Airlines sure do love spending money on a rebranding, even if it’s not necessary. Cathay Pacific has revealed the details of a brand refresh, which includes the introduction of a new slogan — “Move Beyond.”
Here’s a video with the new slogan:
While I quite like the videos as such (in particular the first one), I just can’t wrap my head around their new slogan.
Previously Cathay Pacific’s slogan was “Life Well Travelled,” and to me that was a brilliant slogan for an airline, one of my favorites out there. After all, the best thing an airline can do is help you live a “life well travelled.”
But “Move Beyond,” really? As Cathay Pacific describes it:
Your journey matters as much to us as it does to you. That’s why we’re here to help you on your way, to make the most of everything that lies ahead.
Ambition and innovation are at the heart of the Cathay Pacific story. Our founders, Roy Farrell and Sydney de Kantzow, had a passion for flying and a love of the region that led to our creation.
This still fuels us today. We challenge ourselves to move past previous achievements, to be the best we can be. We want to be better at serving you and pre-empting your needs – to be more reliable, more personal, more thoughtful and ultimately, more valuable to you.
We’re here to help you arrive ready to make the most of what lies ahead.
I totally appreciate the concept behind this, but to me all of this still seems better suited for a “Life Well Travelled” slogan than a “Move Forward” slogan.
In general I understand what Cathay Pacific is trying to do. They want to look towards the future and all that’s possible. But somehow “Move Beyond” doesn’t communicate that to me.
To me “Move Beyond” has a negative connotation, like something really bad happened, and they want you to forget about it. To use it in a sentence, “Cathay Pacific had a massive data breach that impacted millions of people, and now they want us to Move Beyond it.”
To me this screams “I had a really bad year last year, let me Move Beyond it,” and not “I had a great year last year, but possibilities are endless and this year could be even better, so let’s Move Beyond.” But maybe that’s just me…
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m often resistant to companies rebranding, since it takes some getting used to. But I really do think this is an especially bad rebranding, in particular since I loved the “Life Well Travelled” slogan.
What do you make of Cathay Pacific’s new Move Beyond slogan?
Amazing how claims of top management and reality differs .....
The refund of the pregnant wife's ticket is refunded and accepted. Her accompanying husband is still fit to fly so we need a cancellation feed of 120 USD
On the same transaction, the 120 USD penalty needs to paid now, immediately "otherwise we can not cancel". The refund of charges and taxes takes 4 to 6 weeks for that very same ticket.
There is...
Amazing how claims of top management and reality differs .....
The refund of the pregnant wife's ticket is refunded and accepted. Her accompanying husband is still fit to fly so we need a cancellation feed of 120 USD
On the same transaction, the 120 USD penalty needs to paid now, immediately "otherwise we can not cancel". The refund of charges and taxes takes 4 to 6 weeks for that very same ticket.
There is still a long way to go to achieve your claim. Others are better today (Got proof, as the same case was handled more in favour of customer than "our rules and regulations".)
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Cathay Pacific’s vision is simple – to be the world’s best airline.
Being the best means we strive to excel in everything we do. This includes putting the safety and well-being of our people and customers first, contributing to the communities we fly to and continually improving our environmental performance.
Our commitment to excellence and our sense of responsibility is driven by the motto of the Swire Group, our principal shareholder: “Esse Quam Videri”, meaning “to be, rather than to seem to be”.
I have to agree with this one. I subscribed to their mailing list, got an email about this ‘brand refresh’ and new slogan. My first thought was “...did something bad happen to CX?(that they change their slogan to ‘moving forward’. Some googling and nah, its just a way to burn cash. Totally unnecessary.
On the other side, i’ve been flying CX since forever, and while i can feel some of its declining performance (delay, asiamiles...
I have to agree with this one. I subscribed to their mailing list, got an email about this ‘brand refresh’ and new slogan. My first thought was “...did something bad happen to CX?(that they change their slogan to ‘moving forward’. Some googling and nah, its just a way to burn cash. Totally unnecessary.
On the other side, i’ve been flying CX since forever, and while i can feel some of its declining performance (delay, asiamiles redemption BS) but overall i’d still prefer flying with them to, say, SQ or MH. Their food are often times decent, their HK lounges are great. And most importantly for me...... they serve HaagenDazs.
The only great thing about SQ imo is that their HQ is in Changi, which i admit is one of my fav airports to date. Their pricing is skyhigh and honestly, i found their cabin service is terrible n their steward/ess are unfriendly, snappy, borderline rude.
I like their previous slogan a lot also. It highlights a very positive CX spirits and mission. The new slogan sounds quite negative. I don't know if the English slogan or the Chinese slogan comes first, I completely agree with Gio's comment, the new Chinese one is much better than the new English one.
Perhaps they could have gone back to the late 80's "New day dawning" tag line. That campaign had the most captivating ad ever. Does anyone recall this? That campaign implies the same thing.
BE BEST
"Life well travelled" was great
"Move beyond" sounds like it might be a suppository
I checked out Cathay's PR release, and their slogan in Chinese is 志在飛躍 - aspire to soar/leap. "Move Beyond" sounds like a much-bungled translation.
Move beyond the death incident in their SFO lounge this week? Would rather have them clean their showers/restrooms more frequently - shocked that someone checked in can die in their lounge and then not be discovered until a day later!
Move beyond is better suited to Malaysia Airlines than CX
Whether it has a gay couple in it is irrelevant and does not detract from the fact that it is a complete waste of money. They should simply concentrate to raising their customer service standards, including meals to the standards set by Singapore Air.
Just forgotten:
Additionaly the distinction between long-haul operation and the short-haul "Dragonair" delivered great photo scenes for aviation geeks :-)
First I would like to thank Ben (Lucky) for this really great website.
I think the new phrase "Move Beyond" is a really remarkable step for the company: It shows that the management and marketing department have lost contact with customers and the real challenges of today and tomorrow.
The first mistake was to minimize the Dragon logo of Dragonair. In the past it has been shown very prominently on the vertical stabilizer and enabled...
First I would like to thank Ben (Lucky) for this really great website.
I think the new phrase "Move Beyond" is a really remarkable step for the company: It shows that the management and marketing department have lost contact with customers and the real challenges of today and tomorrow.
The first mistake was to minimize the Dragon logo of Dragonair. In the past it has been shown very prominently on the vertical stabilizer and enabled the customer to distinguish between the Asian operation and the connections with the PRC.
And now a new slogan and a slight modification of design? For me it has the bad aftertaste that the company has no (new) ideas at the moment.
Modifications in the customer experience should be in core of the thinking. With the seat load factors very high the aim should be to try to enhance the willingness of customers to pay for additional services.
Cathay's "Life well travelled" was one of my absolute favorites of any airline. Maybe only ANA's "Inspiration of Japan" came close for me personally.
This is a sad day for the Cathay brand!
Not particularly as inspiring and aspirational as the last line "life well travelled". I also don't understand why they made such a big deal to notify their Marco Polo members yesterday as well. To the members, they said,
"You might have seen today that we've relaunched our brand under the tagline "Move Beyond". I'd like to take this opportunity to explain what this means to you, our most valued and loyal customers."
It's a...
Not particularly as inspiring and aspirational as the last line "life well travelled". I also don't understand why they made such a big deal to notify their Marco Polo members yesterday as well. To the members, they said,
"You might have seen today that we've relaunched our brand under the tagline "Move Beyond". I'd like to take this opportunity to explain what this means to you, our most valued and loyal customers."
It's a very old school thought that thinks members care. What does a tag line even means to a member? I can't help but notice that there were several things CX has moved beyond -
- cutting the lounge in PVG and merged with China Easter
- cutting fresh fruits and small bottled water in The Wing
I also personally find "Move Beyond" extremely pushy and irritating. Yes I am doing well in my career and I do not need you to tell me to Move Beyond. Just be real. Give us better service and care.
According to their Chinese slogan, "Aim Higher" or " Leap Higher" would be more accurate.
Kinda Cantonese-British translation joke again.
"Life well travelled" was a slogan that should have not been so casually discarded. Cathay seem to be doing some things great (the rebranding and success of Cathay Dragon a good example) but this "Move Beyond" is ridiculous. With the incredible improvements on China Southern / China Eastern / Xianmen Airlines on all their internationational routes, then Cathay would be better advised to invest in their inflight product rather than this ridiculous and completely un-necessary...
"Life well travelled" was a slogan that should have not been so casually discarded. Cathay seem to be doing some things great (the rebranding and success of Cathay Dragon a good example) but this "Move Beyond" is ridiculous. With the incredible improvements on China Southern / China Eastern / Xianmen Airlines on all their internationational routes, then Cathay would be better advised to invest in their inflight product rather than this ridiculous and completely un-necessary rebranding nonesense.
Move aside, Cathay Pacific.
How about CX "move beyond" pandering to people based on identity politics?! Simply putting images of specific demos in ads doesn't draw people to your brand (i.e. how Benneton became a descriptor--"this cast looks like a Benneton ad" rather than a boost to the branding of the firm)....agree with your analysis of this rebranding--a total waste of $$. I preferred the more aspirational (and still inclusive) "Life Well Traveled".....
And "move beyond" opens the airline...
How about CX "move beyond" pandering to people based on identity politics?! Simply putting images of specific demos in ads doesn't draw people to your brand (i.e. how Benneton became a descriptor--"this cast looks like a Benneton ad" rather than a boost to the branding of the firm)....agree with your analysis of this rebranding--a total waste of $$. I preferred the more aspirational (and still inclusive) "Life Well Traveled".....
And "move beyond" opens the airline up to sooooo many easy jokes.....I'll "move beyond" CX and fly Singapore instead!
I can not "move beyond" Cathay's poor lounge food quality with their Sodexo contract.
Well better than ‘Be Best’ lol.
Do like the gay couple. Always nice to see people like oneself in media!
Jason, give thanks to ur friend
Awful slogan and awful service. I flew Cathay a few months ago. Male stewards are as rude as hell, food was a trash. China southern airlines is a lot, lot better on terms of service
I'll never fly Cathay.
Personally don't mind it that much. If you watch the ads and press con without reading the article above, you'd probably have a neutral feeling.
If you look at the Chinese slogan, it makes sense and it's fine. Maybe just not the best translation? Might not be the best English slogan but not quite awful
Personally don't mind it that much. If you watch the ads and press con without reading the article above, you'd probably have a neutral feeling.
If you look at the Chinese slogan, it makes sense and it's fine. Maybe just not the best translation? Might not be the best English slogan but not quite awful
So many opinions on a slogan! Most people will use Cathay Pacific because of...
1) Price
2) Convenience
3) Service
......
148) Slogan
I personally like “Fly us, bitch!”
But Life Well Traveled is ok too.
Move Beyond is awful
Move Beyond Bonvoy
Move Beyond???? What???
Not a good slogan!
"move beyond"? Move beyond what?
I agree with comments from @tony and I'd put in special assistance and how useless their ground staff were at their own home base HKG.
Move Beyond ... Us
Well honestly who cares? Does this slogan change mean anyone actually chooses to pay cash or redeem points for a CX flight above any other airline?
Bonvoy!
CX is targeting gay couples. Higher income/spending but no child.
What jars me most is not the meaning of the slogan (though I agree Life Well Travelled is much better) - it's the fact that it is missing a subject. "Move Beyond"... what? Argggh...
Given their recent bad publicity, this is one way to burn cash and dig a hole for themselves. Asking us to Move Beyond being their Customer .
Truly awful. Bland, generic and far too preoccupied by the trend for the red herring of 'brand purpose'. Life well travelled I thought was excellent, and also well executed at least in their lounges at HKG.
Seems ok to me.
Whats the point of changing a slogan when nothing is done to improve inboard experience. Take a piece from SQ, they have always been "A Great Way to Fly."
When I lived in Hong Kong in the 1980's, Cathay was just finding its intercontinental feet, and its unofficial slogan (as seen on promotional T-Shirts worn by many in HK) was: I [heart] CX. At least that slogan made people smile :-)
If you have an idea how bad their image is in the eyes of hong kong locals due to the bad news and poor services in the past few years, then you will understand why they choose this slogan to try to rebrand!
Well...if you think about it, Cathay's target audience is probably China mainlanders now, "Move Beyond" started from a Chinese phrase that they thought will appeal to mainlanders and then they just translated to make sure they don't get censored.
The videos aren't bad, so I'd probably take this as a decent effort from Cathay.
Lets make fake rebranded slogans.
Southwest with its 737 Max " We will get you to your next plane" (as in plane of existence)
American with its LCC in FSC clothing avatar "We dont know what you want but we will be happy to charge for it"
Delta with its hypcocricy on subsidies " Do as I say not as I do"
Please add your favorites
I don't mind "Move Beyond", actually. "Life Well Traveled" sounds fine, too, but it has an air of finality to it . As if your life is done. Over. Kaput. But at least you were well travelled. I think move beyond is asking/telling us to move beyond the ordinary. I like that it's open-ended and allows the audience to decide what exactly we're moving beyond from and to.
To me, it seems like all the...
I don't mind "Move Beyond", actually. "Life Well Traveled" sounds fine, too, but it has an air of finality to it . As if your life is done. Over. Kaput. But at least you were well travelled. I think move beyond is asking/telling us to move beyond the ordinary. I like that it's open-ended and allows the audience to decide what exactly we're moving beyond from and to.
To me, it seems like all the dislike in the comments section is driven by the Ben's comments in the post itself - groupthink and echo chamber effect. If we'd all just heard the phrase and rebranding by itself without any commentary, I doubt many of us would be so negative or have any opinion at all.
Move beyond Cathy Pacific. It is time for China Southern
I hope the management at CX "moves beyond" their blocking of F partner award space to NA. Even after the Vietnam fare it came back and now its gone. No seats available...........
nobody:
Airlines after 2 years: REBRAND!!!!!
Couldn‘t agree more with you on this one
I'm living in HK and even I doesn't hear their "Life Well Traveled" slogan that often.
So definitely their advertising agencies need to do a better job, but instead, they came up with something worse!
Life Well Traveled. Describes HK as the Trade and hub city that it is so well.
Move beyond sounds like a generic bonvoy type of slogan.
I hope CX will get a refund from the ad firm that came up with this Lap Sap.
Meh. It's whatever, won't affect anyone to choose them over others or vice versa. It's still better than "Be Best" because that's definitely on the floor if not the basement
I'm not sure which one is worse, this or Delta's 'Keep Climbing'
Cathay should spend less time on slogan and more to improve service. All the cutback resulting from their financial difficulties show. Their service in forward cabins have taken a toll. Fixing service will result in repeat business. Who fly a carrier for their slogan.
Ben, do you think that the phrase 'marketing is too important to be left to the marketing department' rings true here?
What Cathay Pacific really needs is a refresh of its cabin interiors. The color scheme is very dated and looks like it is stuck in 1994. Same goes for the crew uniforms. Otherwise, it's a fine airline and one that does not need a silly slogan like this.
My friend works at CX and was one of the designers of this new slogan. He’s particularly proud of the “move beyond labels” billboard they created, which shows a gay couple, which is apparently a huge move for a Chinese company. Interesting. Anyway, move beyond, as such, doesn’t do much for me either
“Moving Beyond” is awful! It’s so generic and definitely not original at all.
If I remember correctly, Hong Kong Airlines’ 10th Anniversary Campaign was called “Flying Beyond”.
Come on CX!
This is a shame. Life Well Travelled fits their brand perfectly. Move Beyond sounds gimmicky, contrived and also kind of creepy. Not only does it have the negative connotation Lucky has pointed out but also, Beyond can be used to refer to the afterlife. Not really somewhere you’d want an airline to take you!
My friend works for Cathay and is one of the people who created this new logo. He’s pretty proud of it, especially the billboard they have showing a gay couple, which is a big move in Asia. Still, the move beyond slogan means nothing to me either
Ok, I'll admit that I haven't actually heard of Cathay's slogan.
'Life well travelled' was one of the few slogans people actually mentioned/tagged on a post when flying the airline. I feel they've kind of shot themselves in the foot here.
It's the airlines opinion... which is after all........................................SHIT!!!
"moved beyond" competent marketing, teehee