Cathay Cargo hosted 300 guests on a sweltering June night to celebrate the relaunch of its brand earlier this year and to debut the video ad of its first campaign, ‘We Know How’, and the first associated poster campaign.

The ‘We Know How’ campaign reflects Cathay Cargo’s innovation, people, solutions and service, and their role in ensuring that specialist shipments reach their destinations in perfect condition. Speaking at the event, General Manager, Brand, Insights and Marketing Communications for Cathay Pacific Edward Bell outlined how the campaign came to life. ‘We felt that we deliver shipments that matter,’ he said. ‘One wonders what kinds of wonderful, delicious and precious items lie contained behind the curved walls of Cathay Cargo’s freighters. But none of this happens without the expertise and knowledge of Cathay Cargo’s professionals and their care, attention and experience, all enabled by new technologies. So when it comes to how we help our customers deliver their goods, we wanted to use this campaign to tell our customers that “We Know How”.’

The event was held in HAECO’s (Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company Limited) engineering facility at Hong Kong International Airport and was attended by Cathay Cargo’s customers, partners and employees, alongside dignitaries such as Hong Kong SAR’s Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Mr Lam Sai-hung. The speakers’ podium was positioned in front of the first Cathay Cargo Boeing 747-8F to receive the new Cathay Cargo livery with its distinctive large lettering, which made for a giant and dramatic backdrop for the occasion.

The campaign comes ahead of the three runway operations at Hong Kong International Airport, which will start in 2024, and as Cathay Cargo develops its extended home market of the Greater Bay Area (GBA), including the multimodal link to and from the Airport Authority Hong Kong’s upstream Logistics Park in Dongguan. Cathy Cargo has opened an upstream warehouse at that facility, and this spirit of cooperation between hub and carrier was noted by all the speakers, not least by Secretary Lam.

‘We appreciate Cathay's unwavering support for this project, with Cathay Cargo being the first carrier and Cathay's cargo terminal the first cargo terminal operator to handle cargo shipments under this innovative model,’ he said. ‘This commitment of Cathay Cargo echoes our ambition to make Hong Kong not only the busiest, but also the best, international air cargo hub that serves shippers and markets around the world.’

After a toast, Director Cargo Tom Owen outlined some of Cathay Cargo’s accomplishments during the pandemic and beyond. These culminated in Cathay Cargo being named Cargo Airline of the Year at the ATW Airline Industry Achievement Awards, and in the investments that will help to preserve both its and Hong Kong’s competitive advantage – something that other regional hubs and carriers are seeking to usurp.

‘We will continue to invest in our air-cargo expertise to deliver what our customers want and to set us and Hong Kong apart from our rivals,’ he said. ‘This investment spans several areas including technology and innovation, training for our already experienced people, digitalisation in our processes and further enhancements to our specialist solutions. In short, we aim to lead the market by ensuring our service is delivered to the highest possible standards, and by making sure our operations are safe and highly efficient.

‘We are also investing in our brand so that we can continue to grow and build on Hong Kong’s position as the leading air cargo hub,’ Owen added. ‘Our success goes hand-in-hand with this great city. We have achieved a lot, but we do not take our position in any way for granted. Our brand displays the pride in our achievements, but also our ambitions to move forward – and our optimism for the future of air cargo and our home of Hong Kong.

‘To become the world’s most customer-centric air cargo services brand, we need to continue to innovate and respond quickly to our customers’ changing needs. Today we are committing to that, confident in the expertise and dedication of our core competitive advantage, our Cathay Cargo people – We Know How.’