Natural charm and culture in Cyprus Airways rebrand

For many countries, the flag-carrying airline is one of its most important place brand signifiers. The flag carrier provides a link between the means of travel and destination country; the airline can work with local tourism providers, businesses and government to create mutually beneficial packages, and advertise its service to an international audience. For Cyprus Airways, a wealth of opportunity lay in its beautiful landscapes and traditional culture. However, the airline’s brand strategy and visual identity, including aeroplane livery, needed updating before the merits of Cyprus were fully integrated in its brand.

In an overhaul carried out by global brand design agency, Landor, the livery and associated marketing and brand materials of Cyprus Airways has been updated to reflect the picturesque landscape the republic offers. It was imperative for Landor to avoid generic imagery and cliched visuals in developing the airline’s brand campaign, says Peter Knapp, global creative officer at Landor, which he says can sometimes tantamount to nationalism. With so much natural beauty, Knapp explains, the place brand of Cyprus lent itself to real imagery and associated colour palette.

“The oceans, landscape and history of Cyprus served as the perfect inspiration for our redesign, capturing a sense of the country for passengers before they’ve even arrived,” says Knapp. “The rebirth of Cyprus Airways presented an opportunity to tell the island’s story in skies all over the world.”

Teals, turquoises and pastel colours are employed in the rebrand, accentuating the island’s natural colours. Not only providing a contrast to the often stark, bold shades used across other airlines, Landor creates a welcoming atmosphere across the entire Cyprus Airways operation. To ensure its connection with Cyprus remains strong, Landor also includes subtle cultural symbols on the airline fleet’s livery, including a native olive branch on the tail and a mouflon – a subspecies of the wild sheep.

Natalya Popova, Cyprus Airways chief commercial officer, says, “We are thrilled to present the newly designed aircraft for Cyprus Airways. We hope that the selected colours and the symbols of Cyprus on our livery will appeal to passengers, which are reminiscent of the unique, peaceful and beautiful atmosphere enjoyed by anyone arriving on the island.

Cyprus Airlines will roll out its customer-facing brand, including livery, crew uniforms and inside cabins from June 2017.