Virgin Australia on transforming its brand perception with millennials and Gen Zs

Virgin Australia recognised the need to transform its brand perception and branch out from traditional campaigns to stay relevant with millennial and Gen Z markets.

The recently released 'Bring on Wonderful' campaign was the culmination of that change that saw the airline turn to TikTok to redefine its digital strategy to engage with a new generation of travellers.

"We have moved from feeling 'uncomfortable' to feeling 'brave' about trying new approaches," a Virgin Australia spokesperson told Mediaweek.

Mediaweek looks at the partnerships behind Virgin Australia's campaign, the outcomes that trumped the hesitations and the results for the airline's brand.

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'We all brought different strengths'

Virgin Australia's aim was to redefine the flying experience with uplifting and innovative services. However, the airline recognised that TikTok was a platform where travellers were consuming content and where the brand needed to be to engage with millennial and Gen Z markets.

Virgin Australia began its journey in 2021 with TikTok. It partnered with PHD to draw on authenticity, trends, and user and employee-generated content.

"Our partnership with TikTok and PHD was truly collaborative. PHD helped us develop a clear testing plan and measurement approach, while TikTok provided the platform expertise we needed," the Virgin Australia spokesperson said.

"We worked closely together to transform our traditional marketing into content that would resonate on TikTok. What made it work was how we all brought different strengths - PHD guided our strategy, TikTok understood their platform, and we were willing to try new approaches," they added.

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Letting creativity flow

The Virgin Australia brand hesitated to shift from its usual approach because it had "never diverted from our brand guidelines before."

Part of the new approach for the airline was teaming up with creators, including @whenkatiemetharry, @nickandhelmi and @danawang through the TikTok Creative Exchange and Vamp.

"We worried about brand safety and weren't sure about letting creators have so much freedom with our messaging," the airline's spokesperson said.

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But PHD and TikTok provided support with successful case studies, helped with testing - which yielded positive results - and gave the airline brand confidence to try a different approach.

By giving creators complete creative freedom, the airline could step outside its comfort zone and let these influencers tell authentic, engaging stories that resonate with viewers.

The airline said its biggest lesson was to trust creators because they know their audience and how to tell the story in a way that resonates with them. "Creating content specifically for TikTok works much better than trying to repurpose our traditional ads. Now, we even invite creators to our shoots to get behind-the-scenes content that fits TikTok's style."

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The importance of a step-by-step approach

This collaboration between the agency, platform and brand led to the 'Bring on Wonderful' campaign. The TV commercial was recut and remixed to TikTok's audience and launched on in-feed auction ads.

A Brand Lift Study revealed Virgin Australia's ads had a 23.8% rise in ad recall, a 6.1% lift in brand awareness, while consideration went up by 3.8%. "The key to this success was our step-by-step approach," the Virgin Australia spokesperson said.

"We started small, tested different content types, measured everything carefully, and built trust with creators. Having both PHD and TikTok's support throughout this journey was essential."

The 'Bring on Wonderful' platform has delivered strong results for the airline since its launch. Last year, the platform had a creative evolution focusing on exceptional service and a wonderful experience.

"We've seen a 21% baseline increase in top-of-mind awareness, achieved through five key bursts of campaign activity, which is an impressive outcome that demonstrates the effectiveness of the campaign in elevating the brand's visibility and engagement with consumers," the spokesperson said.

"We've also seen consistent increases in spontaneous awareness and brand consideration with each burst of campaign activity, frequently achieving above our campaign KPIs," they added.

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Looking ahead and pushing the boundaries

Virgin Australia said it is working on plans for the year ahead and that the airline's success on TikTok has demonstrated "the value of being brave on new platforms and trusting their creator partnerships."

"We'll continue focusing on authentic content that connects with our next generation of travellers, and we're excited to keep pushing boundaries in the digital space," the spokesperson added.

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