Branding Bosses (series 2): Virgin Atlantic raises the bar sky-high

In the ninth part of Branding Bosses: Iconic Brands, I interviewed Kristina Heney, Chief Marketing and Experience Officer at Cirque du Soleil.

This week, in the final part of the series, I reached out to Luanne Calvert, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications at Virgin Atlantic.

In a special extended interview (which has been edited, but not condensed), Calvert talks about how Virgin Atlantic capitalises on customer engagement by creating content in ‘real-time,’ how the airline treated the Brexit result as an opportunity to construct a UK tourism marketing campaign and the company’s ambition to become one of the most shared brands on social media. 

Virgin Atlantic take-off. Credit: VIRGIN ATLANTIC

When Virgin Atlantic launched in 1984, it was a self-proclaimed ‘challenger’ brand. What does it mean to be a challenger brand today?

It’s not hard to maintain our ‘challenger’ brand roots in the airline industry. As they come and go, the new industry challengers make sure that we keep innovating the travel experience. Also, we’re around 12 per cent of the fleet size of our closest competitors, so we can’t compete on that basis. We compete on superior experience including personalised service, breadth of entertainment, Wi-Fi, our ‘Wander Wall’ (which I’ll talk about later) and small details such as a true English afternoon tea or ice cream to watch with movies. Being a challenger brand means always punching above your weight. For Virgin Atlantic, this means constantly innovating our travel experience and customer service and leading the pack in experimenting with new ways of marketing to acquire new customers. Keeping our products fresh and appealing is also a massive part of our innovative, challenger spirit. We were the first airline to introduce seat-back television. We are the only airline to have a bar on each plane and we took the airport lounge experience to another level with our award-winning Clubhouses. We’re always looking for new ways to push our customer experience to the next level and set the bar for competitors to follow. For example, we know airport and airline food has an image problem, so we’ve partnered with some of the best bars and restaurants in the world to create special menus in our Clubhouses. We invited Dandelyan to create bespoke cocktails for our London Heathrow Clubhouse, Whitechapel to create guests’ dishes for San Francisco, California, and BlackTail to design drinks for Newark, New Jersey. We’re also pioneering a sustainable food chain for our onboard meals. We want to surprise and delight our customers no matter how many times they’ve flown with us and also draw on the food trends of the amazing cities we serve. To remain a challenger brand, we also need to look beyond our own industry. Uber and Airbnb, for example, have changed the way consumers interact with brands. We recently launched a brand new website and app to ensure that, when travelling with Virgin Atlantic, our customers have the latest technology at their fingertips. To stay relevant, you have to stay agile.

JFK Clubhouse. Credit: VIRGIN ATLANTIC

Outline Virgin Atlantic’s approach to each of the following elements of marketing...

...advertising

For us challenger brands, it’s always ‘business as unusual’ and that goes for how we communicate with our customers. In terms of how we effectively communicate our brand story, we’re thinking less in terms of ‘advertising,’ more about ‘shareable content.’ Authentically differentiated brands no longer have to rely on advertising, which is essentially paid one-way communication. Brands that people love are able to get others to do the talking for them. What hasn’t changed is the importance of a persuasive brand story to convince customers to try your brand and a great product or service to keep them. What has changed is how this can be accomplished. It used to be about controlling the ideas. Now, the best ideas encourage audiences to share their own ideas, their own brand stories. Today, our job is to encourage the brand stories we want to see shared. That’s not to say that we’ve walked away from large-scale campaigns. We just need to ensure we’re linking them to a key insight that sparks engagement and discussion in both paid and earned media. This makes the communications more believable, but also requires more creative storytelling to get the conversation going in the right direction. ‘Brand kernels’ are the central parts of the story that get amplified. Our recent campaign tapped into the ambition we all hold of “One day, I will...road trip America or run a marathon,” but we don’t quite get around to doing it. We found a collection of people who had shared their ‘one day’ ambitions on social media and we broadcast their tweets in Waterloo station, central London. They had 24 hours to claim their tweets and we would make their dreams come true. It was about encouraging people to go out there and achieve what they wanted. Technology is key across the marketing stages – from awareness to advocacy. To remain ‘front-of-mind,’ you have to be nimble in the digital space. We recently adopted the Adobe suite of tools, which is one of the most advanced in the industry – allowing us to measurably deliver the right message to the right person at the right time.

...branding

It’s no longer about brand management, it’s about brand curation. Brands are co-managed by the customers, the press, partners, social media influencers, employees and stakeholders such as travel agents, in our industry. Now, it’s the job of the marketers to do their very best to curate the brand conversations in ways that will drive trust, loyalty and, ultimately, create passionate fans. But this can only be done successfully when you have an authentic and differentiating product or service, as Virgin Atlantic does. This is great for the customers. Brands can no longer hide behind fancy production that ‘glams-up’ an inferior brand. As the truth is revealed, you’ll get feedback that will destroy your brand. So brands need to get better. Your experience has to be better, your customer service must be responsive and your authentic brand stories need to be engaging in order to be shared and retold. We have a truly iconic brand – and positioning that brand for the future is one of my absolute priorities. Not many companies have been able to forge, never mind sustain, such an identity and we focus on remaining fresh and relevant. At the core is the Virgin red, but it’s important to also nurture our own Virgin Atlantic identity – a “go get it” spirit that champions our customers to reach their potential. It’s how we take our innovative and inspiring flying experience and show it off to the world across all touch points. 

Virgin Atlantic 787. Credit: VIRGIN ATLANTIC

...content

Content – shareable content – that’s where it’s at. When a brand is part of an industry that these audiences are passionate about, such as travel, and you’re responsible for a brand with passionate fans like Virgin Atlantic, you have the assets that most brands can only dream to leverage. That’s why we have a goal to become one of the most shared brands on social media. This means our marketing jobs are evolving. The role of our agencies is changing. We’re organising the team around these principles. We’re integrating our press, advertising, events, sponsorships and social media teams. Initially, responsible marketers often get nervous because control is reduced and the need for velocity of ideas increases. However, once the wins start, the excitement is addictive. You immediately see which of your stories commercially resonates with your audiences, then you increase the resource investment on the hits, Silicon Valley-style. Over the last few months, we’ve achieved our highest-performing social posts ever and I’m really proud of the work the team has done. From creating a cheeky Valentine’s Day video that earned millions of views to jumping on #EdBallsDay [Ed Balls is a retired British politician], earned shareable content is where we want to be. There’s a lot of inward-looking brand content being pushed out and the travel industry is particularly cluttered. Identifying culturally relevant moments and trends that our customers connect with is key. We want Virgin Atlantic to be part of the conversation in a way that feels genuine. We focus on thumb-stopping content that’s interesting and also delivers our message. Attention spans are shorter than ever and it’s a heavily saturated market place. We want to stand out, so I encourage the team to take risks and closely follow the news agenda to jump on opportunities in real-time. 

Sir Richard Branson’s mentor, the late Freddie Laker (founder and chairman of the now defunct Laker Airways), advised Branson to position himself at the front-and-centre of Virgin marketing. However, Jez Frampton, Global CEO of the Interbrand Group, has been quoted as saying: “Every day that Richard gets older, the issue of the Virgin brand becomes a bigger one because so much of it is tied to him.” What is your response to this statement?

Sir Richard Branson has created a brand that is the envy of companies around the world. From the very beginning, the “screw it, let’s do it” spirit of Virgin Atlantic has set us apart from competitors and, as we’ve grown up, it’s been important to retain this spirit within our people. Creating engaging, shareable content is really important for the millennial generation who don’t necessarily associate the airline with our founder. 

Sir Richard Branson. Credit: VIRGIN ATLANTIC

Affordability is one of the cornerstones of the Virgin Atlantic brand. In 1989, Sarah Miller, former editor of Condé Nast Traveller, made the following statement: “The company [Virgin] reinvented and modernised the original glamour of flying by creating a hotel experience in the air. And, even more cleverly, didn’t do this through elitism but, in replacing First Class with Upper Class, proved themselves more accessible.” With the rise of low-cost long-haul carriers, how is Virgin Atlantic maintaining affordability?

Competition is good for the industry and good for consumers as it keeps everyone on their toes. However, sometimes brands are in danger of racing to the bottom in a bid to achieve headline-grabbing fares. By the time you add food, bags and transfers from secondary airports, we remain very competitive with low-cost carriers. Together with Delta Air Lines, we offer high frequency to popular destinations and great onward connectivity that low-cost competitors simply can’t match. Our unrivalled service, delivered with Virgin flair, is what our customers love us for – and we won’t compromise on that. We don’t believe that flying should be ordinary and we’ve continued to invest in our experience while also matching fares on comparative routes – for example, by ensuring we have a fully Wi-Fi-connected fleet. We recently unveiled a brand new Clubhouse at London Gatwick Airport and we’re refurbishing our flagship London Heathrow Clubhouse for its 10th anniversary. We’re refitting our A330 Upper Class cabin to bring it in line with the popular 787 layout and introducing our innovative Wander Wall – a social space with free snacks – to premium economy.  

Virgin Atlantic coined the term ‘jetrosexual’ to define a new breed of traveller. For the benefit of the readers, what does jetrosexual mean and how does the Virgin Atlantic brand cater for customers who fall into this category?

That term was coined well before my time at Virgin Atlantic, but I think it’s still relevant today. It embodied a new generation of jetsetters who travelled by air just as easily and as often as their parents had travelled by car. Frequent flyers are much more common now, so it’s even more important for us to make sure they feel that flying is an adventure. Our mantra is “always for the customer, with flair” and that starts from the moment a customer visits our website. Our crew are encouraged to bring their personalities to work, so they’ll never sound like they’re reciting from a script. Our food is locally sourced and personally tasted by in-house chefs and the choice of onboard entertainment is new and edgy. For example, we were the only airline to show the Tom Hanks film, Sully [which is about a captain making an emergency landing in New York’s Hudson River]. The whole experience is designed to make our customers feel like they can take on the world.

Last year’s Brexit result cast a cloud over the UK economy – with the British Pound falling to a 31-year low. This year, Virgin Atlantic attempted to turn this on its head by creating a Virgin Atlantic ‘Brexit Calculator’ and producing an advertising campaign called ‘The Bright Side of Brexit.’ Most brands typically avoid political subjects, but Virgin Atlantic rather embraced the Brexit debate as a marketing opportunity. How would you describe the impact of the campaign?

Since Brexit, the majority of the industry has seen a weakening of demand for travel from the UK. On the flipside, a weaker pound has made the UK a more appealing place to visit for holidaymakers in the US and other international markets. The Brexit Calculator is a game, which lets people select all the fun, quintessential things they might like to do on holiday in the UK and notifies them when they’ve saved enough to pay for their plane ticket. It’s a cheeky way of inspiring people to think about booking a trip to London and it’s been popular – so far, generating 10 million unique views and a return on investment of 12 to one. Tourism is already a major contributor to the UK economy and will become more important as we move towards Brexit. It’s important to attract international visitors and showcase the fact that the Brits still have their sense of humour. 

Virgin Atlantic is in partnership with the US carrier, Delta Airlines. What are the marketing advantages of this UK-US joint venture, particularly in the post-Brexit era?

Our partnership with Delta Air Lines makes us stronger and more resilient for the future. It was a natural link-up and we’ve learned a great deal from each other. We’re both market leaders and household names in our respective countries and bringing us together offers up the leading transatlantic joint venture. Our combined network means that we can seamlessly connect to over 200 US destinations from the UK and offer a combined frequency of up to 10 flights per day between London and New York. With Brexit weakening demand for travel to the US, it’s more important than ever that we work closely with Delta to encourage more visitors and tourism to the UK. This summer, we’ll become the first transatlantic joint venture to have a Wi-Fi-enabled fleet. The joint venture offers many other benefits for our customers, too. We recently co-located at London Heathrow Airport, making it easier and more convenient for connecting customers. It’s something we’re looking to do at more airports, such as Los Angeles. We’ve also adopted Delta’s IT system, which powers our website and app to ensure a seamless experience for customers booking with either airline.

The Virgin Atlantic brand is well-known for staying ahead of the curve. For instance, it was the first airline to introduce individual TVs to business class passengers (and eventually to all passengers, irrespective of their class of travel). With the success of Fitbit and Pokémon Go, wearable technology and augmented reality are seeping into the public consciousness. Does Virgin Atlantic have any plans to use these new forms of technology to improve the in-flight experience?

We’ve never been afraid to embrace new technology, but only when it genuinely enhances our customer experience or solves a problem. Being the first airline to introduce seat-back television improved the long-haul flying experience and becoming the first British airline to have a fully Wi-Fi-enabled fleet helps people work and play on-the-move. At the moment, we’re working on a project with Microsoft to bring augmented reality to the sky, which we’re very excited about, and we’re also continuing to roll-out a series of new functions on our website and app to help make the overall travel experience simpler. We don’t just embrace technology onboard – we use it to solve problems across the customer experience. A few years ago, we realised technology could help us take our product out on the road and let people step onboard a Virgin Atlantic plane wherever they are. Our IDA system – an immersive plane experience – provides the sights, sounds and smells on-the-move. We’re definitely looking into new technologies, such as augmented reality, but we won’t invest in technology for the sake of it. 

What is next for the Virgin Atlantic brand?

This is a very exciting time to be in the aviation industry with so much new technology available and a real focus on connecting the UK with the rest of the world. This year, we’ll be launching six new routes including the first Virgin Atlantic flights to Seattle, the first-ever flight between the UK and Varadero, Cuba, and the only service between London Heathrow and Barbados. We recently announced an order for 12 Airbus A350 aircrafts set to join the fleet in 2018, so we’re busy testing and designing the cabin. We work closely with a group of customers to test every element of the cabin design – including inviting people to spend a night sleeping in the new Upper Class suites. To ensure we have an unrivalled business class product, we’re also refitting our A330 Upper Class cabin to feature the most popular elements of the 787 cabin service, such as the suite design, mood lighting and bar layout. We’re focusing on being more responsive as a marketing team. We have an in-house brand design team and studio creating shareable content, so we can react to the news agenda or trends quickly – so expect more video content and meme leveraging. We’ll also be carrying out more experiments to see what sticks. It’s an exciting time to be part of the iconic Virgin Atlantic brand and I’m thrilled to be part of it.

Virgin Atlantic: A flight path of success

Sir Richard Branson touches down at Seattle Tacoma International Airport (inaugural flight). Credit: VIRGIN ATLANTIC

• 1984: On 22 June, the first Virgin Atlantic plane – a Boeing 747 – departed from London Gatwick to Newark, New Jersey. Business class passengers were treated to a free limousine at both ends of their trip and were issued with a free economy ticket for future travel with the airline.
• 1992: Virgin Atlantic launched the first super economy service, branded ‘premium economy.’
• 1993: Selling through intermediaries, Virgin Atlantic sold an ‘open-jaw’ ticket from London Heathrow to Los Angeles and New York to London Heathrow for ￡179. This price, which is believed to be the lowest-ever fare of its kind, is equivalent to travelling 9,000 air miles at a rate of ￡0.02 per mile.
• 2008: On a 747 from London, England, to Amsterdam, Netherlands, Virgin Atlantic carried out a biofuel demonstration with GE Aviation. This was reported as the world’s first flight on a commercial airline powered by biofuel. (In 2014, The Telegraph reported that most of Virgin Atlantic’s profits were being used to develop clean fuels.)
• 2017: Virgin Atlantic announced that all its aircraft will be Wi-Fi-enabled by the end of May.

Virgin Atlantic: Written in the stars?

Sir Richard Branson onboard inaugural flight to Detroit. Credit: VIRGIN ATLANTIC

Branson’s first business venture under the Virgin banner was in the entertainment industry and it came in the form of Virgin Records (later Virgin Megastores).

Despite launching more than 400 companies under the Virgin brand – ranging from travel and transport to leisure, media and telecoms – it may well have been written in the stars for the young Branson to enter the airline business. After all, airlines and airplanes are in the Branson lineage in one form or another. In the 1940s, Branson’s mother, Eve, was a stewardess on the first commercial jet plane. In addition, his uncle flew spitfire planes in the Second World War (and even survived being shot out of the sky).

Dismayed by uncomfortable airline seating, lack of in-flight entertainment, rude staff and poor-quality food, Branson wanted a better service for the general public and himself (he often flew while running Virgin Records). So, with his heart set on challenging the airline industry – hence the ‘challenger’ brand mentality – Virgin Atlantic was born. Branson’s business strategy was to succeed within the first year of business or exit the market altogether. Needless to say, he succeeded and the rest, as they say, is history.

Virgin Atlantic is arguably one of the most easily recognisable airline brands in the world. But as iconic as its ‘flying lady’ imagery is, the Virgin Atlantic brand is a dynamic one – unafraid of leveraging itself to capitalise on public sentiment. As one editor put it, “It’s a clever early bird that always catches the mood of the moment.”

For instance, in 2010, Virgin Atlantic promoted ‘The Wizarding World of Harry Potter’ by applying a large decal to its planes. Three years later, Virgin Atlantic marked the quarter century anniversary of “Where’s Wally?” by hiding Wally in the livery on its Barbarella Boeing 747 planes. Earlier this year, even the image of the former Member of Parliament (MP), Ed Balls, replaced the ‘flying lady’!

The Virgin brand is a playful one and, over the years, Virgin Atlantic in particular has been known to poke fun at its rivals – most notably, its closest competitor, British Airways (BA). When Branson heard that the BA-sponsored London Eye was experiencing technical difficulties being raised, he wasted no time in sending an airship to the location bearing the sign, “BA can’t get it up!” The world’s press was waiting and so too was Branson’s airship. Like Virgin Atlantic, it was right on time!

Virgin Atlantic’s “BA can’t get it up” advertising campaign. Credit: VIRGIN ATLANTIC

Virgin Atlantic’s mission statement is, “to embrace the human spirit and let it fly.” As the crème de la crème of challenger brands, the spirits of passengers onboard Virgin Atlantic flights are positively sky high.

I hope you enjoyed Branding Bosses series one (World’s Most Valuable Brands, according to Forbes) and series two (Iconic Brands). Branding Bosses may return someday but, in the meantime, please stay tuned for a special three-part mini-series here on LinkedIn. (‘Follow’ me or Regal Content for updates.)

Thanks for reading! Got an appetite for advertising? Want to “brand it like Beckham”? Captivated by ‘cool’ content? Check out Regal Content where we aim to make your brand reign supreme by creating content that’s fit for a king…or queen.