BACKGROUND
Allegiant Air was founded in 1997 and is certificated by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) as a "Scheduled Air Carrier" with authority to fly scheduled and charter airline operations throughout the U.S. The company also has authority for charter service to Canada and Mexico.  With a focus on leisure travel, the company emphasizes low-fares, nonstop flights, innovative vacation packages and leisure traffic to world-class destinations – currently Las Vegas, NV and Orlando, FL. Allegiant currently provides nonstop scheduled service from 35 U.S. markets to the Las Vegas destination and to the Orlando destination from 16 U.S. markets. In addition to its scheduled service, the airline also operates charter service throughout the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

THE OBJECTIVE

• On August 25, 2005 Allegiant Airlines announced new non-stop flight service from Portsmouth International Airport, Portsmouth, NH to Orlando, FL beginning October 28, 2006.  Bresette was retained to market Allegiant in this New England destination and make it a financially viable route.

THE STRATEGY
Bresette + Company developed a strategic marketing and public relations plan which included the following:

• Public Relations: A concentrated public relations strategy was developed and executed which brought awareness to the “Official Airline for Sunshine” flying from Portsmouth International Airport. Special emphasis was placed on the quality service provided by Allegiant and the fact the airline supports the communities which it operates.
• Print Advertising: The sole print strategy was to utilize alternating various size ads with spot color in local newspaper publications. Ads were placed not only in the Primary Market but buys were expanded to focus on the Secondary Markets as well; these included Southern Maine and the North Shore of Massachusetts.
• Television Advertising:  A high frequency of cable television was purchased.  Network TV was utilized sparingly to reinforce the cable buys.  The targeted demographic was women 25-54 and the programming reflected this focus.
• Radio Advertising: All campaigns included radio. The buys were concentrated on stations which reached the targeted demographic and covered both the Primary and Secondary Markets.
• Special Events: Events such as a “Halloween party” at Portsmouth International on behalf of Allegiant. This event included live remotes from 3 radio stations, a haunted house and special games for kids. There were Allegiant ticket give aways for best costumes-even a tarot card reader was secured as a volunteer.

THE VALUE-ADDED
Broadcast media was an integral part of our strategy. We wanted to maximize media reach and frequency while keeping within the budget provided.  We also wanted to get people on the planes to have first hand experience of the quality of service provided. Therefore the following were negotiated:

• Radio Promotions: Focused promotions delivered $4 of value for every $1 spent by Allegiant on 5 stations in the Primary and Secondary Markets . Each promotion involved giving away airline tickets and all the promotions provided Allegiant with 400% more value than a regular radio spot buy. Promotions Included:
• Over 200 Radio Spots.
• Over 500 live promotional readings with special emphasis on programming with stations top Personalities.
• Live remotes at special events in Orlando and Portsmouth airports, and from radio personalities before and after flights.
• Web links and consistent email blasts to thousands of the most loyal station listeners.
• Cable TV: This form of media was able to provide higher frequency without blowing out the budgets. The following free value on cable was negotiated:
• Over 600 free 10 second station “taggables” on stations such as Bravo, Lifetime, Nickelodeon, TNT, TBS, USA, CNN, Discovery, etc.

THE RESULTS
The launch of Allegiant Airlines route from Portsmouth International Airport to Orlando, FL broke all sales records.  The Portsmouth Market had the highest sales for new service over any of the other 50 markets Allegiant serves.