The mandate
All marketing and sales operations in Ukraine, plus support for the operations in other countries where the airline flew. We opened the company in the national market with no existing brand and ran it through to one million cumulative tickets sold.
What we built
An end-to-end digital marketing programme on Facebook, YouTube, and Google, with paid distribution that pulled millions of YouTube views on the cornerstone creative. We worked with travel agencies, bloggers, and influencers, and sponsored marquee events: jazz festivals, marathons, football matches, beauty contests. The offline side ran billboards, citylights, and national TV.
The route launches
Each new flight launched from one of four Ukrainian airports — Kyiv, Kharkiv, Lviv, Odesa — with memorable on-board events for the first passengers on every new route. The pattern: arrive at 5 AM, set up the gate area, brief the cabin crew, run the first flight as a press moment, debrief on the way back.
Working with government and airports
An underappreciated part of airline marketing is the relationship with city and regional administrations, airport operators, and national aviation authorities. We worked across all of it — route development meetings, slot negotiations, regulatory submissions — for every new destination.
What I carried into the next jobs
Three things. First, that brand-led demand can move volumes that performance marketing can’t on its own — particularly in categories where the unit is a one-time considered purchase. Second, that government and infrastructure partners reward consistent presence; we won routes by showing up at every meeting for three years. Third, that the right marketing org is roughly half the size most companies think it should be, but with twice the seniority.