Thebean Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 Kip When your family gives you a gift that they have really worked hard on perhaps saved, planned organized.... did you turn to them and say "you should have given this to the less fortunate" and acted obtuse about it or did you just say thank you and see the good in it. Some people will always see flies in the soup.SB...or look for bones in ice cream..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkyBlazer Posted December 10, 2013 Author Share Posted December 10, 2013 Malcolm I think this was done in house and not through our advertising firm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 Great idea and who ever was responsible and all those who took part deserve a pat on the back. Must have been a lot of fun. Cheers and Merry Christmas . MalcolmEver since KLM did this, the team at WS has been looking at ideas for how to do something similar. This was definitely an inspiration... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airt Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 Holy cow...even the Americans noticed !http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/living/2013/12/10/mxp-westjet-christmas-list.hln.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blues deville Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 Perhaps the result will be a few days of publicity for WS as I am hearing about it more and more from people I know. But the common comment is how about WS giving away gifts to those in need, not those heading off to Disney World on vacation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cp fa Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 They talked about it and showed part of it on The View today. (Please don't judge me for watching The View. I only watched today because they had the cast of Downton Abbey on.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadaEH Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 Perhaps the result will be a few days of publicity for WS as I am hearing about it more and more from people I know. But the common comment is how about WS giving away gifts to those in need, not those heading off to Disney World on vacation.West jet does. A lot. Heavily involved in the community just like AC. Neither seek much in the way of publicity for it either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blues deville Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 West jet does. A lot. Heavily involved in the community just like AC. Neither seek much in the way of publicity for it either.Well that's good. Many companies across Canada do the same each year and are not recognized either. Not exclusive to the airline biz. However, this Westjet PR (can't really call it anything else) stunt seems like a really odd thing to do. Just my opinion. I could be wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YYCMatt Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 Well to the naysayers, response to this has been overwhelmingly positive. This video is being retweeted every second, over 2 million views on YouTube. Stunt or not, 99% are loving what WS has done. Enjoy your coal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadaEH Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 Well that's good. Many companies across Canada do the same each year and are not recognized either. Not exclusive to the airline biz. However, this Westjet PR (can't really call it anything else) stunt seems like a really odd thing to do. Just my opinion. I could be wrong.It's a stunt to the analytical people. To the human being that wants a feelgood "story" this is perfect. To the Marketer this is gold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manwest Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 Perhaps the result will be a few days of publicity for WS as I am hearing about it more and more from people I know. But the common comment is how about WS giving away gifts to those in need, not those heading off to Disney World on vacation.The two flights were yyz-yyc and yhm-yyc Don't think Calaway Park is Disney World.yule yule yule Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitch Cronin Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 seems like a really odd thing to do.You're damned right it's an odd thing to do, but I'd imagine there's a whole boatload of brown-nosed, boot-licking, junior executive, ball'less weenies at other airlines that are (or will be) wishing like hell they'd come up with such a great idea! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blues deville Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 You're damned right it's an odd thing to do, but I'd imagine there's a whole boatload of brown-nosed, boot-licking, junior executive, ball'less weenies at other airlines that are (or will be) wishing like hell they'd come up with such a great idea!You'll have to explain why you're spending money on passengers who have already selected you as your airline of choice. They were in the departure lounge.....In my opinion, the only people who may have benefited from this PR stunt are westjet. Maybe it will encourage all those poor kids watching old TV sets to work harder in school and perhaps someday be a westjet passenger. And don't be a crack head like the mayor of Toronto. Oh to dream....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOOT Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 For crying out loud people........we have Aeroplan , we have Airmiles, we have WestJet Rewards, if you can't give something back to your customers even if it gets you some PR then why do we even bother to advertise or offer the programs !!?? This was an excellent promotion, well done, end of story. Is anyone trying to say that any company in the aviation world doesn't donate tickets, money, manpower to help those in need?Come on...........Merry Xmas to all and I really don't care what color Santa wears off hours but on the 25th it better be red!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blues deville Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 For crying out loud people........we have Aeroplan , we have Airmiles, we have WestJet Rewards, if you can't give something back to your customers even if it gets you some PR then why do we even bother to advertise or offer the programs !!?? This was an excellent promotion, well done, end of story. Is anyone trying to say that any company in the aviation world doesn't donate tickets, money, manpower to help those in need?Come on...........Merry Xmas to all and I really don't care what color Santa wears off hours but on the 25th it better be red!!!!You're entitled to your opinion but you're comparing this PR stunt to a loyalty program. Not the same thing if you involve a Santa of sorts asking what someone wants for Christmas. I guess the WS staffers were careful to check the last names of their gift recipients. Wouldn't want to have to deliver 8 days worth of toys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outside Looking In Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 Wow... Can't believe the amount of negative comments on this forum regarding this video. Bean, could imagine the reaction it would have gotten if some of these posters knew that WestJetters would stand out on street corner just to given snack mix away to pedestrians back in the day. hope some of these comments aren't being driven by an even more passionate WS topic currently being debated on this forum. There have certainly been some disappointing moments in the decay of WS culture over the years but it is nice to see guys like BC and RB (and their teams) putting together something so representative of WestJet's true culture. They will be hard pressed to find such an ambassador for the company as Bartrem when the day comes that he decides to move on (not suggesting that is any time soon).Make no mistake there is an intent to market and create brand awareness. They just found a way to do it at a fraction of the cost and put a smile on many of the faces of their guests and viewers in the process. Congrats to the WS creative team great job on this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blues deville Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 Ever since KLM did this, the team at WS has been looking at ideas for how to do something similar. This was definitely an inspiration... Not an original idea as stated above. KLM's idea used social media to track their passengers handing out small gifts (probably purchased in the many stores at AMS) and nothing to do with jolly St. Nic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boestar Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 I do agree that this was a good thing for Westjet to do but don't think for a single minute that this wasn't an advertising idea. They spent about 1% of their annual advertising budget on this and look at the overwhelming response it has received. IMHO it is a brilliant strategy. That video has been shared at least a dozen times on my facebook alone so imagine the overall impact.In todays world, social media is the best advertising media. do something that goes "Viral" and you can reach more people that TV ads ever would and the brilliant part is you can see immediately how successful you were by the number of views. Over the last couple of days that video was seen by over two million people. Pretty damned good for an in house production. That is the best advertising available.Here is a comment from a very old friend of mine on his facebook after sharing the video...I've been an Air Canada frequent flyer for almost 20 years, and I have never flown Westjet. Guess what? I just switched. Good job #Westjet !Tell me that "Stunt" didn't have the desired effect. BTW the gentleman quoted above carries Elite Status with AC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kip Powick Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 Firstly, I really do feel it was a good venture but...............as you know................. I feel it could have been a better way...but my opinion is not relevant.Yes, it was primarily an advertising gimmick but if AC had come up with it, the remarks, by many ,would have flipped to the other side of the coin...that is perfectly natural in an "us against them" industry.It did take a lot of work, probably cost a lot of money to produce, as well as man hours and certainly there would have been many volunteer hours as well, probably more than work done on WJ hours, and the individuals who worked on it did a good job. As far as the Elite Status guy in boestar's post...well that remains to be seen, especially when he wants to fly over the Atlantic and when he does he finds out there are no more Big Screen TV give-aways. He can fly with whom ever he wishes, that is the customers right.I'm sure many of the older members of this forum remember the CDN 'wing-walker" commercial and if you do you will remember that it created just as much buzz between AC and CDN on this forum as WJ's latest venture.It is just the nature of the industry..............live with the ups and downs, the good and the bad, because once you are punted through the goal posts of this flying community and become a "dot", it will all be just a memory of what was....and what will never be again. Enjoy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blues deville Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 The two flights were yyz-yyc and yhm-yyc Don't think Calaway Park is Disney World.yule yule yuleHilarious. However, I would be willing to bet the return airfare to YYC on these flights was more than MCO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitch Cronin Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 Over 7 million views already and still climbing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ziggy Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 Blues, you are probably right about the MCO cost being cheaper. Anyone with a basic understanding of airline economics would realize why. And thats without even throwing in the cost of operating out of MCO vs YYZ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inchman Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 ... They spent about 1% of their annual advertising budget on this and look at the overwhelming response it has received. ...The cost of this was nowhere near 1% of their advertising budget. Even if they had given half the passengers a 55" TV, it might not have busted 1% of the annual budget. But if they had just handed out a bunch of TVs it would not have the impact it had. The virility is due to the imagination involved. The socks and underwear has as much value as the TV, IMO, from an advertising perspective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thebean Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 Wow... Can't believe the amount of negative comments on this forum regarding this video. Bean, could imagine the reaction it would have gotten if some of these posters knew that WestJetters would stand out on street corner just to given snack mix away to pedestrians back in the day. hope some of these comments aren't being driven by an even more passionate WS topic currently being debated on this forum. There have certainly been some disappointing moments in the decay of WS culture over the years but it is nice to see guys like BC and RB (and their teams) putting together something so representative of WestJet's true culture. They will be hard pressed to find such an ambassador for the company as Bartrem when the day comes that he decides to move on (not suggesting that is any time soon).Make no mistake there is an intent to market and create brand awareness. They just found a way to do it at a fraction of the cost and put a smile on many of the faces of their guests and viewers in the process. Congrats to the WS creative team great job on this one.It is quite amusing to see the negative nellies out there. Here's what I know:1. The video has had over 10 million hits and climbing. Anyway you look at it, they smacked this one out of the park, and then some. 2. I subscribe to Google Alerts and my inbox is choked from Alerts from news stories around the world in this. All free advertising, granted, some more useful than others. Not sure how much business or brand recognition needs to be developed in Malaya, for example.....3. It was on at least one local news channel in the US city I'm located in. It has been on dozens and dozens more judging by the Google Alerts I get. I think someone mentioned it was on one of the US Network Morning News broadcasts.4. I overheard random people talking about WestJet at a local furniture store here. They'd never heard of WJ 2 days ago. 5. Anyone who knows WestJet knows that the project and outcome was entirely consistent with the WestJet brand developed over the past 16+ years and reinforces that "feel good" image in the collective brain matter of consumers. 6. How would YOU like to be a WestJetter these days? Any airline on the planet could have made this happen had they chosen to do so.Only one made the effort and pulled off a brilliant social media marketing coup that I suspect will be talked about in advertising and marketing circles for quite a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gumbi Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 Goes to show how superficial and materialistic and messed up our society has become...This WestJet marketing stunt goes viral while Air Transat's (or others) Santa flights for sick children generate almost no traffic...Sad really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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