Thomas Cook Airlines gets cute with cats in latest digital-only campaign

"Fluffy kittens" is a derisory phrase used by the high and mighty in their ivory towers who want to dismiss the internet as the home of the vacuous and trivial.

But Thomas Cook Airlines hopes to exploit the undeniable online popularity of fluffy kitten videos for a serious commercial purpose - a digitally-focussed campaign called #catsonaplane, aimed at driving awareness of its seat-only business, reinforcing its "you deserve better" strapline, after a significant investment in its in-flight experience.

The consumer-facing premise is explained by the airline's marketing manager Tom Morey: “No-one can assess comfort like a cat. They’re the hardest customers to please, which is why we wanted to test our new interiors with the best."

A pedant might question the validity of this, but the airline is thinking about the campaign a lot more strategically than the soundbite suggests.

For starters, one of the key aims of the campaign is to create a distance and differentiation between Thomas Cook the airline and Thomas Cook the tour operator.

The campaign will only run online - no expensive TV adverts featuring B-list footballers and C-list pop stars for the airline - and initially be promoted via Thomas Cook Airlines' Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.

A spokesperson said that these campaigns "offered better value, were more engaging and more measurable than other channels and allow us to be creative and nimble."

In terms of paid-for digital, a spokesperson said that the airline would analyse traffic from its owned channels before deciding where to spend, but that "paid-for YouTube" was a likely outlet.

The digital focus for the campaign also connects with Thomas Cook Airlines' direct distribution approach for its seat-only business.

And the airline in the UK is looking to exploit its regional presence and promote new long-haul routes from Manchester in particular.

The campaign has been created by Catch Digital, which also worked with Thomas Cook Airlines on its VR-based Fantasy Flight campaign.

Thomas Cook's German airline Condor is also getting in on the VR act and has recently made a 360-degree video which shows the pilot's view from the cockpit of an Airbus A321 taking off and landing.

In a broader travel context, Thomas Cook's commitment to seat-only is in stark contrast to its main rival TUI, which is very much focused on using its aircraft to take its customers to its hotels as part of a TUI package holiday as part of its one brand strategy.

Thomas Cook's approach to selling seat-only may have come from necessity rather than desire, as the group appears to be playing catch-up with its big rival in the core tour operating space. Maybe the world has turned full circle again and Thomas Cook Airlines will be allowed to develop as an airline rather than as the transportation leg of a bonded package holiday.

And if that's too big a question to contemplate, here's a fluffy cat video: