Air New Zealand lures SG travellers with pre-travel ad couples can relate to

The flagship carrier airline for New Zealand, Air New Zealand,  has launched a new campaign film with the tagline “That indescribable feeling”  in line New Zealand lifting pre-departure COVID-19 testing requirements yesterday, and opening of its borders by the end of July.

The film captures the feeling of the desire to travel due to travel restrictions erected during the pandemic. It follows the story of a couple flying to New Zealand following the easing of pre-departure testing requirements. They choose their travel outfits, review their itinerary and choose their seats. The film portrays a striking difference between the couple's mindsets with the female partner being eager to travel, while the male partner being somewhat indifferent. The film then reveals that the male partner had been preparing in his own way and was also anticipating this trip. One such instance was when he practised his “Kia Ora”, a Māori-language greeting used in New Zealand. 

As part of this campaign, content creators such as Nicole Chang Min and Audrey Ooi are also brought on board to share their take on the campaign tagline through a video reel and contest giveaway, enabling fans a chance to win flight tickets to New Zealand.

Joycelyn Chen, head of marketing SSEA, UK and Europe, Air New Zealand told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that the launch of the campaign in Singapore stemmed from a surge in flight bookings from Singapore to New Zealand after the opening up of borders as well as Singapore's position as an international and regional hub for travellers who are exploring the world. Air New Zealand worked with creative and communications agency Third Space Asia and dentsu International to produce the campaign, which will run on Meta and Google platforms.

Chen added that the campaign raises awareness of the airline's return to the skies after a two-year hiatus. "The pandemic was the first time in a generation that we’ve been told we can’t travel and while we’re learning to live with Covid-19, the prospect of travel is familiar, yet unfamiliar. The return to ‘normalcy’ is indescribable, yet exhilarating," she said. Meanwhile, the influencers involved will be holding week-long giveaways for roundtrip flights between Singapore and New Zealand.

Jonathan Zhang, general manager, Asia, Air New Zealand, said that the return to the skies is one of the most exhilarating times for travellers who have not travelled overseas for a long time. "The increase in flight frequencies for the SIN-AKL (non-stop) route from three times a week to daily provides greater peace of mind for our customers who are experiencing the travel frenzy in the region. We are heartened by the growing demand for flights since New Zealand’s reopening to Singapore, and remain committed to delivering our high safety and service standards for customers in Asia," he said.

Air New Zealand is no stranger in creatively capturing current events and feelings. Previously in 2020, Air New Zealand launched a safety video titled “A Journey to Safety”, aimed at highlighting the impact of New Zealand’s biodiversity crisis. It featured a young girl who transports a lost takahē (a flightless bird indigenous to New Zealand) to his new home with help from Air New Zealand and the Department of Conservation, while featuring New Zealand's landscapes.

In 2019, it released a global brand campaign in Singapore, showing travelers why the airline is "A better way to fly to New Zealand",  led by Pete, a CGI flightless kiwi bird that took travellers on an experiential journey to show them the best of Air New Zealand’s in-flight offerings and classic Kiwi hospitality.

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