The marketing gurus are obviously trained to sell concepts. So good are they at this that they can sell hugely expensive advertising campaigns to airline executives, who fall for the hype and glamour with little regard on how the money can be better spent.
It's history now that Ansett spent between $40 and $50 million to sponsor the the 2000 Sydney Olympics, money straight down the plughole as the majority of Aussies thought Qantas were the actual sponsors. And AN dead and just about buried just 12 months after the closing ceremony!!
Please read this fantastic information piece, with particular attention to Point 8 -
Effective Naturally - Build a Brand People Rave About
*Citation for the website link I have posted: Touchpoints blog at effectivenaturally.com is a web initiative by Australian Rick Marton, that covers marketing, social media, public speaking and media coaching. It is based in Launceston, Tasmania.
Just my opinion, however I believe Virgin Australia needs to concentrate on their business plan, forget the advertising hype. Promote the airline for how good and safe it is, (if that's their genuine belief), and work extremely hard on that to make sure that's what the paying public (not guests) gets.
Qantas has had nearly a century of successfully proving itself to Australia and the World, Virgin Australia has yet to do that in any meaningful way. It's future is being shaped by its foreign owners and that can't be good in the long term, we all know what happened with Ansett...