Category: Best use of brand sponsorship integration (where there is no product overtly displayed in the film, show, event etc. but it is aligned to a brand message)
Advertiser: BRITISH AIRWAYS
Product/Service: SPONSORSHIP OF THE LONDON 2012 OLYMPIC & PARALYMPIC GAMES
Agency: SPAFAX
Creative Director: Anthony Van Someren (Spafax)
Executive Producer: Ed Oppe (Spafax)
Art Director: Christine Youngblood (Freelance)
Director: Keith Rogerson (Freelance)
Media placement: Video - Online - 23rd Jan 2012
Media placement: Video - In-Flight Entertainment - 1st Feb 2012
Campaign Description
This campaign mostly takes place in international airspace on the seat-back screen of a privately owned commercial aircraft. However, in the UK, where BA spends much of their advertising, the market for ad-funded content and branded entertainment is ahead of most other regions, although it is still a small add-on for most marketers spending outside the online space.
Air-side broadcasting is not regulated by Ofcom, however most airlines, including British Airways, follow similar practices through self-governance and take into account the wishes and experiences of their customers on the ground.
Effectiveness
We had been asked how we might enhance BA's sponsorship of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and quickly realised the fun, credibility and entertainment that top-tier British athletes could lend to an on-board safety or wellbeing video. The latter seemed more flexible and relevant to the audience.
This objective was part of BA's wider strategy to support the games in a natural way that chimed most comfortably with the British public and showed genuine support for the athletes as individuals rather than through corporate ‘badge slapping’.
The Olympic channel needed special idents. It was clear that each ident should feature and celebrate the power of the human body utilised at the peak of human sporting ability.
The main challenges were: to find the most suitable athletes to act as role models and presenters, to fit around their busy training schedules, and to meet LOCOG's stringent compliance regulations for use of Olympic branding and kit.
We shot the various elements in high speed, high definition, to ensure the footage could be used at its best in other media and to provide the highest quality in which to frame the beauty of the human body.
The well-being film features in the on-board broadcast, played to passengers alongside the safety video and airline messages, as well as being available on-demand in BA's AVOD in-flight entertainment system, but in longer form.
The inclusion of Team GB athletes was used in PR, with interviews and photographs taken during production, and the finished film was circulated on BA's websites and YouTube in advance of being placed on-board BA's fleet as additional PR.
The exercises are repeated in the pages of BA's inflight magazine, illustrated using stills from the shoot and highlighting the involvement of our Olympic hopefuls.
Implementation
The audience normally gives little attention to the wellbeing or safety videos on-board most aircraft, seeing them as boring or repetitive information they are being forced to watch. However, feedback from the crew and business travellers we work with said that not only did the on-board film look lovely but, for the first time many, of the passengers were actually doing the exercises in time with the on-board broadcast. This is not the norm with cynical British flyers, and is the best possible mark of approval for which we could have wished.
Outcome
The campaign is currently on-board and runs through the spring and summer, right up until the end of the Paralympic Games, so there is little opportunity to judge its success through marketing metrics until its completion. However, in terms of finding a successful creative solution to BA's brief, making the passengers experience more fun, more healthy, generating PR and kudos with Olympic sports fans for BA, we and the client already feel that this campaign is a success; at least using all our touchy-feely, human measures.