Spelling mistake or high-flying PR stunt?

Updated

It’s a wise airline that knows its own name. Or is it?

(Image: Cathay Pacific)

I’m probably not the first, or only, person to suspect that Cathay Pacific orchestrated the error in spelling on the side of one of its aircraft that got great play on social media.

I suggested on Twitter that, if it was a PR stunt, it was well played. In reply, one of my tweeps called it a “stroke of genius”.

Even if the incident was a genuine mistake, the decision to publicise it was calculated.

Certainly, Cathay Pacific got more publicity than it could have bought with the money used to repaint the livery.

But there’s a downside: does any airline want to be known for its mistakes?

Another clue that Cathay Pacific may have a problem with its social-media strategy came with the controversy over Instagram “influencer” Harimao Lee, who posted a picture of a young woman sitting backwards in a premium seat, staring out the window, and inexplicably covered in fairy lights (which, I’m pretty sure, are not part of the passenger package).

(Source: detail of Harimao Lee Instagram post)

I wonder how many of her many thousands of Insta followers rushed out and purchased tickets for the pointy end of a Cathay Pacific plane based on her post.

I’d hazard a guess at none, because she’s not in the demographic that generally buys premium-class seats. I reckon her audience is young and aspirational, which is fine, but Cathay should be paying her to promote the seats that they can afford.

The post certainly attracted a lot of attention, with follower @doctoryak noting:  I wonder how much time and effort was spent preparing this photo compared to actually looking out of the window. I’m not sure this is the best kind of advert for @cathaypacific#cathaycreators because it just looks a bit hollow, especially with the random fairy lights for no apparent reason.

Is there such a thing as bad publicity? For today, at least, we’re talking about Cathay Pacific.

Disclaimer: I’ll be flying with Cathay Pacific in business class in November — on a ticket I purchased with Qantas Frequent Flyer points.

One thought on “Spelling mistake or high-flying PR stunt?”

  1. From Buckleup on Twitter: “I reckon it was a stunt. And worth noting that the influencer has used fairy lights in other photos so it’s her trademark.”

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