Brand Strategy | Customer Segmentation | Team Facilitation
The Aer Lingus brand enjoys the status of being one of Ireland’s most valued, trusted, and respected brands. In 2022, following the Covid pandemic and facing an evolved customer and competitive landscape, the organisation set out on its next phase of development. As part of this process Genesis was retained to deliver a future brand positioning and strategy designed to act as a key enabler of Aer Lingus’s recovery and growth strategy, in Ireland, and critically international markets.
At its core the project was about building a strategic brand positioning that had the capacity to act as a ‘north star’ for the airline in terms of its decisions, actions, and marketing investment, while also enabling supporting the organisation to pursue and deliver on its vision and purpose.
The initial work consisted of a detailed analysis of existing research and market intelligence, supplemented by open-source desk research that focused on key consumer and competitive dynamics, and qualitative consultation with key internal stakeholders. With this foundational information and insight in place Genesis undertook a comprehensive quant research study (with in excess of 4,000 participants) in the key markets of Ireland, the UK, France, Germany, and the US and conducted extensive qualitative consumer research through an online community platform.
With deep consumer, brand, and competitive insight Genesis then implemented a brand strategy development sprint with a dedicated multi-disciplinary team from Aer Lingus. The brand strategy sprint, run over 4 weeks, encompassed modules relating to bullseye customer persona and insight development, brand and competitive positioning and brand proposition proof points and final brand strategy development. The draft strategy was then shared with senior stakeholders before being signed off and socialised across the organisation.
Although early in its implementation the Aer Lingus brand is on an upward trajectory. The business experienced a strong second half to 2022 and, supported by the launch of the new brand (through communications and activation partners), has delivered accelerated growth in 2023. Critically key brand metrics are also improving in key markets.
After the completion of the brand strategy Genesis were retained to deliver a large-scale customer segmentation strategy for the airline and continued to work the Aer Lingus team to support planning and execution of the agreed brand strategy.
“Having worked with Genesis on this important project I would have no hesitation in recommending them. They are a great team and were very easy to work with. They demonstrated a capacity to think both strategically and creatively during the work which was very important to us. They brought smart processes, relevant expertise, and an attention to detail to the work, and challenged us in Aer Lingus at the right times to ensure the output was robust and ambitious. They also were challenged in return by the Aer Lingus team on several key points and at key milestones, and Genesis always responded well.”
Meabh Clohosey, Aer Lingus Brand and Marketing Director