Etihad Airways rolls out new advertising campaign targeting Emiratis

Etihad Airways, the Abu Dhabi-based airline, said it was targeting an increase in its Emirati passengers with the launch of its latest advertising campaign specifically for Emiratis as the airline aims to increase brand loyalty among that demographic.

During a media briefing on Sunday, Etihad said that the new advertisement will be released on December 1 to coincide with the UAE’s National Day celebrations. The advertisement will be shown on television channels based in the UAE only, but there will be still versions in print media.

Etihad will also roll out a radio campaign, as well as billboards across the UAE and a social media campaign to reach Emiratis that live outside the country.

Running under the theme, ‘Welcome to the home we share’, the advertisement shows various iconic locations in the UAE such as the Shaikh Zayed Grand Mosque, the Abu Dhabi Corniche, Qasr Al Hosn and other landmarks.

The full advertisement, which is 3.56 minutes, however, only has about four scenes of or in an Etihad aircraft and barely any mention of Etihad Airways altogether, with the video focusing primarily on the UAE’s landmarks and culture.

Prem Ramachandran, managing director of White Water Public Relations, a Dubai-based agency, said it was important for Etihad to target niche audiences especially ahead of the upcoming holiday season.

“[Etihad] has a campaign anyway for other consumers, so targeting Emiratis is a great idea of focusing their approach. There are so many options available today with other airlines operating in the UAE, so why not associate the company with its own community? [Emiratis] are likely to spend more on first or business class, for example, so it’s a win-win situation for the brand,” he told Gulf News.

In March this year, Etihad announced a new brand campaign featuring Hollywood actress, Nicole Kidman. The advertisement was said to be shown in over 130 countries around the world, with still versions of the campaign appearing in print, digital and outdoor channels.

While the campaign with Kidman aimed to increase awareness on the brand globally, the latest campaign announced on Sunday aims to increase brand loyalty among Emiratis specifically.

“There are thousands of brands today, and so many things happening on a day-to-day basis with brands talking about their promotions and activities, so irrespective of what [Etihad] did a few months ago with Nicole Kidman, they need to keep the brand on top of the public eye.

Once you launch something new, there’s a spike in demand, and then it goes down and you need to do something new to get that attention back so there’s a lot that [companies] need to do to ensure that the brand is alive in the public domain,” Ramachandran said.

In a statement, Etihad Airways said, “We appreciate that other audiences, such as our neighbours in the GCC, will also appreciate some of the sentiment or simply the music, so there is potential in the future to expand the campaign to a wider audience.”