Annoyingly good idea
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*sigh*
My old art director Daryl has showed me up again.
He’s had a rather smart idea for Qantas: they’ve sent their frequent fliers a set of books of different lengths that will last for the exact flight time of their most popular routes. They’re all by excellent Aussie authors and the covers have been designed by Paul Belford.
It’s a business solution rather than an advertising one, and it’s a lovely bit of analogue in an increasingly digital age.
I doff my hat to it.
Check out the explanatory vid thing.
Nice idea. Look great. But does everyone read at the same speed?
Hmm, this is fine in principal, but surely it depends on how quickly you read. Slow readers won’t finish them in time. Also, on a practical level I think that movies are still more appealing… audiobooks would have been better and a bit more luxury.
I don’t think the less-than-100% accuracy matters *enormously*.
This makes no sense at all. The rise of the Kindle is largely because people don’t want to carry a load of books when they travel. The quote from the agency that claims that 40,000ft is the last bastion of the humble paperback is total bollocks. Fair play to Droga5, they can PR a shit idea like no-one else.
Sorry Ben, but isn’t that the idea? – Books that are tailored to flight times. Maybe slightly pedantic, but if they don’t fit then the cleverness of the idea doesn’t really work for me. Nice business idea on paper, chuckle.
“Packed it. Booked it. Fucked off.” Is that the insight?
Well, y’know, you might be distracted by a conversation or have a bit of a snooze. I think it’s more that Qantas have thought through your experience and given an extra shit (and book) that others didn’t bother with. I think it’s a nice icing on the cake rather than a way of getting people to swap airlines.
‘Fucking hell, I’ve landed in Dallas and I still have three pages to go. Those fucking arseholes…’ is not a reaction I’d expect.
‘Oh look, some nice books from Qantas, and they’re supposed to last as long as the flight. That’s nice. Mmmm… lovely, nice Qantas. The fact that I’m planning a half-hour hand shandy in the lavs when we’re over the South Pacific in no way ruins the positive feeling I’m now having towards the airline…’ is more likely.
They did think about reading times. That is how they worked out their product. That’s the whole point.
According to our literary friends at Hachette, the average reader consumes between 200 and 300 words per minute, which equates to about a page per minute,” said Mr. Nobay. That idea was applied more specifically to the shorter novels and flights, but “for the longer flights, we accommodated some napping time and meals,”
Be good if they worked out how many mgs of valium and red wine for each flight for people who don’t like flying, like me.
E.g. Spain, 10 mg of valium (5mg of valium, or non branded substitute, whilst boarding and the next whilst awaiting take off) and 1/2 a bottle of red or two shots of brandy 20 mins before take off. For full effect we suggest an empty stomach.
shouldn’t it be audio books? if someone has read it for you then you know how long it is.
but other people reading based on hackets “average reader” insight?
plop.
by the way, even if it’s audio, i still think it’s a pretty unexciting idea but well don’t for having the stamina for carrying through with it.
I think it’s a gorgeous idea. But if they’re already frequent flyers, what’s the point? Expensive way to shore up loyalty in a market largely driven by price/convenience. Nice PR if you can get it, I suppose.
*envies other brands not having budgets cut*
@pedantic
I think BMW did audio books to the length of the average car journey.
Is it true that with your Arsenal season ticket you get a copy of ‘À la recherche du temps perdu’ to while away the time whilst waiting for the next premiership title?
May I suggest ‘À la recherche du temps perdu’ for all Arsenal fans whilst they wait for the next premiership title.
Assuming it’s not been done before, as per comments, I think it’s a proper marketing idea.
It doesn’t matter about accuracy. It captures the imagination.
John, why do post anonymous comments, then the same comments with your name?
I had a technical mishap, Ben.