British Airways served what it called the ‘ultimate challenge’ to British tennis player Kyle Edmund by asking him to land a 787 Dreamliner.
British Airways has served the ultimate challenge to British number one tennis player Kyle Edmund by putting him on the centre court of the flight deck of a 787 Dreamliner.
With expert guidance from British Airways pilot Captain Meredith Bell, Kyle is put through his paces at a state of the art training facility at Heathrow, taking on the task to expertly navigate his way off the ground, around the skies, and back to earth again.
The initiative was pushed across the airline’s digital and social channel through a 2-minute 20-second video amplified on Facebook,
YouTube,
and Twitter.
We challenged British number one tennis player, Kyle Edmund, to land our 787 Dreamliner simulator. Watch the full video here: pic.twitter.com/XTdn5mdZkz
— British Airways (@British_Airways) June 28, 2018
British Airways has shown its support for Kyle ahead of the prestigious competition by having a good luck message placed on a 787-9 Dreamliner which was unveiled in a photoshoot with Kyle wearing his newly released official Wimbledon kit.
Kyle Edmund said “It was great to face a new challenge in the flight simulator, where the pressure and the stakes are high – similar to a Grand Slam tournament.
“There’s no greater feeling than being able to fly the flag for Great Britain, and British Airways’ good luck message makes me feel that I have the support of the nation behind me.”
Meredith Bell, British Airways Captain, said “Kyle did a great job in the simulator, there is definitely a future in flight for him after serving aces. All of us at British Airways are wishing Kyle the best of luck for Wimbledon Championship next week.”
Comment:
As marketers, we like the pun in the campaign title – although ‘volleying’ is known as the weakest point in Edmund’s game.
But there is nothing particularly ace, innovative or ground breaking in this campaign.
Will it take off? We will just have to see.
The airline’s partnership with the 23 year-old tennis star has seen him flying with British Airways to many of the major global tournaments this year.
The self-described UK flag carrier has a long heritage of leverage British sporting occasions and success within its marketing mix.
From its official sponsorship of London 2012 (see case study), to its athlete ambassador deal with golfer Justin Rose and its activation around tournaments such as the Ryder Cup (see case study).
Links:
British Airways
https://www.britishairways.com
https://twitter.com/British_Airways
https://www.youtube.com/user/FlyBritishAirways
https://www.facebook.com/britishairways
AELTC/Wimbledon
http://www.youtube.com/wimbledon
https://www.facebook.com/Wimbledon
https://www.instagram.com/wimbledon/
