Air New Zealand has selected CRT/tanaka as its public relations agency of record for North America, which covers its efforts in the United States, Canada and South America.
The firm will provide the highly regarded airline with support for strategic planning, media relations, promotions, sponsorships and events, new/dynamic media outreach and word-of-mouth marketing.
Air New Zealand provides air passenger and cargo transport services within New Zealand, as well as to and from New Zealand, Australia, the South Pacific, Asia, North America and the United Kingdom. CRT/tanaka will work with Air New Zealand to market its North American routes, including those from Los Angeles, San Francisco and Vancouver to New Zealand as well as its route from Los Angeles to London.
CRT/tanaka is charged with helping to raise awareness of the airline, its unique brand and product offerings, as well as New Zealand as a "must-visit" destination. CRT/tanaka's initial efforts will help Air New Zealand promote the airline's high season, its shoulder season and the company's "Pink Flight" in February, which is targeted toward the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities in celebration of the 2008 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. Additionally, CRT/tanaka will help the organization with its outreach to the female, boomer and adventure traveler communities.
"We believe CRT/tanaka is a great cultural fit for Air New Zealand. We were looking for an agency that is wildly creative, but highly strategic," said Roger Poulton, Air New Zealand Vice President, The Americas. "CRT/tanaka has offered great ideas and a talented team to deliver results. We are excited to begin this journey with them."
"We fell in love with the welcoming Kiwi spirit, the national pride, the commitment to the environment and the amazing storytelling that Air New Zealand brings to the airline industry," said Marcy Walsh, CRT/tanaka vice president and Los Angeles office general manager. "We are passionate about sharing how Air New Zealand inspires journeys and transports people through life-changing experiences - whether that be to New Zealand, London or any of the special places they fly."
Air New Zealand's North America headquarters are located in El Segundo, Calif. The key account team from CRT/tanaka will come from its West Coast office.
About CRT/tanaka
CRT/tanaka is an award-winning public relations and marketing firm with more than $11 million in 2007 fees. The firm is known for creative solutions and workplace culture. Headquartered in Richmond, Va. and New York, with offices in Los Angeles and Norfolk, Va., CRT/tanaka specializes in four practice areas - Consumer, Health, Corporate and Interactive. CRT/tanaka has been recognized with more than 285 national and regional awards for its strategic counsel, creativity, workplace culture and community service. Clients include Air New Zealand, Sprint Nextel, Target Stores, Atkins Nutritionals, Charles Schwab & Co., Girl Scouts of the USA, Wines from Rioja (Spain), HoMedics, All-Clad Metalcrafters, VHA Inc., Performance Food Group and ITT Corporation. More information about CRT/tanaka is available at www.crt-tanaka.com.
About Air New Zealand
Air New Zealand offers more direct flights to the South Pacific than any other airline, including non-stop flights from San Francisco, Los Angeles, Honolulu, and Vancouver to New Zealand, as well as Los Angeles non-stop to Fiji, the Cook Islands and Samoa. Other popular destinations include Australia, China, Japan and Tonga. In addition to flying non-stop Los Angeles-London, Air New Zealand's route between London and Hong Kong now allows customers to fly round-the-world on one airline. Consistently rated among the world's best international airlines, Air New Zealand's most recent accolades include recognition by the Conde Nast Traveler Reader's Choice Awards, the Travel + Leisure World's Best Awards and Business Traveler Magazine. United Mileage Plus, US Airways Dividend Miles and Air Canada's Aeroplan members earn and redeem mileage on select flights. Flight and vacation essentials can be booked on AirNewZealand.com or by calling 1-800-262-1234 in the USA and 1-800-663-5494 in Canada. Air New Zealand is a member of the Star Alliance network.
NOTE: The content of all Air New Zealand media releases are accurate at the time of issue, as stated at the top of each release. For updates on any changes, please contact Air New Zealand.
Air New Zealand is proud to be a member of Star Alliance. The Star Alliance network was established in 1997 as the first truly global airline alliance to offer worldwide reach, recognition and seamless service to the international traveller. Its acceptance by the market has been recognised by numerous awards, including the Air Transport World Market Leadership Award, Best Airline Alliance by both Business Traveller Magazine and Skytrax. The member airlines are: Adria Airways, Air Canada, Air China, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, Blue1, bmi, Continental Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EGYPTAIR, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Shanghai Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, Spanair, SWISS, TAP Portugal, Turkish Airlines, THAI, United and US Airways. Aegean Airlines, Air India, Brussels Airlines and TAM have been announced as future members. Overall, the Star Alliance network offers 19,500 daily flights to 1,071 airports in 171 countries.
For more information about Air New Zealand visit www.airnewzealand.com and for more information about Star Alliance visit www.staralliance.com.
