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How airlines are engaging today’s consumers with the state of innovative marketing initiatives SimpliFlying | airlinetrends.com airline marketing April 2013 the state of airline marketing welcome. Airline marketing is undergoing a phase expect travelers inundated with one-way with just accepting whatever good or ill important not just to be creative and that’s exceedingly exciting, unpredictable marketing messages to respond “because the airline dishes out to them. They are innovative yourself but to be more striking and creative. Faced with ever more people need to fly.” extremely tuned in to the power of social than your immediate competition as well. experienced consumers, who routinely Second, effective airline marketing media, as citizens of a virtually connected However, given the speed at which things ignore the commercials and ads thrown today employs a hybrid model. The world. An airline brand can no longer move in digital media, it is no easy task to at them, airline brands are finding new pervasiveness of Internet and social be “controlled” by the management and stay on top of the latest trends, fads and ways to break through the advertising media users almost necessitates the corporate speak. innovations. clutter to reach and engage consumers. adoption of marketing tactics that The bottom-line: Airline brands are Over the last six months, SimpliFlying Besides dreaming up experiental involve both the online and offline moulded as much by management direction and airlinetrends.com have published a marketing and creative – traditional spaces. Even when the real initiative as by the goodwill of social advocates. If premium Airline Marketing Benchmark media-based – initiatives, airlines around happens offline, airlines, more often than you’re not where your customers are, if Report. Published monthly, the report the world are equipping themselves with not, depend on their online audience to you’re not connected to them and tuned contains a selection of 15 of the most the tools and know-how to conquer the spread the buzz. in to their behavior, you’re going to lose a innovative marketing and advertising digital marketing revolution, experimenting Third, and perhaps most lot of business. The bad news is you cannot campaigns launched by airlines around the with new social media platforms and importantly, airline marketers now control the flow of opinion about your brand world and assesses their impact. launching mobile campaigns that link the have access to powerful tools to run online. The good news: customers are happy Across the close to 100 innovative online with the offline world. efficient campaigns that could not (and in fact they want) to engage with you marketing initiatives that have been have been dreamt of even 5 years ago: and spread a good word about you. Be featured to date, we have identified New principles, new think crowd-sourcing, location-based transparent, responsive, and helpful online. 8 trends that range from experiental opportunities campaigns and the like. That’ll go a long way! to location-based, co-creation and There are a number of factors that have social loyalty initiatives and reflect contributed to this renaissance. First, this Marketing to the Airline Marketing the current state of airline marketing. is the age of ‘inclusive advertising’. Quite Connected Traveler Benchmark Report This is the time to be creative and simply, it is no longer reasonable to Today’s travelers are no longer contented In such a fast-moving environment, it is to dream big! 02 the state of experiental crowdsourcing airline marketing Faced with ever more experienced Airlines have used crowdsourcing as an consumers, who routinely ignore the effective means to a variety of ends commercials and ads thrown at them, such as product innovations, for a tablet airlines are finding new ways to break application, loyalty tier rewards and for through the advertising clutter and are improving hand luggage respectively. turning to brand experiences in order to capture the imagination of today’s viral videos consumer. In today’s online arena, those brands that come up with a creative and contents social care compelling ‘traditional’ commercial will be Today’s traveler is always tuned in to his rewarded for their creativity as their social networks via a mobile device work will spread very fast around the while travelling. In times, when frustration world. with a product or service can be vented (and spread) in an instant, it is important social loyalty & gamification for airlines to tackle the problem at the Airlines are tapping into location-based place where it occurs, building goodwill as services to track loyalty in terms of well, since everyone can see the responses. repeat visits as well as social advocacy. By offering real-world rewards to on location fans and followers who promote their Brands want to reach customers where brand online, airlines add an element of they are. Instead of pulling customers gamification to their marketing. and users out of their comfort zones, airlines are increasingly “going to the meme jacking customer”. And what better way to do An internet meme is a concept that this than to design initiatives based spreads from person to person via the where you are located? internet. It can be anything from an image to a video to a hashtag. The back to reality popularity of internet memes and their Airlines have woken up to the need to deep association with the “internet connect with “real” people. There is culture”, makes them an effective a growing focus on everyday people, away marketing tool for airlines to create buzz from stereotypes, supermodels, around their brands. celebrities and professionally made pictures/videos and airlines are seeking user-generated content or for example feature airline staff that share their day- to-day life. 03 the state of airline marketing experiental Faced with ever more experienced similar note Air France and Austrian let attention in an unconventional way. consumers, who routinely ignore the food trucks tour Manhattan that handed The viral nature of the videos of these commercials and ads thrown at them, out free food. flashmobs is huge, with Finnair’s surprise airlines are finding new ways to break onboard celebration of National India through the advertising clutter and are onboard events Day being viewed nearly 5 million times turning to brand experiences in order A growing number of airlines organize on YouTube and Turkish Airlines’ ‘onboard to capture the imagination of today’s surprise onboard events in order to add samba’ generating 1 million views so far. consumer. In an age of social and digital an extra dimension to the flight. And if the “consumers media, here are four real-world tactics: initiative really catches on, the news will routinely ignore surprise gifts spread fast via social media, and generate By infusing their marketing initiatives with brand spaces lots of relevant exposure. Examples include the commercials an element of geberosity, airlines generate Real-life interaction in a non-aviation airBaltic’s ‘onboard magician’, Southwest’s and ads thrown at much needed sympathy in return. We setting is an effective way for airlines ‘Live at 30,000 Ft’ concert series, Virgin have seen airlines such as Virgin America, to let the public experience their America’s ‘Mile High Fashion Shows’ and them, airlines are Delta, Brussels Airlines, SAS, and airBaltic products and services. For example, Finnair’s ‘Angry Bird’-themed flight. finding new ways use the luggage belts in the baggage Delta has created ‘Sky360 Lounges’ at claim area to surprise passengers with food festivals and at home venues of flashmobs to break through free gifts to celebrate Christmas, Easter or sports teams the airline sponsors, while Wiith their surprise and creativity Valentine’s Day, while LAN has surprised Southwest has established outdoor factor, flash mobs have been on the rise the advertising patrons of restaurants in the US with a café’s NYC, Denver and Atlanta. On a with airlines looking to draw customer clutter” free ticket. 04 the state of airline marketing experiental Delta ‘Power Up Lounge’ at TED2013 “The Photon Shower was As part of its status as the official airline is about ensuring its passengers can sleep for the annual TED conference in on its planes while they are en route to designed to California, Delta showcased its renewed their destinations. illustrate-in a fun focus on sleep at the 4-day conferende at The Photon Shower, along with the end of February. Delta’s new amenity kits, charging and creative The airline hosted a talk from renowned stations and a juice bar, were located way-how serious Oxford neuroscientist and sleep expert in Delta’s “Power Up” lounge, a space Dr. Russell Foster addressing jet lag and designed to help revitalize and energize the airline is how the eye tells time and demonstrate TED attendees. Conference goers could about ensuring its his research in action with the world’s first also relax and wind down in Delta’s ‘Photon Shower’ – a small light chamber “Power Down” lounge, a second ‘brand passengers can that conference attendees could enter space’ featuring flat-bed seats with for a short period of time to help reset Westin Heavenly In-Flight bedding, nap sleep on its planes their body clocks through a personalized, pods, and white noise calming music. while they are rejuvenating light treatment. Delta also installed a ‘Sleep Bar’ at the According to Delta, the Photon Westin Long Beach to promote its new en route to their Shower was designed to illustrate--in a fun inflight amenities partnership with destinations.” and creative way--how serious the airline Westin Hotels. 05 the state of airline marketing social care The biggest, and perhaps the most expect information to be disseminated fortunate, casualty due to the growth of and questions to be answered on their social media has been the laidback attitude social networks.

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