Remember last years runaway hit Christmas video from WestJet, a Canadian airline company? Travellers told Santa their wishes before boarding a WestJet flight, and staff raced to meet them at their destination with those gifts. That video has been viewed more than 36 million times on YouTube. Yes, that really does say 36 million. Think of the brand impact. The program made a difference to the company’s bottom line, to boot. In December, 2013, visits to WestJet’s website doubled, bookings increased 77 per cent compared with the same month in 2012, and revenue rose 86 per cent. Well, hang on to your socks. And your tissues. Cause this years program is even more extraordinary. This year, WestJet gave gifts not to customers but to people in a community in need, located in one of the resort destinations where the airline flies, the Dominican Republic. WestJet has a connection with the Puerto Plata community of Nuevo Renacer, having built 23 houses in the past four years, before it ever filmed an ad there. In less than a week since it has launched, more than 2.3 million people have watched the new video. “What we do is essentially a commodity. We fly to the same Toronto that everybody else flies to. The difference becomes the people,” said Richard Bartrem, WestJet’s vice-president of communications and community relations, who is responsible for this kind of “experiential” marketing. “As a brand that talks about being a caring airline, it’s tremendously valuable for us.” #livingthebrand
Posted on: Fri, 05 Dec 2014 12:18:31 +0000
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