Flying Blue, the Air France and KLM frequent flyer program, has just launched a new advertising campaign, which is aesthetically pleasing but whose most important aspect is a radically new message.
Let’s take a look at this highly successful video.
Yes, you’ve got it right. In a way, Flying Blue puts the plane in brackets and tells us that we can travel without taking a plane, or even without traveling at all.
Travelling isn’t (just) about moving around
Surprising as it may be, we can see two things.
The first is that Flying Blue is in tune with the times, with all the issues about the environment, more responsible travel and a world where we travel less. As to whether this is a deep conviction or just window-dressing, I leave it to you to judge.
Let’s not forget that not so long ago, in 2019, it was KLM that invited us to travel less and more responsibly.
An easily understandable speech, but only time will tell if it is audible and if, in the end, it doesn’t amount to shooting oneself in the foot.
Flying Blue also has non-airline partners
The second key message is that Flying Blue is not just an airline loyalty program. The emphasis is on all non-airline partners, and here again it’s not hard to understand the idea behind the message.
The idea, of course, is to make it clear that Flying Blue can be enjoyed with a wide range of non-airline partners, and thus to promote a variety of experiences, while highlighting the partners and reinforcing their commitment to the partnership.
But in our view, there’s also an underlying issue. While customers are not flying, they are not spending the miles that are a financial burden on the program. Worse still, some customers continue to accumulate them even without flying, using their Air France American Express for example. While this creates revenue, it also creates a medium-term debt that is starting to swell. Worse still, the commercial measures taken during the pandemic, which extended the validity of miles in particular, are not making things any better.
By insisting on non-airline partners, Flying Blue reminds its members that they have plenty of other ways to spend their miles than flying…and that it would be good if they did so as soon as possible.
Bottom line
Flying Blue’s communications are full of good conscience, in tune with the times, but without forgetting to promote its business.
But who will see this video? Who is reached by Flying Blue’s communication? That’s the real question.
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