Campaign Summary

Vietjet utilized data analytics from various media channels to maintain existing customers and expand its market throughout the APAC region.

Strategy

Objective

According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, although Vietnam's aviation industry had seen a full recovery in the domestic aviation market at the end of 2022, the international market was still gradually recovering and was expected to reach 34 million passengers by the end of 2023, which accounts for 83.5 percent of 2019 levels.

Vietjet used this information and an understanding of its own challenges when developing its campaign. Its challenges included:

• Macro factors (economic fluctuations, layoffs, etc.) led to a drop in consumer purchasing power.
• Changes in consumer behavior, such as a growing preference for short trips or domestic travel with fewer travel restrictions.
• Vietjet's global standardization and local adaptation of marketing had to meet potential customers' unique travel preferences.

To overcome these challenges and expand sales and market share in Asia-Pacific regions (APAC), Vietjet's direction was to develop an innovative marketing approach that drove significant sales at optimized costs through an integrated campaign. The campaign followed potential consumers from demand generation through conversion, tailoring media channels and creatives to each foreign market based on local insights.

Context

To avoid overused tactics, Vietjet adopted new approaches — new both the brand and the aviation industry. For instance, Vietjet's campaign represented:

• The first time a comprehensive integrated campaign had been performed across online and offline media with the most optimized investment
• The first time a customer data platform (CDP) had been utilized to enhance customer experience through ad personalization, with roughly 150 million consumers' data analyzed to predict consumer behavior

The campaign was considered as a ramp-up promotion for Vietjet not only to capitalize on growing demand but also to instantly generate demand throughout the market recovery's uncertainty.

Target Audience

Vietjet had aimed to both retain existing customers and acquire new customers for inbound and outbound markets. Its primary audience was those aged 22 to 45, interested in traveling, and digitally connected.

• Acquire New Customers. For inbound travelers to Vietnam, Vietjet targeted APAC residents, including locals, expatriates, and Vietnamese overseas. For outbound travelers departing from Vietnam, Vietjet targeted residents of five major cities in Vietnam (Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Nha Trang, Hai Phong), expatriates whose home country was within the APAC region, and international travelers in Vietnam.
• Retain Existing Customers. Vietjet targeted all customers on its customer data platform (CDP) with 300-plus deep segmentations.

Creative and Media Strategy

The campaign was deployed in local languages for different flight routes with distinct preferences and tailored for customers from 300-plus in-depth customer segments with various demographic profiles and spending behaviors.

Travel signal information derived from the CDP was used to forecast potential travel demand. Furthermore, to maximize conversion while avoiding over-exposing the consumers with repetitive advertisements, creative assets and campaign frequency were set according to user flow and buying intention.

Execution/Use of Media

Vietjet followed a mobile-first approach as a steppingstone for the customer experience. The budget allocated for mobile was approximately 75 percent of the total campaign budget (varying according to channels). Three major tools employed to carry out the 12-week campaign in line with the plan included:

• Optimal mix of paid, owned, and earned channels. By evaluating the existing database and conducting local insight analysis, Vietjet identified sources of demand and points of conversion from existing customers.
• Predictive segmentation and sophisticated targeting. Vietjet's data set of over 150 million customer records was a source for segmentation and targeting. This effort, together with advanced targeting methods based on previously existing customer behavior information, enabled Vietjet to boost the targeting accuracy across funnels and channels, thus optimizing campaign performance overall.
• Channel and creative customization by markets. Tailored media strategies were conducted for each local market, including channel and approach selection and budget allocation. Banners and videos were customized with more than ten various versions for these markets to better appeal to audiences.

The campaign was divided into three waves. The first wave was for awareness and demand generation, the second was for inspiration and engagement, and the third was for conversion. Twenty-five channels were harnessed and applied in an ideal sequence, following the customer journey with Viajet's omnichannel approach.

Potential customers were inspired by travel videos from influencers and social discussions on travel blogs and communities. The "shoppertainment" experience was leveraged with Augmented Reality (AR) ads and live streaming. Over 10,000 booking reservations and 1,400 flight tickets were generated through AR ads and live streams. Offline events were held in markets to promote new flight routes launched in Korea, Australia, India, etc. and thereby to trigger inspiration among tourists.

Search channels such as Google, Yahoo, and Naver were leveraged to reach the rising demand. Marketing automation was applied for browsers, application push, and email marketing campaigns, combined with deep-learning retargeting networks (e.g., RTB House and Criteo) to help increase conversion rate. Lastly, other channels, such as LazadaMall, ticketing offices, and travel agencies, were heavily pushed with promotional materials to capture demand and convert.

Business Impact

During this campaign, Vietjet achieved the following:

• Increased awareness and demand generation. Media coverage grew over 80 percent, with a unique reach of more than 125 million people in the APAC region.
• Generated engagement. Vietjet reached 850,000 individuals with an estimated EMV (Earned Media Value) of 130,000 U.S. dollars by cooperating with influencers, travel blogs, travel communities, and augmented reality advertisements.
• Converted sales. Sales increased by six times compared to the same period in 2022, garnering 1.7 million flight bookings and nearly 115 million U.S. dollars in sales.
• Reached 150 million lifetime customers. International customer grew 918.3 percent, the highest growth compared to other Vietnam market airlines.
• Pioneered the use of a CDP in the APAC aviation industry. Vietjet demonstrated its effectiveness in maximizing marketing performance, which encouraged other companies in the industry to consider investing in a CDP or data in general.
• Increased customer demand for travel. The campaign increased customer demand for travel by 2.7 (according to Google Search Trend), contributing to the recovery and growth of the whole travel sector in Vietnam and the APAC region after COVID-19.