Here’s a sneak peek at the March 11 issue of Marketing
Space travel isn’t just for astronauts anymore. Axe has launched Axe Apollo Space Academy, a contest which will send a handful of lucky winners into the stratosphere with Space Expedition Corporation (SXC).
But, for those who’ve outgrown their Axe years, a cool $100,000 will buy you a trip into the stars with Netherlands-based SXC. Having just partnered with Quebec travel agency Uniktour, the company is taking reservations now and expects commercial operation to begin in 2014.
According to Cees Faes, marketing director at SXC, the sky is no longer the limit. But how do you market that?
You’re the guy who gets to send people to space.
It’s the single most exciting job in the world. It’s the first step into the biggest revolution aviation has ever seen… I think it’s pretty much the coolest thing you can think of.
Who is space tourism marketed toward?
There are two types of space tourists: the ones who enjoy a comfortable backseat and the ones who want to be behind the wheel. We target the latter, placing only one passenger right next to the pilot. Our mission is to open up space for everyone.
But it’s a very expensive program. Has the price been tough to market?
A three-year-old company that’s selling $100,000 tickets to space in a craft that has not even flown? You might think it is. But it’s not. High net-worth individuals and adrenaline junkies—what they all have in common is this: they want to experience what changed the lives of only some 500 people so far, icons like Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. And they want it to happen soon.
