A mad dash to wed on board Cathay Dragon

HONG KONG - It's not a scene from Runaway Bride, but rather three real-life Chinese couples all decked out in their wedding outfits and sprinting through an airport in a race to say 'I do' at 35,000 feet. 

McCann Hong Kong and MRM/McCann Shanghai launched a "Marriage in the Air" campaign featuring the couples (real-life travel influencers) to symbolise the closer ties between Cathay Pacific and its recently rebranded sister carrier Cathay Dragon. 

Voting is currenty underway to pick the lucky couple that will hold an actual wedding on board a Cathay Dragon flight. Voters will also stand a chance to attend the wedding, slated to take place on 6 January. The agencies collaborated on the creative concept, media planning, buying and execution of the campaign. 

Launched in partnership with three of the largest Chinese travel platforms–Ctrip, Mafengwo and Qyer–the campaign aimed to increase awareness for the rebranded carrier among Chinese travellers, according to a statement released by McCann Hong Kong. Its hashtag ＃空中婚礼_为爱翱翔＃shot to the second spot organically on the Weibo Travel Hot Topic Board on the second day of the launch, while social posts with the hashtag have also gained 25 million views within the first week of launch, according to the company. The campaign is supported by a web page and is run on both digital media and social media. 

"This is our first time to tap into a partnership of this nature and scale with travel platforms and influencers in China," Grace Cheung, manager, global marketing communications, Cathay Pacific, said in a statement. "The result is highly targeted content in a media environment where Chinese consumers are already engaged."

"Our creative challenge was not just to create an advertising campaign that delivered a brand message," said Martin Lever, executive creative director of McCann's Cathay Pacific team. "It was to create a social conversation that placed our client's brand at the centre of something meaningful in people's lives."

Campaign's view: Both agencies certainly scored in their novelty to present an airline beyond the travel and tourism sphere. And they have been astute to bank on the weddings of the influencers to generate buzz among Chinese consumers. But looking at the of the apparent success of the campaign, one cannot help but be astounded that something as personal as holy matrimony can be betted on in such a public manner. 

CREDIT

McCann Hong Kong - Cathay Pacific Central Team 

Brandon Cheung, Managing Partner 

Creative 

Martin Lever, Executive Creative Director
Rick Kwan, Creative Director
Guilherme Pecego, Creative Director
Agnes Lee, Associate Creative Director
Fanny Lau, Associate Creative Director
Dan Jacques, Associate Creative Director
Daniel Cheong, Senior Art Director
Mok Ngo, Art Director
Wong Wai Ping, Jr Art Director
George Cheung, Visualiser
Debbie Yung, English Copywriter
Wing Tam, Producer

MRM//McCann Shanghai

Mike Zeng, Managing Director
Tianit Ng, Chief Creative Officer
Fiona Zang, Deputy General Manager
Arnimesh Narrain, Planning Director
Ricky Chen, Group Creative Director
Poppy Qian, Associate Creative Director
Artlan Wang, Group Head
Kevin Deng, Associate Account Director
Edith Wang, Account Manager/Media Manager
Erica Tian, Sr. Account Executive
Justin Zhang, Technical Director
Dyson Du, Project Manager
Cesar Xu, Web developer
Ellen Hua, Senior Data Analysis