Russian Revolutionary: Landor Associates Rebrands Siberia Airlines to S7
Siberia Airlines, the largest Russian domestic air carrier and Russia's second largest airline, reveals its new positioning, name and identity
London, 8 April 2005 — Siberia Airlines, the largest Russian domestic air carrier and Russia's second largest airline, has revealed its new positioning, name and identity, created by global branding and design consultants Landor Associates. This is part of a long-term strategic rebranding and full identity programme to transform the experience of travel in Russia and to create a relevant and differentiated brand for the people of Russia.
The airline's management team appointed Landor to help it reflect its status as the market leader in domestic Russian passenger air travel. The new brand had to be radical, challenging passengers' existing perceptions that travel in Russia is a rather 'grey' experience. At the same time, the plan to introduce Western aircraft into the Russian fleet offered the opportunity to rebrand. The new brand will be the catalyst for a break from the past, signalling the airline's ambition to be more customer focused and a provider of an improved product and service in the Russian airline market.
Peter Knapp, Executive Creative Director, Landor Associates, says: "Consumers in Russia are much more brand savvy and familiar with Western branding and associated lifestyle aspirations than ever. Our task was to help Siberia Airlines leave its regionality behind by becoming a strong national brand that breaks convention in its sector and that also has the flexibility to become a lifestyle brand that works beyond air travel in the future."
Vladislav Filev, General Director of Siberia Airlines, says: "Like many companies in Russia we faced a challenge of overcoming the Soviet 'anti-brand' legacy and our co-operation with Landor proves that this extremely difficult task is achievable. We hope to bring our passengers an experience that they have never had before."
The airline's special difference focuses on the idea of doing things differently and challenging the grey, dull image of institutional travel in Russia. This idea will underpin every element of the rebranding.
This is heralded by the new name S7 and over time will implemented across all of the airline's points of touch, including identity, livery, lounges, aircraft interiors, check-in desks, ticket offices, uniforms, in-flight services and printed collateral such as bag tags, ticket wallets.
The use of a name that is understood in both Russian and English signals a changing Russia. Landor dropped the Cyrillic alphabet and developed the name S7 from the airline's existing IATA code to come up with a distinctive and ground-breaking name.
The livery is a radical departure from both the airline's existing livery and the Russian airline category convention, ensuring the aircraft stand out on the tarmac — and equally important, in the snow. The colours are as dramatic and fresh as the name. Replacing the previous blue and white, the new main colour palette consists of two shades of bright green with a touch of red. The new logo appears in a bright red roundel on the fuselage and on the fin, as a point of contrast to the lime green body of the aircraft. The core belief to put customers first is visually expressed by the use of silhouettes in a deeper shade of green along the windows above the wing. The use of silhouettes as a symbol of customer-centricity is repeated in many other key applications of the brand.
A new business lounge in Moscow's Domodedovo Airport launches this week. It is another key part of the customer experience of the brand and is unlike anything done before in the Russian travel market. There are three areas in the lounge — the entrance, cafe/bar and office/home space. Two freestanding concierge stations replace the standard desk at the entrance to the lounge. Lighting is used to change the environments and mood over the course of the day, marking the transition from work to relaxation. Live piano music adds to the feeling of being in an intimate club.
Once implemented later in 2005, the aircraft cabin interiors designs will also break from the standard. The design concept is about unwrapping a package with the green on the outside, revealing a multi-coloured, multi-dimensional passenger experience on the inside. The seats in both the Business Class and Economy Class cabins will be in fabrics covered in dots — a reference to the S7 mark. The Business Class seats will be in shades of purple and the seats in Economy will be turquoise, both of which are complimented by contrasting colours used for the carpet, armrests and headrests. The graphic device of silhouettes that appears on the plane's exterior is carried through to the bulkheads.
Landor was appointed by S7 in August 2003, following a four-way brand strategy pitch.
For further information please contact:
Stephanie Brown, Landor Associates
T: 020 7880 8316
E:
stephanie_brown@uk.landor.com
Ilya Novohatskiy, Siberia Airlines
T: +7 095 540 47 94
E:
i.novohatskij@s7.ru
About Siberia Airlines
Siberia Airlines has three main hubs in Russia: Moscow (operating out of Domodedovo airport), Novosibirsk and Irkusk (gateway to the Far East). In the framework of the 2005 summer timetable Siberia Airlines operates more than 100 daily flights to more than 60 destinations.
In 2004 Siberia carried out 29,780 flights. The total number of passengers transported by Siberia Airlines increased by 10.3% compared to 2003 and reached 3.748 million. 64.8% of the passenger traffic is attributed to domestic operations and 35.2% to international operations.
2004 passenger turnover grew by 6.7% in comparison with 2003 and summed up to 9, 871 mln. pkm. The volume of transported cargo and mail increased by 9% in 2003 and comprised 22,906 tons as the company continued its development as Russia's premier domestic airline. The company expects the total volume of passengers for 2005 to reach 4.1 million.
Siberia's fleet consists of more than 40 aircraft including 3 Airbus A310 aircraft. This summer the airline starts to operate 5 Boeing 737-500 aircraft and 2 more A310 aircraft, which makes Siberia's fleet of Western aircraft the largest one in Russia.
In February 2004 Siberia Airlines became the winner of the Air Transport World magazine award in the Market Leadership category. Also in 2004, Siberia Airlines retained the first place in terms of domestic air traffic among Russian airlines. In June 2003, Siberia airlines became the first Russian winner of the Award for Excellence in Corporate Strategy at the Flight International Aerospace Awards.
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PS. Пора переименовывать ветку в «Новости а/к S7» — товарищи, ребрендинг, которого мы все так долго ждали, наконец-то свершился!