Web-focused effort bolsters 'Fly free 'til you're 23' promo

In an effort to move beyond their competitors in the field of customer loyalty, AirTran Airways has begun a new campaign that caters to college students. Under the slogan "Fly free til you're 23", AirTran has been strategically placing ads on websites such as collegehumor.com and ESPN.com in order to use the 18-22 age range to build customer loyalty to the AirTran brand. Spots have also been viewed in some movie theaters in cities like New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Atlanta (large markets for the brand). According to Adweek.com,"The campaign will incorporate NBC on Campus, a partnership between NBC and the Memphis, Tenn.-based University Network, a digital out-of-home company that narrowcasts programming to 283 screens on 181 campuses."

Using the tagline "Everyone will want to be college age", ad spots feature foul-mouthed elderly people trying to look like college students by using fake IDs, playing videogames and doing their best to get a student discount. The campaign seeks to encourage college students to register on www.airtranu.com for their A+ Rewards Frequent Flyer program for a chance to win two round trips per calendar quarter, until the winner turns 23. The cost of these flights is about $69-$99 depending on the type of flight. The promotion ends June 9.

Travel analyst Henry Harteveldt believes this is a very smart move for AirTran because by appealing to students and persuading them to register with the airline, the company is able to build loyalty with an age range who haven't really developed any type of brand loyalty yet.

AirTran's venture into digital advertising has been paying off and helping to increase their online ticket sales by 70% and revenue to $2.2 million in 2006. By using viral marketing, there is a decrease in ad dollars the company has to spend and also gives AirTran an added edge over its competitors who mainly appeal to business travelers.



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