Qantas to ramp up advertising inflight, and in lounges too
By David Flynn, April 15 2014
Qantas is looking to capitalise on its captive market of travellers with new advertising ventures both in the air and in its airport lounges geared towards raking in more revenue.
Lounges may no longer be quite the pre-flight haven they are today, with 'out-of-home' advertising company oOh! Media picking up a contract "to deliver advertising and marketing solutions" for domestic Qantas Clubs and Qantas Business Lounges.
“The Qantas lounge members are an important audience for many, particularly premium brands" said oOh! CEO Brendon Cook, who added that "the average time spent in the lounge is 40 minutes adds to our ability to provide clients with more ways to connect with consumers along their journey."
But it won't all be in-your-face advertising, with oOh! offering "promotional opportunities including experiential zones with tasting and pop-up bars in lounges, car promotional zones in lounge entrances, placement of products and brochures within the lounges (and) Wi-Fi sponsorship."
Inflight ads will also see an overhaul, with Qantas considering on-screen banners and sponsored content on dedicated channels to supplement the conventional ads before the start of each program,
Different ads will also be screened to passengers in first, business and economy class rather than everyone seeing the same commercials.
“We know that in-flight entertainment is a really important part of people’s journey," explained Olivia Wirth, Qantas group executive for marketing. "It’s something we invest heavily in and we’re looking at strengthening it further over the next 12 months."
“Our approach to date has been quite conventional, with TV adverts slotted in between programs. We’re going to the market for some fresh ideas, and while we want to maximise our revenue we also want to improve the in-flight entertainment experience overall."
However, Wirth said that "our golden rule is that you can’t compromise people’s viewing experience with adverts that are overly intrusive. There’s a careful balance there that we don’t intend to disturb."
Qantas has invited five TV networks – SBS, Seven, Nine, Ten and Foxtel – to pitch for its inflight advertising business alongside incumbent Bauer Media Group, which also produces the inflight Qantas magazine.
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David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.
12 Jun 2013
Total posts 732
Oh, goody.
12 Mar 2014
Total posts 128
"Strengthening it" - That's one way to put it...
22 Jul 2011
Total posts 95
"promotional opportunities including experiential zones with tasting and pop-up bars in lounges, car promotional zones in lounge entrances, placement of products and brochures within the lounges (and) Wi-Fi sponsorship." Apart from maybe the pop-up bars, Qantas have been doing all these things for years.
21 Apr 2012
Total posts 3006
3 words: Fast Forward Button
Singapore Airlines - KrisFlyer
06 Feb 2014
Total posts 15
Three other words: your own tablet.
12 Mar 2014
Total posts 128
I have a feeling it'll be just like those anti-piracy ads preceding the feature on a rented DVD - no fast-forward functionality until you've been subjected to a full barage. Will have to rely on the volume button alone...
12 Jun 2013
Total posts 732
Last time I flew Virgin America, the safety announcement was followed by an on-screen ad or two with the audio played over the cabin PA system. Maybe they'll start doing that.
United, meanwhile, just advertises themselves before the safety announcement because we all *really* wanna see CEO Jeff Smisek's smirky face telling us how great his crappy airline is.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
20 Mar 2014
Total posts 131
i think this is a great idea!
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
17 Aug 2012
Total posts 2199
Please explain.
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards platnium
30 Nov 2013
Total posts 43
Uh duh the People (qantas) want/need money
04 Nov 2010
Total posts 670
I like the idea of extra channels and shows aimed at specific audiences. Maybe on domestic flights they could have a half-hour Business Travel show, maybe they should run the show on Sky TV which AusBT does. But I don't like the idea of interrupting shows with adverts, just like TV channels do today, or putting banner advertys onto the screens, those are incredibly annoying. But I suppose for TV shows, there are natural ad breaks so they could just put in ONE short 30 second ad at each break, as long as they don't go overboard.
25 Sep 2013
Total posts 1242
Inflight ads - nothing new or unusual. SQ and CX have been doing it for years, to name but a couple of airlines.
04 Nov 2010
Total posts 670
Qantas has been doing it for years too, eminere. This article explains that they want to do more of it and in different ways that the usual advert at the start of a movie or TV show.
VA
17 Dec 2013
Total posts 47
Gee, I hope those poor guys in the Chairman's Lounge don't miss out on the car displays and pop ups and other crap that already clutter over crowded Qantas Lounges. I'd
I'd hate to think that they were missing out...
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