Kulula.com : Now Anyone Can Fly Teaching Note Synopsis and Overview

Kulula.com was established in 2001 as a low cost airline following the lines of the international discount airlines such as easyJet and Ryanair in Europe and Southwest Airlines in the USA. The strategy was to keep costs as low as possible, using single type aircraft, no frills such as business class or free refreshments, and keeping reservation costs low by booking directly, typically online. The objective was to target customers who would normally use other means of transport, or travellers that would fly more frequently if the price was lower, and hence to expand the market rather than tackle other airline operators head-on. The airline had been very successful in its early years of operation, avoiding the demise of other low cost SA operators such as Flightstar, Phoenix, and Intensive Air.

While its success could be attributed to adhering to its low cost strategy, much of its ability to establish a distinctive position in the marketplace had been due to the innovativeness of its promotional campaigns, cleverly devised by morrisjones&co, a small advertising agency. The agency managed to break through the advertising clutter to create a strong and irreverent brand identity, that achieved very high awareness levels relative to the marketing spend.

Case is relevant to the following topics: Low-cost airline industry, communication strategy, marketing strategy, market segmentation, target marketing, advertising agency involvement.