Sunwing Vacations is inviting would-be travelers to get more out of their trips by saving money and leaning in
The hero spot includes not just a multitude of different sun-kissed travel excursions, but also the different kinds of personas people embrace when they are on vacation, whether they prefer relaxing or going on excursions, or even how much sunscreen they apply. The approach is meant to be a more comedic way to talk about value, with the idea being that people can feel free to do and be who they want if they don’t have to worry about spending.
“When we think about Sunwing vacationers, they want more out of their vacations,” says Samantha Taylor, CMO at Sunwing Vacations Group, hence the approach of urging people to “save more, do more.”
Last year, Taylor says the brand wanted to stand out as a different vacation company, reinforcing how travel feels rather than just how it looks, in addition to positioning itself as a value brand.
“Since introducing Sunwing Vacations’ new value proposition and whimsical brand personality last season, our teams have dedicated the last year to engaging with our customers to gain a deeper understanding of their diverse travel styles and preferences so we can continue to evolve alongside them,” Taylor says.
The creative concept for the campaign was spearheaded by Sunwing’s creative agency John St., in collaboration with Sunwing’s in-house creative team. It was a relationship that was formed in March after an RFP, which Conflict, Sunwing’s previous AOR, did not participate in.
Sunwing is also moving to more of more multi-year versus a one-year strategy, and that John St’s engaging work with No Frills helped solidify the choice, Taylor says.
The campaign’s lead spot will be broadcast on specialty channels in the key Toronto and Montreal markets, as well as in radio, out-of-home, social media, digital video and cinema, with the buy being done by Mediacom.
Taylor tells strategy that last year, the brand had a small cinema buy in select cinemas in November and December. This year, its preexisting Cineplex relationship helped it synch its recent buy to coincide with the highly anticipated release of Taylor Swift’s new concert film.
Sunwing also has content partnerships with creators, including Canadian media personality, comedian and mom Jessi Cruickshank, representing the vacationing families that are core to the Sunwing brand.
“We are starting to push more into this space,” Taylor says.
According to Taylor, this is one of the bigger spends in recent years. Last year, post-pandemic, it was “reserved” in its digital focus, but that this is a “big swing back into having a complete full-funnel plan.” It’s important, she says, to reinforce that Sunwing is here for the long term.
This summer, WestJet finalized its acquisition of Sunwing Vacations and Sunwing Airlines. The following month, WestJet announced it would be merging Sunwing Airlines into its mainline business, though the brand would continue to operate until the integration process was complete, which is now expected to happen by October of next year. The move came after WestJet folded budget carrier Swoop into its main operations as a remedy to a labour dispute with the union representing its pilots.
