Virgin Australia kisses nice goodbye with new brand platform from Special
Virgin Australia has partnered with independent creative agency, Special Australia, to reinvent the experience of flying, launching new brand platform ‘Bring on Wonderful’.
The platform launches with a new campaign that follows 12 months of behind the scenes work by Virgin Australia and Special to transform what the experience of flying “could and should feel like”, following Special’s appointment to the airline’s creative account in November 2021.
Other assets:
Middle seat lottery 15″: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeqS46BTaYs
The appointment marked the end of Virgin Australia’s previous three year contract with DDB, with the airline taking on a new approach as travel restrictions lifted post COVD-19.
‘Bring on Wonderful’ encapsulates Virgin’s mission to be an airline that genuine cares about its people and culture, but also curates and innovates within the flight experience, making it an uplifting one for all.
An integrated brand campaign features the airline’s people, spotlighting Virgin Australia’s commitment to customer service in a fun hero film that sees the airline’s diverse crew and passengers come together for a ‘more wonderful’ way to fly. The campaign will run across a multitude of touchpoints including cinema, TV, outdoor and digital, with messaging spanning brand as well as key proof points across Velocity Frequent Flyer, Virgin Australian Business Flyer, experience, value and service.
Libby Minogue, chief marketing officer Virgin Australia, said: “’Bring on Wonderful’ starts with our people – because it’s our people and their incredible dedication to our guests that makes Virgin Australia so special. We are delighted to create new and innovative experiences for our guests which challenge the status quo and that is what ‘Bring on Wonderful’ is all about. This isn’t just a brand campaign – we are putting words in action to make the flying experience unique and truly wonderful.”
One such innovation developed by Virgin Australia and Special includes the ‘Middle Seat Lottery’, which takes middle seats on domestic flights from the least favourite to the most wonderful. Through the lottery, those guests sitting in middle seats will have a chance to win hundreds of thousands of dollar’s worth of prizes, with a new prize and winner every week.
“To do more than the brand communications but to get stuck into Virgin Australia’s actual flight experience is a humbling but also incredibly rewarding opportunity. It enormously helps make what we’re saying and doing seamless” said Tom Martin, Co-CCO at Special.
Other experience enhancements that have been launched through the partnership include: a refreshed brand identity with new logo and design; refresh menus with ‘Reverse Kids Meals’ where children can opt to have dessert first; the launch of Virgin Australia Business Flyer to provide rewards to Australian small business; the re-opening and refresh of lounges with new sensorial experience enhancements; and a commitment to a net-zero emissions target by 2050. These are just the first wave of initiatives, with more rollouts to come.
Dave Hartmann, strategy partner at Special said: “We’re big believers in purpose-driven experience design, so being able to partner with Virgin Australia on signature moments in their journey is such an honour.”
“It’s a really powerful insight that the airline category has been by default just aspiring to achieve a nice flight,” said Julian Schreiber, Co-CCO at Special. “Virgin Australia being ready to play at a much higher level has given us an incredible mission to work towards.”
‘Bring on Wonderful’ marks the first major campaign since the rollout of the new logo and brand identity developed via Special.
Adam Shear, head of Special design said: “The Virgin Australia brand identity should reflect and evoke energy and vivacity. Never stale, dull or lifeless – it is dynamic and full of life, movement and emotion. Our photography style and colour palette should make you feel something, with the tailfin device at the beating heart of it. It acts as a window into the life and personality that we connect people to, and it ensures that the brand always has the right energy to it.”
Credits
Virgin Australia Group
Libby Minogue – Chief Marketing Officer
Paul Jones – Chief Customer & Digital Officer
Erina Chapman – Brand Marketing Leader
Ali Dunn – General Manager, Customer Strategy & Insights
Alex Plummer, General Manager, Digital
Ange Grant, Head Of Paid Media, Retail And Content
Tiffany Rowe, Retail & Revenue Growth Leader
Lauren Barripp, Brand Marketing Specialist
Matt Weston Green, Brand Marketing Advisor
Helen Mcenery, Marketing Manager, SME
Matthew Ongarello, Head Of Consumer PR & Social
Lauren Hunt, Consumer PR Manager
Special Australia
Chief Creative Officers – Tom Martin & Julian Schreiber
Creative Directors – Jade Manning & Vince Osmond
Creatives – Toby Moore & Luke Thompson, Lauren Regolini & Locki Choi, Jack Wall & Phil
Harkness
Head Of Design – Adam Shear
Designers – Abbey Swinn, Maggie Webster
CEO – Lindsey Evans & Cade Heyde
Strategy Partner – Dave Hartmann
General Manager – Lily Waters
Team Lead – Rachel Mcewen
Business Director – Sarah Calver, Annie Millar, Meri Stewart, Priya Addams Williams
Business Manager – Brynee Roche
Strategists – Will Moore, Georgia Thomas
Head Of Film Production – Sevda Cemo
Integrated Producer, Social – Steph Wilkinson
Senior Stills Producer – Sonia Ebrington
Digital Director – James Simmons
Digital Producer – Stacey Szabo
Special Made Editor Social – Ollie Knocker / Fraser Kelton
PHD
Group Business Director – Erin Hudson
Strategist – Remi Baker
Business Director – Jeremy Hooper
Group Digital Director – Andie Potter
Planning Director – Riya Thakerar
Investment Manager – Hugh Davidson
Production Company – Division
Director – Sanjay De Silva
Cinematographer – Max Walter
Executive Producer – Genevieve Triquet
Producer – Sarah Nichols
Edit House – The Editors
Editor – Ryan Bouchier
Post Producer – Adrian Konarkski
Post Production – Fin Design And Effects
Colourist – Matt Fezz
Flame Artist – Mikey Brown
Producer – Isabelle Howarth/Emily Newbould
Music
Artist – El Plastico
Publisher – Public Press
Sound Studio – Rumble Studios
Sound Engineer – Cam Milne
Photography – Pool Collective
Photographers – Ingvar Kenne & Sean Izzard
Retoucher – Mark Sterne & Visual Thing
Love the middle seat lottery. Not a fan of the visual hierarchy in the imagery – wayy too much going on, and it steals focus from the branding. Perhaps that’s just these early executions though and it will settle down.
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