By DITA DE BONI
Could Qantas New Zealand's troubles be related to its marketing strategy?
Not really, say ad/marketing specialists.
The Qantas New Zealand account is held by Saatchi & Saatchi, which did not want to talk about its client's present turbulence, except to confirm the airline was still a client.
Tasman Pacific - which owns the fledgling airline and operates it as a Qantas franchise - and Qantas originally signalled they would work together on advertising, despite the Qantas account in Australia being held by Saatchi & Saatchi's bitter rival M&C Saatchi.
When it was launched last September, Qantas New Zealand's television campaign took the Kiwiana route, with a cute take on the old local classic "Haere Mai."
And the Qantas kangaroo logo was seen by some as a boon to the New Zealand airline, simply because of some people's antipathy towards Air New Zealand.
Foote Cone & Belding chief executive Greg Eichmann said he was not the only Kiwi who would still rather fly any alternative airline to Air New Zealand on domestic routes "apart from maybe Aeroflot or Pakistan International Airlines."
"The reasons behind [Qantas NZ's] present situation is more linked to broader strategic, financial and general operational issues than they are with the brand and depictions of kangaroos on their planes."
Stephen Pearson, chief executive of Lowe Lintas, agrees. "The real traction - success or failure - is much more about the capability of the operator to deal with [the] big issues [such as] the position of the Star Alliance frequent flyer programme, Air New Zealand and its fairly complete offering domestically and so on ... "The branding issue of the airline is a long-term issue and I doubt it was at the core of the problem."
Marketing specialist Geoff Shaw agrees. "Rebranding is a big change and you could argue that the Ansett New Zealand brand had a great 'Avis - we try harder' feel to it - it was warm and people-oriented. Certainly the transition campaign to Qantas mirrored that.
"I can't see the kangaroo having a great positive effect in the short term but in terms of the effects on the business - the brand change is a minor issue in a whole list of bigger challenges in front of it.
"Marketers in the airline industry struggle with so many variables and alliance issues that a fresh coat of paint and flag can't address in a few months what years of consistent campaigns haven't, except perhaps in the eyes of international travellers."
One source close to the action said the airline never recovered ground lost by Ansett over its dispute with pilots in 1999, which saw some business travellers leave the operation's customer base.
Qantas NZ - the joey that doesn't quite jump
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.