January 16, 2019
With the pending demise of Joon, Air France’s one-year-old start-up budget carrier that catered to Millennials, travel brands have been taking a fresh look at the do’s and do-not’s of marketing this important demographic of travelers.
Joon (cleverly pronounced like the French word for “young”), was one of a handful of upstart European carriers seeking to ride the coattails of the success of discount carrier Norwegian Air, to no avail. Just as Air France was declaring the end of the Joon era, Icelandic budget carrier WOW announced a major scale-back of its North American services in 2019. Now, WOW may be more a victim of marketing oversaturation than anything else. Joon’s wounds, on the other hand, appear to be self-inflicted.
Let’s use the cases of Joon and Norwegian to explore what works, and what tanks, when in comes to marketing to MIllennials.
Understand the experience they seek.
It’s a common trope that Millennials are die hard seekers of experiences over things. So it stands to reason that an airline created to serve that audience would take care to craft an experience just for them. In Joon’s case, that included hipster flight attendants wearing jeans and sneakers. It also meant a slick app called YouJoon (what else?), and onboard access to Red Bull TV and Viceland.
What Joon failed to understand was that the flight itself isn’t the experience Millennials care about. It’s where the flight gets them that really matters.
Value means more than image.
It also matters how much money is left in their pockets when they arrive. Joon, while low-cost compared to legacy carriers like British Airways and parent Air France, still couldn’t touch the fares offered by established low fare carriers like Ryanair and EasyJet. For Millennials comfortable living out of a backpack and eating street food on vacation, those savings are a big deal. The price alone made Joon a less likely choice.
Norwegian, by comparison, prefers to let its fares to the talking, and doesn't openly court any single age group. As a result, they draw passengers from the ranks of the young and the old, from the no-frills vacationer to the budget-conscious business traveler.
Authenticity still matters.
As we’ve explored with our /Explore podcast, the two top priorities for Millennial travelers are a good deal and authenticity. Joon, with its slick, hipper than thou image and non-competitive fares, offered neither.
And that’s perhaps the greatest lesson of all here. Give Millennial travelers the real experiences they desire, along with the prices they demand, and they’ll be more likely to give you their business.