Virgin Australia Mobile Case Study

Virgin Australia embarked on a campaign to drive awareness of the airlines transition to a ‘full-service’ offering, with complimentary food, checked baggage and entertainment now included on domestic flights. To promote this to Australians, Virgin Australia partnered with Fairfax Media to run a high impact and creatively innovative cross platform campaign.

The following results focus on the impact of the campaign’s mobile elements which ran across Fairfax Media’s smartphone and tablet app properties. The research uncovered that Fairfax Media’s mobile properties had a strong impact across key brand and purchase metrics; significantly shifting brand consideration and brand recommendation of Virgin Australia.

Download Ad Effectiveness Study

Campaign Objectives:

  • Drive awareness of Virgin Australia’s “full-service” airline offering
  • Drive brand desire through increasing brand consideration and purchase intent
  • Drive brand loyalty by increasing brand recommendation

Campaign Period:

May - June 2015

Research Methodology:

A simultaneous capture of control / exposed sample was employed, with an online survey sent to panelists managed by a 3rd party panel provider covering category involvement, brand and creative diagnostic questions. Online exposure was determined through the tagging of campaign creative and media consumption questions were used to calculate opportunity to see the print and mobile advertising and determine ad exposure (Total sample, n=1,315, Mobile sample, n=283)

Measurable Results:

  • Virgin Australia’s campaign proved to be memorable, with ad recall on mobile 14% higher than online brand recall norms.
  • The campaign effectively moved consumers through the purchase funnel, with those exposed to campaign more likely to next consider flying with Virgin Australia (+8% points).
  • Those exposed to the campaign reported a significant uplift in brand recommendation (those likely to recommend Virgin Australia over other domestic airlines) of 10% points. Interestingly, of all platforms measured in this research (i.e. print, online), exposure on mobile had the highest uplift in brand recommendation.
Source: Nielsen, Advertising Effectiveness Research, August 2015

Testimonial

  • "An important part of our brand strategy at Virgin Australia is that we are always looking for engaging and creative advertising solutions. This campaign is a strong example of this, with the research results clearly demonstrating that advertising across Fairfax Media’s mobile properties delivers a powerful branding impact. The study has provided us with great insights on consideration and purchase intent, helping validate that a cross-platform approach resonates with our customers."


    Sean Jenner
    Marketing Manager – Business Consumer
    Virgin Australia