Cathay Pacific Asks What Is #LifeWellTravelled in First Major Digital Push

The airline is using social media and native advertising to learn more about the digital engagement of its customers in a global campaign being rolled out from Hong Kong.

Cathay Pacific has devoted more than 50 percent of its latest marketing campaign to digital platforms, in order to see how it resonates with its audience. Called “Life Well Travelled,” the initiative includes the use of social media and video, as well as native advertising.

The airline uses “influencers,” who are both fans of the brand and well-known personalities in the travel sector, to encourage people to share their travel moments on social platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, using the hashtag #LifeWellTravelled.

A number of YouTube videos also appear on Cathay Pacific’s campaign website, telling the stories of its employees, Marco Polo Club members, and travelers.

The airline has also partnered with The New York Times, BBC, Quartz, and CNN to produce editorial travel features that will be labeled as “paid posts” or “sponsored content” and accompanied by the Cathay Pacific logo or #LifeWellTravelled campaign advertisements.

“Cathay Pacific has been rolling things out in a digital direction over the last couple of years, but this campaign is a significant acknowledgement that digital is the way forward,” says Brandon Cheung, managing partner of the McCann Cathay Pacific central team. “The approach to the native advertising, as well as the other digital formats, is if it works we will do more of it.”

The first of the brand’s native content appeared on The New York Times website two weeks ago, a story focused on the importance of business travel, while a second article on Quartz concentrates on leisure travel.

The native advertising strategy gives creative control to the media partners, based on a set of topics agreed to by Cathay Pacific. “Brands with too much [editorial] control don’t get the engagement they expect, so partnering with publishers on this made sense,” says Cheung.

Industry participants believe the move is a smart one for the airline and puts Cathay Pacific at a first mover advantage.

“Each element of this campaign may not be groundbreaking in itself, but it’s one of the most coherent and cohesive campaigns, of the sticking together of the digital equation coming out of Hong Kong,” says David Ketchum, chairman of the Digital and Direct Marketing Association Asia.

“The native advertising seems to be a smart way to round out the message with paid media – providing a concrete balance for the otherwise dreamy creative. It will be interesting to see what other content they create, and how much traffic it draws in search,” he adds.

The campaign has also received praise for bringing “the romance” back into airline travel.

“Cathay’s campaign focuses on the experience of travel, which is the right thing to do, because the essence of travel is exactly that, the experience,” says David Ko, digital strategist and managing director at Daylight Partnership. “It’s not just what happens at your destination, it’s how your airline can help make it enjoyable. In that sense Cathay Pacific has hit it on the nail.”

However, Ko notes recent criticism on social media of the airline’s IT services, including crashing mobile apps and unresponsive websites, and “this campaign does not address that.”

The initiative is an extension of the airline’s logo and design rebrand launched in October last year. It is being rolled out across the airline’s 33 global markets, beginning with Hong Kong, Taiwan, North America, the U.K. and Europe, Southeast Asia, Korea, China, Australia and Japan. Ongoing efforts at regional levels will continue throughout the year.

Some print and out-of-home (OOH) advertising is being employed as well to compare reception of the campaign across digital and non-digital channels.

The campaign runs until the end of February.

Subscribe to get your daily business insights

Whitepapers

US Mobile Streaming Behavior

Whitepaper | Mobile US Mobile Streaming Behavior

5y

US Mobile Streaming Behavior

Streaming has become a staple of US media-viewing habits. Streaming video, however, still comes with a variety of pesky frustrations that viewers are ...

View resource
Winning the Data Game: Digital Analytics Tactics for Media Groups

Whitepaper | Analyzing Customer Data Winning the Data Game: Digital Analytics Tactics for Media Groups

5y

Winning the Data Game: Digital Analytics Tactics f...

Data is the lifeblood of so many companies today. You need more of it, all of which at higher quality, and all the meanwhile being compliant with data...

View resource
Learning to win the talent war: how digital marketing can develop its people

Whitepaper | Digital Marketing Learning to win the talent war: how digital marketing can develop its people

2y

Learning to win the talent war: how digital market...

This report documents the findings of a Fireside chat held by ClickZ in the first quarter of 2022. It provides expert insight on how companies can ret...

View resource
Engagement To Empowerment - Winning in Today's Experience Economy

Report | Digital Transformation Engagement To Empowerment - Winning in Today's Experience Economy

4w

Engagement To Empowerment - Winning in Today's Exp...

Customers decide fast, influenced by only 2.5 touchpoints – globally! Make sure your brand shines in those critical moments. Read More...

View resource