In an apparent bid to raise its profile and increase engagement with the public, ITA Airways is launching a survey on social media to name one of its aircraft. Naming will be restricted to Italian sports champions, with the campaign being undertaken in collaboration with the Italian sports news outlet La Gazzetta Dello Sport.
“The first names of the Airbuses have been decided by the company, but now the ball is in the court of our followers, who will have to nominate the Italian female and male sports champions to whom the next ITA Airways aircraft will be dedicated” -Giovanni Perosino, Chief Marketing Officer, ITA Airways
Going with the campaign name “Naming Azzuri,” ITA Airways‘ new social media-based initiative will see participants vote on the name of a future aircraft. With azzuri meaning ‘blue’ in Italian, the campaign name is based on the fact that blue is the color of all Italian national sports teams.
Of course, if you remember the 2016 contest to name a ship for the United Kingdom’s Natural Environment Research Council, this will not be a repeat of “Boaty McBoatface.” Instead, the airline says that users will be asked to name the aircraft after an Italian sports champion. With the main parameter in place, the idea is simple, says the airline: “The names with the most votes will be on the new livery of the aircraft which will be soon joining the ITA Airways fleet.”
 
According to the airline, the “Naming Azzurri” initiative will be a collaboration with La Gazzetta Dello Sport, an Italian sports news brand. This will see La Gazzetta Dello Sport support the campaign through its own Instagram and Facebook channels, creating a series of posts to invite followers to submit their nominations in the comments.
“By answering the question: ‘Who made the history of Italian sport?’ on the official Facebook and Instagram pages of ITA Airways and on the Instagram and Facebook profiles of La Gazzetta dello Sport, every user will be able to express a nominee…” -ITA Airways
For just over a month now, since December 24th, ITA Airways has been inducting its aircraft in its new and relatively distinct all-blue livery. And while KLM might name its aircraft after destinations, and Lufthansa’s aircraft have the names of German cities, the theme of ITA Airways’ aircraft names is Italian sports champions.
It’s these great Italian sportsmen that ITA Airways calls “ambassadors in the world of professionalism, determination, strength and passion, all values that have raised the Italian flag high.” At the moment, the airline’s two Airbus A320s are named after Paolo Rossi and Fausto Coppi, while one Airbus A319 is dedicated to Pietro Mennea. So far, the aircraft have been named after male athletes, but participants in the naming contest will be able to nominate their favorite male or female Italian champion- although it appears that they must be retired and “no longer active in their respective disciplines.”
The airline’s Chief Marketing Officer, Giovanni Perosino, notes that one of the fundamental pillars of ITA Airways’ plan is to “put the customer at the center of all efforts.” Clearly, this initiative will be in line with this customer-centric ethos.
It appears that the contest will run for about two weeks, ​​​​​​​with the voting process due to close around mid-February.
What do you think of this initiative? Let us know by leaving a comment.
Deputy Editor – An experienced photographer and video producer, Chris is a journalistic natural. Degree educated with a wealth of traveling history, Chris’ insight into routes, networks, and alliances brings a depth of quality to his work that is hard to beat. His strong relationships with Middle Eastern and Canadian airlines make him an asset to the team. Currently based in Vilnius, Lithuania.

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