SAS upgrade campaign – From Economy to Economy Flex

Challenge
SAS’ Economy Flex lies in the middle of the economic scale with Economy Class on the one end and Business Class on the other. Economy Flex is tailor-made for business travelers and combines the many advantages of Business Class with the competitive prices of Economy. Some of the extravagance that is typically associated with Business Class, which is usually not important in many company’s travel policy, is removed – so the product is justifiable regarding both practical factors and total economy.

Overall, the challenge was to get travelers to realize and understand what advantages they can get by “sitting further up in the plane” and paying more but also getting services that make it easier to be a traveler.

Specifically, the goal was to create a dialogue-based campaign that worked from March 15th to August 27th, 2006 to:
• Retain customers who already use Economy Flex

• Move existing SAS customers from Economy to Economy Flex

• Move business customers from other airline companies over to Economy Flex

• Move Economy customers from other airline companies over to Economy Flex

Solution
Many people who haven’t tried Economy Flex don’t know the advantages of the product. But we know that once they’ve tried it, their preference for the product increases. We also know that EuroBonus points are an influencing factor and that Economy Flex gives more points than Economy. So the strategy became to create an involving and educational activity in which the participants learned the advantages and became stimulated to try the product or continue using it.

In the past, communication of Economy Flex had focused on the product’s many features such as SAS Fast Track and Online Check In. We used this to create message- and content synergies with TV and print campaigns throughout the same time period. Messages were timed precisely so that the mass communication could generate knowledge of the product while the DM campaign went into detail and explained the product using the individual’s own situation and travel patterns.

The communication strategy in the Economy Flex campaign focused on its core features: the many departures, the wide traffic program and the flexibility that results from this combination. Lack of knowledge about the strengths of Economy Flex builds a barrier, so in the first phase it was an important communication goal to spread knowledge of the product and create understanding of the value that lies in its flexibility. It was only afterward that information about actual Economy Flex offers was communicated.

Target group:
The campaign’s target group was a total of approx. 50,000 EuroBonus members throughout Denmark and Sweden who, within the last 12 months, had traveled from Copenhagen to a European destination at least 3 times.

Creative strategy and idea
The creative strategy introduced the “Flex Quiz”, an educational test-your-knowledge quiz. The quiz method informed and involved the participant in the product in an entertaining, educational and relevant way, so that its USP’s were presented as the participant got deeper into the quiz. In this way the participant built up new USP’s of the product.

The campaign was built up into 3 phases that matched the communication timing of the other marketing forms.

Phase 1) How well do you know Economy Flex?
This included involvement via letter with accompanying product brochure, segmented based on the customer’s buyer history. The letter explained the product’s features and led the receiver in to the Flex Quiz on the campaign’s site economyflex.dk. The theme was “How much do you know about Economy Flex?”

The quiz had 2 parts. The first part acted to lighten a heavy subject by asking about the customer’s knowledge of Economy Flex in a tongue-in-cheek manner. Another part asked about the participant’s views and preferences regarding business trips, so that we received valuable knowledge both for SAS in general and also for use in continuing dialogue.

After 10 days, an email was sent to the participants with 1-to-1 feedback. Here they could see how well they’d done in the quiz, as well as get a deeper explanation of their answers and helpful information where they’d answered incorrectly. This worked to shift participant views using their own perspectives, turning them into experts of Economy Flex products and motivating them to try the product or use it more often.

Phase 2) Prove the flexibility
In April/May the mass communication campaign was launched. Based on the primary answers received, a 1-to-1 branched invitation to a new dialogue sequence was sent to continuing participants both via post and email. If, for example, the participant had answered that having several departure times is important, or that waiting time in the airport is annoying, it was branched into the communication.

In a new quiz, the participant watched a clip of the commercial that had been shown on TV. They then answered questions about what the clip was about, and in that way we managed to both make a direct link to the mass communication and put more focus on the product’s qualities. DM secured the entire message from mass communication using a more personal angle.

To prove the aforementioned promise about flexibility, Phase 2 contained a personal travel plan with many daily departures that made obvious SAS’ consideration to the individual. The customer chose his/her favorite destinations, and then a travel plan with the desired departures and destinations was generated and sent via email as a PDF. The PDF contained a branch with a personal EuroBonus offer that used the chosen destinations. We came even closer to the customer’s usage situation with an incentive we knew has an effect.

Phase 3) Campaign closure and evaluation
The campaign’s third phase contained a so-called “burn-off offer” in which the customer was shown which travel offers the earned EuroBonus points could be used for. The customer was also invited to participate in a short evaluative survey that covered views toward the completed phases and to give input to new Economy Flex campaigns. Phase 3 communication was branched according to whether the customer had tried the product or increased use of it.

Results
• 7,768 business travelers changed their behavior based on the campaign – a goal fulfillment of 106%

• The campaign also demonstrates the synergy in a 360-degree solution: We could clearly mark an increase in involvement when a mass communication campaign was simultaneously executed

• 20% of the target group participated in Phase 1

• 19.5% of the target group participated in Phase 2 – i.e. almost no drop out!

• 19% of the participants responded to the concluding, evaluative Phase 3

• Added sales for SAS were 3.8 times over the set goal. The campaign generated a respectable double-digit million amount that went straight to the bottom line

• The campaign was the starting signal for ongoing communication with the target group

• The campaign’s communication concept, its results and the customers’ involvement make up the foundation of this initiative, which is still running through the segment. It’s a communication effort that supports SAS’ service position

“The campaign was an investment for Scandinavian Airlines in our absolute most important segment – the business traveler. So a lot of work went into finding the absolute best solution. The result has far surpassed our expectations, and added sales have contributed to a positive result for the company. As well, we’ve initiated a positive dialogue with customers and collected valuable knowledge for future communication. All in all a campaign we’re very proud of internally.”
Henrik Sølbeck-Nielsen, Manager Direct Marketing & PR