The joys of the in-flight magazine
A frequent flyer, I often get to sample in-flight magazines from low-cost airlines. And let’s be honest, they often look as cheap as the tickets. Sterling was a case in point. The magazine was poorly translated from dull originals - in fact, a friend of mine had even suggested that Eye for Image contact Sterling to offer to improve the magazine.
But on my last flight to Copenhagen, I was amazed to enjoy reading the Sterling in-flight magazine. It was packed with well-written articles, in enjoyable and compelling English. Not only that, but the content was varied, from an interview with Anthony Hopkins to interesting takes on travel articles to Sterling destinations. It was so good, I took a copy home.
It seems that Sterling have outsourced the entire production of the magazine to an external agency. From content to layout to proofreading to editing - everything is done by a group of professional writers who know how to hook a reader and keep them entertained.
Some airlines treat the in-flight magazines as the forgotten son of marketing - and they are missing a trick. A good magazine will entice flyers to read further: once you’ve enjoyed an article you look for more - and so the special offers and promotions get extra attention and have a greater chance of success. And a well-written travel article will encourage the reader to visit the profiled destination (flying with that airline).
I passed my copy onto a friend who I thought would enjoy the article on Swing dancing in Berlin. It will be interesting to see if he visits Berlin as a consequence - and of course, if he flies Sterling.
September 13th, 2007 at 10:37 am
Flying back and forth between Stansted and Copenhagen frequently, I have had plenty of time to read the Easyjet in-flight mag. My conclusion? It’s pretty darn good. But then Easyjet have always understood how to brand themselves successfully.
September 20th, 2007 at 10:52 am
Spot on! I always “steal” those things and have even saved some articles.
One example: I don’t have kids, but if I did they’d have to deal with about 4 languages. That can be tricky! And there was this feature about ways to naturally get children to pick up new languages, with very specific tips and tactics that weren’t at all militaristic, as some tend to be. Raising a child multi-lingual is a big challenge many of my colleagues and friends face - so the story was interesting and relevant.
They’ve gotten better at recommending places to go in new cities, too. I’ll admit that I’ve followed a few of the recommendations - and have discovered a lot of great events and trends in the process.