Virgin America Revamps Safety

The transition of traditional marketing to digital marketing is upon us. We all know that consumers are no longer drawn in by the simple magazine print ads, or billboards on the highway. With all of the advertising we have been bombarded with over the past years, a company really needs to make some noise to draw the consumer in. We know all too well how brands like Dove have leveraged digital marketing with their “Real Beauty” campaign or Volkswagen with their infamous “Darth Vader” commercial, that went viral even before its Super Bowl airing. The use of digital marketing is essential for any company that wants its name to be in the spotlight.

When dealing with the travel and tourism industry you might be wondering if it is really possible to make its promotions exciting. Take the airline industry for instance; its no secret that most consumers do not enjoy flying, but it is the only way to get to their final destination. Being on an airplane is never an enjoyable experience, but some airlines are able to make it more bearable than others.  That being said, it’s difficult for airlines to gain customer loyalty, when most flyers priority is a quick and cheap flight. Additionally, the fact that consumers have turned to using OTA’s for booking rather than visiting an airlines “brand.com” site make customer loyalty that much harder.  Despite this challenge, one airline in particular has been able to draw in customers by adding a fun twist to a mundane procedure.

Virgin America’s marketing department made some noise by revamping their safety video. While many airlines still have their flight attendants pointing to the front, back and side emergency exits of the aircraft, Virgin America decided to use digital marketing to their advantage. Their new safety video is nothing short of a Hollywood music video. They turned their safety pamphlet into a catchy single called “Fly Away With Me”, which went viral with just a couple of weeks of being released.  There is no question that when this safety video is being played, travellers are giving their undivided attention. This gesture has made travellers excited to fly with Virgin America.

Picture from: virginamerica.com 

As if this video wasn’t enough, some of the attendants decided to go even further with the safety video. In a recent Virgin America flight, one of the attendants decided to lip sync and dance a long to the choreography of the safety video while it was playing on one of the flights. In an industry where switching costs are low, Virgin America is putting a fight in retaining its customers.

Despite the entire buzz surrounding this new and exciting safety video, there are inevitably some concerns to be discussed. There is no doubt that this video was directed and executed flawlessly, but we must ask ourselves whether or not it is appropriate to play around with a serious safety procedure. Is Virgin America making light of the importance of being prepared for an unexpected landing? With so much going on in the video, one might have trouble really grasping the real message. While being focused on the synchronized robot scene, are travellers really paying attention to where to find the flotation device and what to do if it does not inflate automatically. 

To take this analysis one step further, we are curious to truly determine whether this extravagant safety video is really beneficial to promoting the brand on the online world. It is one thing to be a traveler of Virgin America watching this video before take off, but are the people watching this video on YouTube really concerned with which airline produced it? Or is it merely entertaining to watch of safety instructions can be converted into a song? This question can be applied to any digital marketing campaign. With such big ideas and campaigns, companies need to ensure that their brand name is actually getting, and not being lost in all the hype.

Check out the Virgin America Safety Video Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtyfiPIHsIg

Jessica Gourdji & Ludovic Sacier 

Sources:

1. Virgin America Flight Attendant Delights Passengers With Safety Video Dance (2014) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/08/virgin-america-flight-attendant-safety-video-dance_n_4561042.html

2. Virgin America's Safety Video Creates A Shockingly Brilliant Customer Experience (2013)  http://www.forbes.com/sites/avidan/2013/11/13/virgin-americas-safety-video-creates-a-shockingly-brilliant-customer-experience/