A $ 2.5 Million Cost for Air NZ's "Mini-Success" Security Video

The "successful" security video of Air New Zealand would have cost about $ 2.5 million, according to an industry expert, but for a small town presented, this video is priceless.

Air NZ released three weeks ago It's the safety of kiwi fruit – The 18th security video of the national airline since 2009 and the biggest video of 600 people (mostly volunteers) to date.

Unlike previous videos, it does not feature international stars, but rather chooses local artists, including musicians Kings, Theia and Randa and actor Julian Dennison of Hunt for the Wilderpeople and Deadpool 2.

The video, supported by an adaptation of Run-DMC's 1980s song It's tricky, Was shot in Auckland, Wellington, Hokitika, Naseby, Ranfurly, Dunedin and Balclutha and was described by Air NZ as a "true mini blockbuster".

READ MORE: Air New Zealand security video divides the country

As with most Air NZ security videos, It's the safety of kiwi fruit split the country, and many commentators, including Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones, have criticized the airline for once again trivializing its safety messages with a "grumpy" video.

On Monday, Air NZ claimed that the video had been viewed 20 million times in just three weeks, including more than 10 million times on the Chinese website iQiyi. However, on Youtube, she had only 2.2 million views and iQiyi does not indicate the number of views of the video.

An Air NZ spokesperson said the $ 20 million figure was correct and included the views of many channels – including YouTube, various Facebook, Instagram, WeChat and Weibo pages.

As of June 30, 2018, Air NZ had spent $ 357 million on sales and marketing, $ 5 million more than the previous year.

The spokesperson did not say how much she had spent on the recent security video.

"We put a lot of effort into the production values ​​of our videos because the global audience they attract is extremely valuable and far exceeds the cost of production," she said.

"Our safety videos educate the world about New Zealand as a destination, as well as about Air New Zealand's routes, products and passengers."

Ben Goodale, general manager of the justONE advertising agency, said he believed the security video would cost the airline $ 2.5 million or even more.

"It's a pretty savvy production, there's a lot of time in front of the camera and editing has been huge – probably the slowest and most difficult part of all production," said Goodale.

In terms of the duration of the video, this is the average side of the videos on the security of Air NZ, with 4 minutes 37 seconds.

The company's notorious Safety in Paradise, which featured swimsuit models, lasted 4 minutes 10 seconds, while its Hollywood safety, starring Rhys Darby, came in at 5 minutes 7 seconds.

Goodale, who has more than 20 years of marketing experience, said the costs would include star talent, music rights and production costs.

"Although it sounds like an extravagance with all the talents on the screen, they have skilfully used community groups to which they would be able to donate instead of expensive individual talent deals."

"However, it's easy to underestimate the time and resources needed to explore as many places, groups, sort out costumes, talented actors, etc."

He estimated that the shooting would have taken more than three weeks.

If Air NZ's claim had been seen 20 million times, it was good, it was worth a lot, he said.

Getting as many views for an ad on YouTube would probably cost about $ 1.5 million, he said.

He stated that attitudes towards Air NZ videos varied by interlocutors.

"They are still debated in the offices.

"I hope that this one will attract less Kiwis than some others, but Air NZ has a keen eye on its foreign markets and that it will probably succeed very well."

For the residents of the city of Naseby, in the center of Otago, the theme of the video may not have been the way they see each other.

Local publican Adrian Hood, owner of the former Briton Hotel, said Naseby was a town of about 100 inhabitants and Air NZ was looking for 300 volunteers for the day's shooting.

He added that the airline had brought volunteers from Dunedin, as well as its own catering services, and that she was not spending a lot of money with local businesses.

The Nasebys were simple peasants, who would never have seen anything like it in their city before, he said.

"It's a bit weird for them but I think they enjoyed their day and were part of it."

Air NZ "did it all right" by issuing a notice in advance that the main street would be closed for the day and providing communication forms to the talents involved, he said.

"It was a well-oiled machine."

For Naseby, which is 600 meters above sea level, the exhibition offered by the video is priceless, he said.

"For us, all exposure is excellent."