Flying on insight: How Air Canada soared over market turbulence and increased sales on its winter flights - without showing a single plane

Air Canada, Canada's flag carrier airline, overcame market turbulence and increased sales on its winter flights without succumbing to industry tropes.

Campaign details

Brand: Air CanadaAdvertiser: Air CanadaAgency: J. Walter Thompson

Summary

With increasing competition from low-cost transatlantic airlines, Air Canada faced a battle to fill planes to Canada and the USA – particularly in the winter months, when passenger numbers were low.

Rather than competing with its rivals on their own terms, Air Canada took a radical approach, #coolnotcold, based around audience insight.

Realising its audience, liberal, cosmopolitan London 'travellers', were in many ways 'culturally Canadian,' they built a campaign that applied a 'Canadian traveller' attitude to its destinations.

Sales value rocketed to 115% above...

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