British Airways, the UK's flag carrier, recently marked 100 years of connecting the continent with India. The airline, which first started flying customers from London to New Delhi in 1924, has launched an ad campaign in Hindi to connect with the Indian consumers in a hyperlocal manner.
During a conversation with e4m, Calum Laming, Chief Customer Officer, British Airways, shared that India is an incredibly important partner for Britain.
To showcase the India connect, the brand will soon launch a TV ad campaign across all their social media platforms in India, UK, US and Canada. Also, an out-of-home campaign shot by Avani Rai will be launched just in time for Diwali celebrations.
Talking about the campaign, Laming shared, "We all know how it feels to travel alone on your first flight, but you're not alone with us, your family in the skies. In celebration of 100 years of flying between India and the UK this year, watch a young woman on her way to take her first flight."
According to Laming it is their incredible team in India that has helped British Airways build a concrete brand value and consumer loyalty.
“We have over 37,000 colleagues globally, and more than 2,500 of them are based here in India. It's the biggest team outside of the UK. We can proudly represent who we are, be an international airline, and at the same time customise the product and improve the food and beverage offering accordingly. We have that attention to detail and our colleagues help us design that,” he shared.
Laming believes that the brand has been able to sustain a century only because of its investment in people. “We have experts on every flight, speaking the local language, enabling us to talk to customers and take their feedback. Our airport, commercial and engineering teams are also wonderful. I think this has been one of the things that has really made us stand out,” he shared.
The airline is celebrating the special occasion of 100th anniversay with its customers onboard by offering them a glimpse of the Indian culture through curated menus featuring traditional dishes, a special spiced chai from Twinings and a single malt from Rajasthan (business class). The inflight entertainment includes a large collection of Indian films. This celebration aims to blend British services with Indian tastes and heritage, enhancing the customer experience across all cabins, he explained.
Laming elaborated that British Airways has concentrated very much on TV, cinema, social, digital, and out-of-home mediums for this campaign. However, we have not tried influencer marketing so much yet, he mentioned.
Speaking of evolving consumer trends, Laming shared that a lot has changed following the Covid pandemic. “It includes the way we listen to music and the way we watch TV. Now brands have to adapt their marketing strategies to changing consumer preferences using social media. We need both snippet advertisements as well as the longer advertisements as well as out-of-home.”
Secondly, everyone missed flying and travelling during the pandemic, which means brands needed to change their product for the new consumer post the pandemic. They had to harness consumer’s wish and realise that the market has changed a little bit. At British Airways, Laming noticed there was a need for more leisure travel than business travel that was before the pandemic, which really had an impact.
“But ultimately we are an airline. As British Airways, we are about our people, we are about our customers, and that will never change.”
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