ANZ's Sandman brings the South Pacific north

Air New Zealand’s Sandman brought a taste of the South Pacific to warm up the Great White North, kicking off a three-city North American tour in downtown Toronto yesterday.

ANZ’s #SandmanSelfie tour set up shop in Toronto’s Yonge-Dundas Square in the heart of the city’s downtown, welcoming guests to snap a photo with the campaign’s namesake (a snowman made of sand) for a chance to win flights with the carrier, before trying their hand at a surfing simulator or warming up with a flat white, a New Zealand specialty. ANZ reps will head to Chicago tomorrow and Sunday (Dec. 12 & 13), with the campaign wrapping up in Houston, Texas on Dec. 16, where the airline will be celebrating the launch of its new Houston-Auckland flight.

Chris Allison, Air New Zealand’s manager – sales & market development, Canada, told PAX that while the airline’s Canadian gateway is Vancouver International Airport (with connections offered to a number of Canadian hubs), Toronto was chosen as the Canadian stop for the campaign due to the volume of travellers originating in the market.

“Toronto is such a big market for us and even though we don’t operate flights out of here, we get a lot of travellers from this area,” Allison explained. “We’re using the weather as an opportunity to show how different it is in New Zealand this time of year.”

While a new tourism tax set to take effect in New Zealand in January has generated some criticism of the potential effects on the country’s travel industry, Allison said that with a portion of those revenues set to be reinvested in tourist infrastructure, there’s a positive side to the announcement.

“Tourism is so important to the New Zealand economy and while it (the tax) may be seen as negative, it’s actually a positive thing," he said. "New Zealand is becoming a more and more popular travel destination in many different markets, so there’s a need for investment in infrastructure to meet that increased demand.”

Allison said that the airline also recently completed the refurbishment of its B777-200ER fleet, currently flying on the Vancouver-Auckland route (which recently welcomed an additional return service) and set to debut on the new Houston flight.

And just in time for the New Zealand summer, Allison said that agents can take advantage of savings on ANZ flights connecting to Toronto through the carrier’s gateways in Vancouver, L.A., San Francisco and Houston.

PHOTO: Of ANZ: Sabrina Bernacchia, sales manager – Eastern Canada; Chris Allison, manager – sales & market development, Canada; Brian Jobling, corporate account manager, Canada.