The QANTAS magazine, serving up to advertisers one of the most desirable audiences in Australia, had a major problem as the national airline came up against the pandemic.
The main means of distribution, to aircraft seat pockets where passengers habitually grab the hefty magazine to fill the time between airports, suddenly stopped.
Airlines, already with drastically reduced flights due to social distancing rules, also didn’t want magazines on the few aircraft they still had in the air because that could be a risk of spreading the coronavirus.
In Australia, the QANTAS magazine, with 393,000 readers and produced by News Corp Australia majority-owned custom shop Medium Rare, quickly pivoted.
Distribution was switched from seatbacks to home delivery for Platinum Qantas Frequent Flyers and electronically to more than 12 million members of the Qantas loyalty program, starting with 2.9 million in May and to all in June.
By coincidence, research done about two months before the coronavirus showed that Qantas frequent flyers wanted to read the magazine even when they weren’t travelling.
“So we knew there was a lot of appetite there for the magazine, regardless,” says Kirsten Galliott, editor-in-chief, QANTAS Magazine.
“When COVID-19 hit we knew very quickly that it was going to be a problem for our April issue, which was a big beautiful magazine celebrating the best of Australia, post bushfires and trying to support local communities affected.
“We talked to Qantas about whether or not there was an opportunity to direct mail the magazine to their most valuable frequent flyers, and they agreed.
“We had a big whopping magazine in April, of 200 pages, and it was very expensive to post.”
The first postal run of hard copies was to about 25,000 addresses and has since expanded to 40,000 frequent flyers.
“The feedback we've had has been extraordinary,” Galliott told AdNews. “They loved receiving it.
“I honestly can't think of another airline magazine in the world that is still publishing. That's something to be proud of.
“The other piece of the puzzle for our clients who choose to advertise with us is that the Platinum audience that we're talking to is THE audience in Australia.
“To be able to reach those people in a very targeted way in their homes is absolutely extraordinary.
“And it's an amazing opportunity for Qantas Loyalty to talk to frequent flyers about how they can still be earning points on the ground as well and plan their next trip. ”
There’s always been an electronic version of the magazine but the current version has been enhanced.
“We will get through this and there is a world out there and we will discover it again,” says Galliott.
“We'll certainly be seeing a lot more of Australia, which is fantastic for Australian tourism.”
The new electronic and hardcopy distribution also has another benefit for Qantas -- it helps maintain the loyalty of high loyalty tier frequent flyers, a group which provides much of the core business for the airline
Philip Shelper, founder and CEO of loyalty program consultancy Loyalty & Reward Co, says next few years are going to be tough for Qantas.
He estimates the world-class loyalty program has likely seen a 65% plus drop in overall points earned since the pandemic struck.
This will have a material impact on earnings. The Qantas loyalty program has better profit margins than Qantas International, now in hibernation.
Qantas sells its frequent flyer points for between 1.1 cent and 2.5 cents each to companies wanting to use them to seek new customers and improve customer retention.
Most companies offering Qantas points to their customers are under contract, so even if they wanted to stop offering points, they wouldn’t be able to.
Qantas has been working hard to support earn partners, running competitions to earn points prizes and promoting its new Points Club, which recognises members who earn most of their points from spending rather than flying.
“The biggest challenge Qantas faces is a sustained disengagement by their most valuable members: Platinum One, Platinum and Gold,” says Shelper.
“While these represent just a few per cent of the total member base, they account for a sizable amount of total airline revenue and points earned.
“The pandemic may lead many of them to reconsider how they do business in the future, including making a conscious choice of less flights and more Zoom.
“A number of high-tier members we’ve spoken to have been surprised how much work they can still complete without a constant travel schedule.
“A reduction in flight activity over time may lead them to question whether they really need a Qantas credit card. Thus, Qantas Frequent Flyer could face a double-jeopardy situation, where premium tier members choose to fly less and spend less.”
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