Marketing News: New case study : Jetbird: Preparing for take-off

News Release from: MarketingUK
31/10/2009
Stephen Rogers, Jetbird, StrategicFusion,business jet travel ,corporate communications ,Stefan Vilne

Background

Jetbird is a pan-European, on-demand private jet service that facilitates fast, affordable and convenient travel. It brings the benefits of business jet travel to customers whose time is valuable but for whom the costs of such journeys had previously been prohibitive.

The first European private jet airline to offer an online booking system, Jetbird provides an answer to business travellers wanting an alternative to the current high-cost options. It also aims to appeal to 'luxury leisure' travellers looking for additional options to commercial flights.

Founded in 2006, Jetbird selected StrategicFusion in mid-2008 to complete an end-to-end project that would define the brand, language and visual identity ahead of the company's launch in September 2009.

Brand challenges

As a new company with a proposition that, whilst similar, was not directly comparable to other private jet offerings, Jetbird recognised that a key task was to attract and engage with its targ

 ·   to create a clear and distinct brand that would have impact and resonance in the market

·   to clearly define the core business proposition

·   to differentiate the offering from others that could potentially be perceived as competitive

Brand process and insights

StrategicFusion's first task was to undertake a marketplace audit.  This comprised in-depth one-to-one interviews with a wide selection of parties including: Jetbird's senior management team; commercial airlines; business jet travellers, owners, users and charter companies; corporate travel bookers; and regional airport operators.  StrategicFusion also spoke to relevant journalists and industry analysts, and undertook a comprehensive review of competitors.

 The extensive and structured research resulted in a '360 degree view' of the market, that StrategicFusion used as a knowledge base to inform the strategy for developing the Jetbird brand proposition.

A key finding was that business class travellers felt restricted by the the timetables of scheduled airlines and frustrated by the delays experienced at airports.  They wanted something more flexible and 'hassle-free', the control of which was in their hands.  This led StrategicFusion to define the core proposition as 'winning back time', which it tested with the initial research audience.  Positive feedback led this to be translated into 'creating time' as a strapline, in recognition that time is the ultimate commodity for the business traveller.

With this in place, StrategicFusion created a visual identity for the brand.  This needed to reflect Jetbird's vision, values, mission and culture, which centred round transforming the world of business jet travel.  At the same time it had to foster brand loyalty through presenting a strong identity that was also unique and distinctive.

Part of this work was to create a unique 'Jetbird font', in which the 'B' represented the wings of a bird.  StrategicFusion also designed the external livery for the aeroplanes which, as well as reflecting the brand, needed to 'flow' throughout the plane and incorporate the 'B'.  

Drawings and models were created to present different ideas for the company's brand identity and visual language to the Jetbird team.  Once the final designs had been selected, StrategicFusion drew up brand guidelines in order that their use would always be an accurate and uniform reflection of the brand.

 StrategicFusion's final step to complete project was to use the visual identity and language to create a range of corporate communications for Jetbird, including newsletters, stationary, signs and the website.

 Stefan Vilner, CEO at Jetbird, comments:  “StrategicFusion combined in-depth industry expertise with true creativity to produce a visual identity that is entirely in keeping with the company's ethos.  But its defining quality was its ability to get to the heart of Jetbird's rationale and strategy, with the result that the complete brand identity is built on solid business foundations.”

Stephen Rogers, managing director at StrategicFusion, explains:  “Jetbird identified a gap in the business jet market, and developed a robust business model with which to tackle it.  StrategicFusion's input needed to reflect both the dynamic and innovative nature of the company, as well as its commercial credentials and market differential.”

About StrategicFusion

StrategicFusion is an integrated strategic marketing, brand and communications advisor.  It focuses on fusing corporate and business strategy with brand and marketing strategy so that its clients engage with their audiences, both internal and external.  

Using its ‘Envisage, Enhance, Engage’ methodology StrategicFusion works with organisations to enable them to develop and articulate a unique identity using creativity and innovative thinking.  Combining its client-side and consultancy-side experience, it offers a way of working that matches the individual needs of each client.

StrategicFusion works across a wide range of sectors, and clients include Balfour Beatty, Hogg Robinson, Oxford Airport, Oxford Aviation Academy, The Go-Ahead Group plc, The University of Birmingham and World Horse Welfare.

www.strategic-fusion.com