Welcome On-Board To Flight Disco
Do you actually pay attention to the in-flight safety videos that is played when the plane starts to push back?
Or rather, how many of you actually watch in-flight safety videos online AND share it with others?
Welcome to the new age where in-flight safety videos are the newest thing for airlines to grab attention, garner positive sentiments on social media as well as increase online buzz!
While many might refute this, one of the earliest in-flight videos that caused a stir was a UGC (user generated content) video on Cebu Pacific Airlines cabin crew dancing to Lady Gaga while giving the mandatory safety demonstration.
The feedback?
The video went viral organically and viewers shared the video via emails, Twitter, Facebook etc. As I write, there are 9,913,378 views on YouTube. Not bad at all for a LCC(low-cost carrier) from Philippines. According to a statement issued by the airline, “This was an experiment that we hope to repeat and also a chance to showcase the talent of some of our cabin crew staff.”
Taking things one step even further is the main attraction of today’s article – Air New Zealand. The kiwi airline has got people buzzing about their edgy, funny and at times, questionable in-flight safety videos. All in all, the have produced at 3 videos, starting with “Bare Essentials”, “Crazy About Rugby” and “Fit To Fly”.
Bare Essentials
Naturally, “Bare Essentials” cause a little stir when it first came out as the cabin crew and the captain were literally naked, save for body paint. cheeky remarks and puns and facial expressions added into their dialogue such as “Even if you fly with us often, we’ll appreciate it if you’ll take a second look”. Mmm hmm…it sure does raises some eye brows there. But guess what – 4 days after the videos was posted online, it received 1.2 million views.
All Blacks
A brilliant collaboration with the All Blacks was a great hit and it appealed to many, especially fans of the kiwi rugby team. I bet you can imagine how quickly that video circulated amongst rugby fans. However, as much as the video was well received, no man is perfect and that saying applies to videos as well. A short section which shows one of the All Blacks center refusing an offer to kiss the gay steward riled the feathers for some people in the gay community. However the next video after gave a subtle “response” to all of that.
A little after 4 months since the last in-flight safety video was launched to the world, they decided to get US fitness guru, Richard Simmons, to do a video with the theme “Fit to Fly”. The result? We think it is an absolute hit! Sure, Richard Simmons may be a little scary to some folks but believe us when we say that you can’t quite take your eyes off the video.
And that is exactly what the kiwi airlines want passengers to do. Air New Zealand spokesperson, Mike Tod says: “Safety is paramount at Air New Zealand and Fit to Fly will again get our passengers sitting up and taking notice of these important preflight messages in an engaging and fun way. Simmons’ fitness moves will definitely ensure that all eyes are on the safety briefing”.
I wasn’t even on board their flight and I couldn’t tear my eyes from the video either. Check it out yourself if you haven’t!
No Youku video available
Interestingly, the Featured Brand in Brand Karma University is Air New Zealand and you can see an increase in positive sentiment as well as increased chatter about the brand online. The video was posted on YouTube last Sunday, 27 March and went live on-board aircrafts on Monday, 28 March.
What does this all mean?
Air New Zealand has successfully used YouTube as a channel to effective reach out to others who have not flown with them before and shared information about the airline with them in a cool, fun and interesting way. They have a total of 3121 subscribers and an impressive number of views for their channel.
Does it mean you go out and start filming a sensational video for your brand? Not quite.
The kiwis have found a method that works for them and they’ve stuck to their game plan. They have also proven that it is not hard to master social media and to get people talking about you. Keep your guests, subscribers, fans engaged, satisfied, happy – and you will find your brand will very likely be at the tip of their tongue.
Obviously, it will be hard to please everyone so you’ll just have to make an intelligent, informed decision on what you will do and make sure that if there is a (social media) slip up anywhere, you respond to it quickly and effectively, on the double.
Remember, the harsh reality of social media means that if you don’t handle your damage control well, somebody else will cut right in and whisk your fans out of your hands.
In ending, here’s a video that has an interesting twist in who were the ones who are doing the complaining. Instead of passengers not liking the video, it was the cabin crew themselves that blasted the video – chiding Hollywood superstar, John Travolta – a veteran pilot himself – for referring to cabin crew members as “the team“.
No Youku video available
See what I mean by you can’t please everyone?