Marketing geniuses at Cathay Pacific Cargo ‘re-brand’ by dropping one word

Never underestimate the ability of marketing consultants to extract money from clients when launching a new brand. The latest example comes from Cathay Pacific Cargo, the air cargo arm of Cathay Pacific Airlines, which said “Cathay is excited to announce the launch of Cathay Cargo, a rebrand of its cargo business, and a change of name from Cathay Pacific Cargo”. That’s it…they changed one word. But according to Cathay, “the change aligns with the airline’s overarching brand redesign and reinforces the existing strong brand association and perceptions held by its customers. Cathay Cargo aligns with the same purpose, vision and values of our master brand Cathay and all of its subsidiary brands, including Cathay Pacific, the passenger airline, and Cathay, the everyday lifestyle offering”. Cathay Cargo officials did not respond to emailed questions about how much the so-called ‘re-branding’ will cost the carrier. But the marketing gurus continued, saying “Cathay Cargo is united behind Cathay’s vision to become one of the world’s greatest service brands and plays an integral role in helping to fulfil that aspiration through its world-class air cargo network, which transports products that facilitate trade across the entire Cathay network and beyond. Shipping directly to more than 70 destinations worldwide, Cathay Cargo is committed to advancing the development of all destination countries served by Cathay’s more than 200 aircraft”. It seems every company in the world these days wants to be a “brand” instead of just a company that does its business well. Cathay Pacific Group CEO Ronald Lam. (PHOTO: Cathay Pacific) Group Chief Executive Officer Ronald Lam said: “Cathay’s cargo business has played a vital role in the success of the Cathay Group since 1946 when we carried our first shipment between China and Australia. Our cargo services operate out of our home base of Hong Kong, which is also the world’s busiest international air cargo hub. This is an opportune moment to align our cargo business with the master brand as we continue our cargo investments in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area for a promising future. This rebrand reflects our Cargo business’ commitment to the same ‘Move Beyond’ ambition as the group while building on a strength that the Cathay brand has long been known for – offering leading-edge services to our customers.” The marketing consultants also touted Cathay Cargo’s “commitment to invest”, saying in a press release that “Cathay Cargo has recently introduced several exciting refreshed solutions, including Cathay Priority and Cathay Pharma. Cathay Mail is scheduled for a refresh in March. These services cater to the respective burgeoning demands by customers for effective temperature-sensitive solutions, and efficient and reliable delivery solutions with new digital technology that better meets the requirements for shipment visibility, reliability and speed”. Director Cargo Tom Owen said: “Cathay Cargo continues to innovate new solutions, services and technology for customers as we build towards being one of the world’s greatest service brands. Continued investment in technology and logistics will solidify our position as a leading player in the industry.” Cathay Cargo has invested in technology in recent years, such as Ultra Track, a multi-dimensional track-and-trace service that gives customers near-real-time information on the airport-to-airport leg of the shipment journey using low-energy Bluetooth data loggers. and, Click & Ship, an intuitive online booking service available 24/7 with instant processing and confirmation. As part of its rebranding campaign, Cathay Cargo’s website has been revamped of course to “reflect the brand ethos, enabling users to easily access popular features such as booking, track and trace, and flight availability, providing a clear showcase of recent campaign offers and featured solutions”. The rebrand will connect Cathay Cargo to the master Cathay – a premium travel and lifestyle brand offering products and services that create more value for customers and partners. Cathay Cargo will have more exciting initiatives soon as the company works toward a complete rebrand. Like AirAsia before it, Cathay seems to want to be a lifestyle brand instead of just an airline that does a great job of moving people and cargo from point A to point B. For Editorial Inquiries Contact: Editor Matt Driskill at [email protected] For Advertising Inquiries Contact: Head of Sales Kay Rolland at [email protected]