/showman Bear Grylls, who traipses around the Fiordland wilderness and helps to promote the airline’s $3 million commercial partnership with the Department of Conservation.

News
Air New Zealand: eating social media for breakfast
By

Sim Ahmed captured the goodness of Air New Zealand’s social media breakfast last week with a liveblog. But if you hate words, then you’ll be overjoyed to learn that the airline has put together a video highlights reel for aspiring social media gurus who missed out.

Movings & Shakings
Movings/Shakings: 24 January
By

The new Mother of the Nation returns to primetime, Yellow adds a digi-double, DraftFCB in full production, Air New Zealand’s new people person, Homestyle finds an editor, Allied Press shakes hands with a rival, and Anthony Reardon heads online.

Opinion
The Year in Review: Liz Fraser
By

While MediaWorks’ ownership and debt issues continued to bubble away this year, there were plenty of positives for those working at the coalface, including Four’s media brand of the year award and a very successful first run of The Block. Liz Fraser, who moved from MSN and chair of the IAB to take up the role of director of sales and marketing at Mediaworks TV, has her say.

News
3 Wise Men and Assignment reward cattle class with seat-related discount
By

3 Wise Men has found a good aerial niche with its entertaining long-copy ads in Air New Zealand’s inflight magazine Kia Ora. And in the Hobbit-heavy December edition of the mag, Assignment Group has used that niche to great effect with a novel campaign that aims to make the back of the plane slightly more appealing to fliers.

News
It’s a wrap: New Zealand stricken with severe case of Hobbit fever
By

Amid the controversy that seems to have attached itself to the release of the first Hobbit film, Wellingtonians in particular will be hard-pressed to forget the premiere is taking place in their city, not least thanks to the two-storey Middle Earth wrap that’s been attached to the side of Clemenger BBDO’s Wellington office. That’s one more Hobbit-themed gesture to add to a growing list that also includes DraftFCB’s baggage carousel at Wellington airport, Air New Zealand’s Hobbit aircraft and, of course, Tourism New Zealand’s 100% Middle-earth.

News
Story time: Special Group takes a deuce at inaugural Australasian Branded Entertainment Awards
By

Entertainment has long been part of advertising, as evidenced by the (paraphrased) old Saatchi & Saatchi mantra of ‘if it’s interrupting you in your living room, it better be good’. But that idea has evolved over the years, to the point where Cannes added a branded content category into the schedule this year and Mumbrella recently held its inaugural Australasian Branded Entertainment Awards. And Special Group managed to take home a silver for The Gravity Coffee Run in best integration of brand story-telling (non-fictional) and a gold for The Smirnoff Night Project in transmedia. Air New Zealand’s Kiwi Sceptics campaign by Host Sydney took two bronzes in the same two categories.

News
An unexpected briefing, an expected hit
By

As a small airline that can’t afford to buy attention like some of its larger competitors, Air New Zealand has long advocated the benefits of content marketing through effective seeding of its unique—and often polarising—campaigns and safety videos and a world-class YouTube channel. With the help of Weta Workshop, it nailed The Hobbit inflight video. And it’s already a global hit, achieving worldwide media coverage and 6.2 million YouTube views in just four days since launching.

News
Middle-earth in mid-air
By

Air New Zealand became the official airline of Middle-earth a few months ago as part of a marketing deal struck up between Tourism New Zealand, New Line, MGM and Warner Bros. And, after plenty of teasing, including a countdown clock on its Flying Social Network site, it’s released a classy new Hobbit-themed safety video.

News
You’re on Koru camera: Air New Zealand and Saatchi & Saatchi shine a light on lounge bludgers
By

Air New Zealand recently started showing a video on selected domestic flights to promote its relationship with the Department of Conservation and, specifically, the nine walking wonders of New Zealand. Saatchi & Saatchi was behind that one and it’s back again with a nice little online campaign to promote the airline’s Above & Beyond business loyalty scheme by showing what some travellers will do to get into the Koru Lounge.

News
Air New Zealand and Saatchi & Saatchi tell passengers to take a hike
By

A few months back Air New Zealand announced its partnership with the Department of Conservation, which is in keeping with the need DoC now has to align itself with the corporate sector and fill the financial void from ongoing budget cuts, and in keeping with Air New Zealand’s continuing environmental push. And now it’s launched a new website and video to be played on selected flights that implores Kiwis to head outside and take in some of New Zealand’s Great Walks, which the airline is the sole sponsor of.

News
Marketing Excellence: Air New Zealand and Rob Fyfe
By

From product and price to advertising and loyalty, Air New Zealand is customer-centric at every point of the experience and marketing-led at every point of the business. And its consistency over the past three years makes it a worthy winner of the inaugural Marketing Excellence award.

News
From sluggish German to lively local: Volkswagen drives off with supreme TVNZ-NZ Marketing award in the boot
By

2012 marks the 21st anniversary of the TVNZ-NZ Marketing Awards. And, in keeping with the traditions of the land, it emerged into adulthood this year with a new central theme of Everything Marketing and eight new categories, including financial, technology, automotive, utilities/communications, lifestyle/travel/leisure and sponsorship. And coming out at the head of the field with the supreme award was Volkswagen, with ex-Westpac and soon-to-be BNZ head of brand Ian Moody named as marketer of the year, Whittaker’s Jasmine Griffin named as rookie marketer of the year, Air New Zealand taking the marketing excellence award and Pfizer, Z Energy and Red Witch both picking up multiple awards.

News
Air New Zealand does the math
By

Studies have shown and experts agree Friday is the best day to show infographics. And Air New Zealand has come to the party with a selection of stats to celebrate 30 years of flying to LA and London.

News
What’s small, hairy and airborne?
By

There’s danger in being good at something: you create expectations. Air New Zealand has created some pretty high expectations for its inflight safety videos after releasing a few stunners and most seemed to think they weren’t met with the last animated effort. But it’s trying again and, in line with Tourism New Zealand’s new 100% Pure Middle Earth slogan, it’s a tribute to The Hobbit movies.

Movings & Shakings
Movings/Shakings: 6 August
By

TVNZ’s Eric Kearley joins Rick Ellis at Telstra, Air New Zealand shifts some troops, Copper prepares for growth with a double, Rory Carter opens the doors of Red Dennis, Getty bolsters its APAC marketing team, CAANZ welcomes a new recruit, Kip Brook heads into academia, and James Mok and Kelly Bennett get the call up for Spikes Asia.

News
Air New Zealand’s social calendar
By

Air New Zealand filled up a room with social media sponges and marketers yesterday to hear Randi Zuckerberg, the former Facebook marketing director and less famous sister of Mark (some might say she’s the female equivalent of Doug Pitt) and Wildfire’s Jessica Gilmartin speak. And if any Kiwi company was going to sponsor a social media breakfast, it would have to be the very socially active national carrier. But in case you haven’t been paying attention over the past few very difficult years in the aviation industry, it has put together a video explaining the airline’s approach to social media and showing what it has managed to achieve as a result of its focus on it .