The Campaign

When we fly, cabin pressure and altitude can ruin the taste of food and drink. Some airlines adapt food to this environment. But not the world’s favourite alcoholic beverage. So we created the world’s first ever beer scientifically crafted to taste best at 35,000 feet. We fused aviation science with a reinvented brewing process to combat the effects flying has on our sense of taste. And we named it “Betsy Beer” after Cathay Pacific’s iconic first aircraft, a 1946 Douglas DC-3.

Creative Execution

To embody the spirit of “Travelling Well”, this product had to truly heighten the Cathay Pacific experience for beer-lovers. So first we researched the science of a cabin. Engine noise, cabin pressure and humidity combine to dull our palate by up to 30%. We worked with brewing experts to increase carbonation 10% higher than sea level beers for increased mouthfeel. We made it a wheat beer to reduce bitterness. We enhanced flavour by making it an unfiltered beer. And by keeping the yeast unfiltered, we retained high levels of Vitamin B, known for restorative properties. We put travel into Betsy’s DNA by marrying flavours from our home Hong Kong (Dragon fruit and honey) and our launch route the UK (Fuggle hops). Finally we crafted a unique visual identity for Betsy that celebrates Cathay’s brand heritage and core brand colour palette, and fused traditional Chinese design with a craft beer ethos.

Indication of how successful the outcome was in the market

Since the launch batch of 4,800, over 90,000 bottles have been brewed to meet sky-high demand. Our small budget garnered $104 million earned media as the world’s first altitude brew amassed attention from worldwide press — reaching a total audience of 621 million, and counting! Betsy Beer saw a 97x return on ad spend, and attributed to 24% revenue growth on UK routes (Business Class sales, Mar 2017 vs Mar 2016). 83% of customers said Betsy differentiated the Cathay experience and 74% said it enhanced the Cathay Pacific experience (n=2200, passenger survey). Its success has meant Cathay plans to roll Betsy out on other key routes including Australia, Japan, Canada, and the US — helping beer loving passengers worldwide travel better than ever.

Cathay Pacific believes in living “Life Well Travelled”. So they strive for new ways to help every passenger travel as well as possible. Even beer lovers! Craft ale has grown massively in popularity in recent years, especially amongst well-travelled 30-45 year olds – Cathay’s core front-end audience. As an innovation designed to help these travellers “travel well”, the strategy was to get Betsy into the hands of an influential niche segment of this demographic. Betsy went direct to consumers at invite-only launch events in Cathay airport lounges in HK and UK, and in the air on 43 weekly flights between HK and UK. We also sent specially designed Betsy packs direct to influential travel and beer bloggers, restaurateurs and the HK Craft Beer Association who organically spread the story. Organic storytelling was backed by programmatically targeted online media, with a series of short films explaining the design and craft process.