Virgin Australia

Master's Thesis from the year 2012 in the subject Business economics - Marketing, Corporate Communication, CRM, Market Research, Social Media, grade: 75%, University of Newcastle, course: Marketing management and planning, language: English, abstract: This situational analytical approach on Virgin Australia domestic business class product and its ambitious 'Game Change' strategic plan elict a comprehensive descriptive research data of the product, distribution, competition, target market and macro environmental situations which are exploited with SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis. The objectives draw out three main marketing issues- cost control, improvement to competitive advantage without lowering pricing alone and strengthening its position as a full service carrier. Those factors that affect the product's performance can then generate new insights and strategies about the product sustainability in the dynamic characteristics of demand and the proliferation of the airline market segments.

The essence of the Game Change strategic plan involves activities that are different from the incumbent airline. This differentiation is important in order to knockout its competitive advantage over rivals. Virgin must compete using its valuable tools and unique value based on a tailored mix of activities that differentiate it from rivals but not lowering its pricing alone to attract travellers.

The ethos of Virgin Australia's vision is the 'choice of airline' that must match into the new business model in the marketing process. To support this view, fundamental changes are being embedded and underway according to plan which requires a different business model and interactions. Virgin has opted and entered into the growth strategies of product development and diversification through product/brand extension. The business class product is an example of brand extension which will be discussed.