Aer Lingus #GreenSpirit Integrated Campaign Supports IRFU At RWC 2015

Leveraging interest during a Rugby World Cup year, Aer Lingus first announced its partnership with the Irish Rugby Football Union on 30 April and trumpeted the new deal by painting a couple of short haul Airbus 320s in an IRFU livery.

Then as the tournament approached in August saw the Irish flag carrier upped its activity with the launch its RWC-related ‘Green Spirit’ campaign led by a TV spot called ‘Ireland’s Call: Should To Shoulder’.

The film, which was initially debuted to staff for their ‘seal of approval’ before rolling out online and on TV, featured cabin crew singing thee side’s anthem ‘Ireland’s Call’ alongside a set of player ambassadors representing each of the country’s four rugby provinces (Tommy Bowe, Robbie Henshaw, Rob Kearney and Conor Murray).

The TV spot was followed up a week later by a ‘Behind The Scenes’ supporting video posted on the airline’s digital and social platforms

The idea behind the film was to offer Aer Lingus staff (as well as passengers and fans) to get behind the team as 22 airline employees – from ground staff and engineers, to cabin crew and pilots – were involved in the production.

The message behind the work was to reinforce how the two well-known Irish brands are ‘standing together’ as they strive for further international success.

It also promoted Aer Lingus’ RWC ‘Smart Deals’ for Irish rugby fans travelling to Cardiff and London to support the Irish team

Then in May the airline introduced #‎GreenSpirit itself – a newly painted aircraft in Irish Rugby and player branding.

The plane, which was bespoke painted at Eirtech Aviation in Shannon, acts a a centrepiece for the new partnership between Aer Lingus and Irish Rugby.

Green Spirit went straight into service – principally between Ireland and London Heathrow – andwas the focal point for the campaign’s #greenspirit hashtag which was used to encourage passangers and fans who spotted the aircraft to spread support by sharing photos on Twitter and Instagram.

The next phase of the campaign revolved around the team departure for England 2015.

On 22 September the specially liveried #GreenSpirit jetted the Irish players off to the tournament – an event amplified with an online film.

A further, somewhat disruptive, strand of Aer Lingus’ activation was an animated online film ‘The Chronicles Of Keith’ – which also featured the brand’s rugby ambassador squad.

Comment

The IRFU sponsorship is part of a wider €2m Aer Lingus programme to modernise its brand.

Indeed, the rugby sponsorship followed hot on the heels of a new brand campaign fronted by Irish actor and comedian Chris O’Dowd.

‘The ad follows hot on the heels of the announcement of our sponsorship of the IRFU, making Aer Lingus the official airline of the Irish rugby team. As part of the deal we unveiled an IRFU and player branded aircraft #GreenSpirit – it not only serves to promote Aer Lingus but will spread awareness of Irish rugby throughout the continent,’ explained Aer Lingus chief revenue officer Mike Rutter.

‘These are all steps towards re-energizing the Aer Lingus brand.’

The RWC campaign certainly generated plenty of momentum for Aer Lingus.

The main ‘Ireland’s Call: Shoulder To Shoulder’ TV spot alone notched up 200,000 YouTube views and almost one million Facebook views.

Indeed, according to in-tournament data gathered by Ireland-based Core Media Group’s Livewire, Radical and Ignite Research the #GreenSpirit campaign had a significant impact on fans not attending the tournament in person – with 42% saying they feel more positively towards the brand as a result of their sponsorship.

In fact, the same research showed that 39% of Irish fans believe the sponsor has made the tournament better as a result of its sponsorship, with 54% saying they feel more positively towards the brand as a result of the IRFU sponsorship (and only 7% of people state that they feel more negative towards the brand).

Links

Aer Lingus YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/user/Aerlingus

Aer Lingus Twitter:

https://twitter.com/aerlingus

@AerLingus

Aer Lingus Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/aerlingus

Aer Lingus Pinterest:

https://www.pinterest.com/aerlingus/

Aer Lingus Instagram:

https://instagram.com/aerlingus/