American Airlines and "Up in the Air": How to promote yor brand with skill

At a time when the airline industry has passed what it has been called the “worst decade of its history” because of falling demand, rising fuel costs and over competition, American Airlines has found a profitable and a smart way of promoting its brand in order to fill its aircrafts and executive lounges.

George Clooney's movie "Up in the Air" is the story of a corporate downsizing consultant who flies across the country, laying off workers in his own warm yet efficient way. In the process, he works to meet his self-imposed goal of collecting 10 million frequent-flier miles. In the film, Clooney's character flies the airline to accrue American Advantage points.

It is a profitable way because it is a free placement of the brand opposite to the expensive sponsorships or campaigns that companies carry out in their marketing efforts. And this is more relevant if we consider the current budget constraints of the airline industry for these type of actions. American provided the locations inside the airports and planes, reducing what otherwise would have been massive costs for the studio, Paramount.

As media fragmentation forces marketers to rely less and less on traditional channels, American turned to the entertainment industry to reach consumers who might not otherwise get the message. “Up in the Air” represents so far the biggest brand integration for American.

The key to this successful marketing effort has been the proper balance between the brand placement and the film creative credibility. The audience doesn’t have the feeling that the brand is over commercialized, because the brand is promoted naturally with the film. As the movie depicts the life of real people who are involved with brands in every day of their life, “Up in the Air” represented a unique opportunity for an airline´s brand to be closely associated with a film. Much of the story takes place in airports or planes and it’s about the character obsession with his lifestyle. The script treats the upside of air travel and it fits perfectly the target customers of American: the high-yield business passengers, whose frequency of flying impacts deeply in the profitability of the airlines. In their last results report, American specifically stated that they forecast a recovery of the demand of this kind of passengers in 2010.

The lesson learned in this example is that the marketing partnership between the entertainment industry and any other kind industry can be done with skill through an engaging story, the performance of the actors and a brand that is naturally placed in a story. The result is a creation of a lasting impression on the audience, the final goal of the marketer.