SAA special exceeds target with inclusion of ambient campaign

SAA is one of the first airlines to opt for an ambient campaign. Advertising was initially intended to run for three months with a total of 600 frames in the restaurants, pubs and clubs of the three major centres. In the campaign, which was driven by The Letter Corporation and Universal McCann, SAA was drawing attention to its 'Nite Club' special which offered up to 40 per cent off the lowest discounted fare. Travellers catching the last flight out on Tuesdays and Saturdays qualified.

However, the campaign was cut short and the advertisements pulled, due to the demand for seats on the promotion exceeding capacity within the first 2 months. SAA had previously advertised their specials on radio and in print, but had never experienced a response on this scale.

SAA's Head of Marketing, Lebona Moleli says their use of washroom advertising was prompted by their interest in exploring other mediums. "We also wanted to ensure that our promotion was effectively communicated to the target market. Hence we combined the washroom campaign with radio and print for maximum impact. The service delivery from The Letter Corporation and the return on our investment exceeded our expectations. In terms of other relevant campaigns that we have planned, we will be using washroom advertising again," Lebona concludes.