Abu Dhabi: Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, announced on Thursday the launch of a new global brand advertising campaign, the largest the company has ever undertaken, with a television commercial which is set to air on channels across a number of key markets starting Sunday.
Under the theme of “The World is Our Home. You are Our Guest,” the campaign includes the addition of the word “Abu Dhabi” to the comapny’s logo, as a way of making up for the old tagline “From Abu Dhabi to the World.” It will also be supported with regional and international TV, print, outdoor and digital media advertising.
Peter Baumgartner, Etihad Airways’ Chief Commercial Officer, told reporters during a press conference that this new campaign is not a rebranding campaign, nor a destination campaign, but rather one that focuses on promoting the airline’s services and its global reach. “This is not a rebranding exercise, but a continuation of our brand story drawing from the values of our home in Abu Dhabi and our inspiration from around the world,” he said.
“We have now reached a point where we believe our offering is indeed world-class at every stage of the travel experience of our guest,” he said. “The time is now right for us to make a bold and confident brand statement to the world.”
The concept for the TV commercial was created by M&C Saatchi, and was produced by Rogue Films in London. It was filmed in Abu Dhabi, Bangkok, Prague and Sydney over 12 days between December 2012 and January of 2013. The ad uses the split screen technique juxtaposing the airline’s onboard service with scenes from international destinations, illustrating how close it’s become providing the best in hospitality services on-board.
Although Baumgartner did not disclose how much investment has gone into the new campaign, he said that it is a “substantial investment.” The television commercial will be released in the UAE on March 3, 2013 and across the world on March 4, 2013. It will be aired on TV networks in Australia, China, Germany, India, Japan, UK, USA, UAE and Nigeria. It will primarily run till June of this year.
Etihad Airways is considered to be one of the fastest growing airlines in the world today with 72 aircraft flying to 86 destinations. This year, the airline is expected to start flying to new destinations such as Washington DC and Amsterdam. Baumgartner said that by 2017 Etihad will have over 120 aircraft flying to 115 destinations.
