How can a low-cost airline from the Philippines get the attention of Hong-Kong consumers and make them book flights through their company’s website? The answer was brought by ad agency Geometry Global, which belongs to Ogilvy & Mather, with a very creative street marketing campaign!
This year, during the rainy season in Hong-Kong and with the objective to make Hongkongers’ lives happier, Cebu Pacific Air and Geometry Global designed an ad that only appears when it rains.
Using water resistant spray, the company placed messages on streets and pedestrian areas that unveiled the words “It’s sunny in the Philippines” on the ground when it was raining. The ad also featured a QR code, for pedestrians to photograph in order to receive a discount on flights to the Philippines when purchasing via mobile.
The chief creative officer of Ogilvy & Mather Group Hong Kong, Reed Collins, said in a press release: “Hong Kong summers are notorious for thunderstorms, so we thought, why not use the rain to bring a little sunshine into people’s lives? Our ‘rain-codes’ were so unexpected, something people had never seen before. The campaign received a lot of attention, but even better, they sparked action”, explained the chief creative officer of Ogilvy & Mather Group Hong Kong, Reed Collins (cited in Mumbrella Asia).
The campaign was successful according to Ogilvy, who reported a 37% increase in online bookings for Cebu Pacific! However, it would be interesting to know how long the street campaign ran for, and on what the 37% increase was being compared to (previous month, year-on-year, etc).
In any case, this is a good example of a guerilla marketing campaign that answered three main objectives:
– Attract consumers’ attention by focusing on their current needs
– Present the company in a fun and considerate way
– Encourage people to book flights and therefore increase sales
See the campaign video here:
Cebu Pacific – Case Study May 2014 from Ogilvy on Vimeo.
References: Il était une pub, Mumbrella Asia
Pictures from: Il était une pub
