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There is Life Outside The Price of Fuel; Airlines Need To Be Reminded
This is the Case
By Holly Hegeman, Founder/Publisher, Plane Business Banter
Having, just like you, been battered by continued bad news about the
price of fuel, layoffs and groundings, and capacity cuts, it was a
pleasant respite this week to visit Sin City, Las Vegas, and be
surrounded by some of the best marketing minds in the travel industry.
Why?
Because, speaking as an old marketer myself, no matter how bad a
situation is -- the best marketers can take that situation and turn it
into a positive.
God knows we haven't seen much of this in the airline industry of
late. (With the exception of the latest Southwest advertising that we
talked about here last week.)
But at the Association of Travel Marketing Executives -- there were
many examples of innovative use of electronic messaging, creative
destination campaigns, basic information on how to and how not to use
social media to boost your brand, why you SHOULD be using social
media, and what you risk if you don't. Discussions on why normal
advertising just doesn't work anymore, and why "authenticity" is the
word of the day. (Mr. Tilton, are you listening?) And on and on
Think because you work in the airline industry that you have an
impossible task in trying to turn a buck? That it's all about nickels,
dimes, and high fuel costs and that marketing efforts are thus
meaningless in such a negative atmosphere?
Think again.
Case in point. What if your job was to convince visitors and
conventions to go to Detroit.
Yes, Detroit.
Not New Orleans, not San Franciso, not even Tallahassee, Fl. But
beautiful lovely downtown Detroit.
Think you might feel a bit overwhelmed? Think that the task might be
akin to trying to fly airplanes with jet fuel over $4 a gallon?
I think so.
But don't tell that to Chris Baum, SVP Marketing for Detroit Metro CVB.
Because Chris took on the task of marketing Detroit to major
conventions as a huge challenge -- but one that could be met. And you
know what? He's done a remarkable job.
Let's face it. What is the average person's view of Detroit? Not good.
The images of burned out houses, burned out neighborhoods, poor
neighborhoods and an empty downtown tend to crowd many people's minds.
But research that Chris oversaw told him something else -- that people
under 30 didn't share in those preconceived notions. Also - that the
city had identifiable cultural "touchpoints" that could be used to
foster more positive response to the city.
Cars, Culture, Gaming, Music, and Sports.
Chris told his advertising agency to take it and run with it -- go to
the edge and come back when they thought they had nailed it. As he
said, "I wanted the campaign to mirror the city -- urban, gritty,
gutty, edgy"
And nail it they did.
The first two-page full color ad the city ran in a Conventions and
Meeting magazine had a huge headline on the left hand side that read,
"Who's The Genius Who Picked Detroit?"
Facing this page, a headline at the top read: MENSA.
The ad went on to explain more about the smarty-pants group, how large
it was, and why it was happy with its time spent in Detroit.
The next ad had a huge headline on the left-hand side that read,
"Detroit: Gets Good PR......FINALLY."
This, of course, alluded to the fact that the Public Relations Society
of America had selected Detroit for their convention
One of the best was the one that had the headline that read: "Who in
Heaven's Name Chose Detroit?"
On the right hand page was the headline: "The Church of God in Christ.
Again. Praise the Lord."
Compared to your usual boring types of destination ads, there is no
question why these ads pulled so well, created so many leads, and led
to the organization booking twice their goal in conventions during
2007. While 2007 was the best year ever for the city, the CVB is
already ahead of 2007 in terms of conventions held this year, and 2009
looks even stronger.
See where I am headed with all this?
Take what I am talking about and apply it to the airline industry. Is
anyone out there delivering on an advertising or marketing message?
Or are they too busy ripping the vestiges of their brands to shreds?
Henry Harteveldt, principal analyst at Forrester Research, began the
conference by discussing how things have changed for all companies.
Or, as he says, "There is no privacy anymore."
He then talked about sites such as SkyTrax and TripAdvisor where
millions of travelers are posting millions of opinions and reviews on
travel services and airlines.
Then there is YouTube and Flickr. As he pointed out, when he dropped
the search word "Virgin" into Flickr, he came up with more than 5500
photos of the airline -- its interior, exterior, airport spaces,
whatever.
Henry's point? "Marketing, Smarketing, It's time to get real." What
has worked in the past cannot be looked upon as being effective now.
"In a world where transparency rules, authenticity is essential." Or
to put it another way -- you can't bullshit anymore. There are too
many people out there who can see through it.
Ah, words from my own heart.
And don't these same tenets apply as well to how a management team
manages an airline today? Of course they do. Or as Henry said, "You
can't botox yourself and expect to get away with it today."
Nor can airline managements continue to pontificate and expect the
general public, passengers, or investors to simply drink the kool-aid.
Henry offered up a 12-step program ("I do live in California" he
reminded attendees) that all marketers today should keep posted on
their refrigerator door. Or on their foreheads.
1. Know what motivates your customer. As he noted, when Forrester
surveyed online travelers, 22% said they were traveling because of
family, 30% said it was because of their careers or business, and 48%
said it was because of entertainment.
See a thread in there? What does that mean in terms of marketing
travel to this group?
2. Tap into those travelers' emotions. Again, according to Forrester
research, 73% of leisure travelers said that they were traveling to
"have fun." 48% said that it was a "self-indulgence."
3. Follow the customer online. Henry gave the example of Alaska
Airlines and how the airline's website can track where a particular
visitor has been -- prior to coming to their site. Offers are then
made available that are more tailored to that particular person.
Could this be taken too far? Sure. And as Henry added, there is a thin
line between being "clever" and being "creepy."
4. Serve travelers in relevant channels. Is TV even necessary anymore?
Newspapers? What works for your market?
5. Don't miss any opportunity to learn about your customer. Ask about
their attitudes or what is important to them, whenever you have the
chance. But again, don't push it, and don't be creepy. But when
someone signs up for online alerts -- ask them a few attitudinal
questions.
6. Allow people to experience trips before they go. As Henry
mentioned, "Use the whole damn screen if you have a great property,
don't just use that little YouTube box." Put videos on the web that
allow someone to walk the property, experience the site, the airline,
whatever it is.
7. Respect your customer's needs and goals. For example, as he pointed
out, 55% of travelers have a set budget in mind before they travel.
But how many websites make it easy for a traveler to purchase travel
based on this criterion? Well, at least one does. Kayak.com allows a
traveler to enter certain information and then select proposed
itineraries by total price.
8. Provide useful content. TripKick.com was mentioned.
9. Inspire the customer.TravelMuse.com was cited here. Anyone else
familiar with this site? It's cool.
10. Drive viral buzz. Here, Henry brought up the example of the
Angelina-look-alike Delta flight attendant safety video. You know, the
one with the suggestive wagging finger. Almost a million people have
watched that video on YouTube.
Compare this to what I thought were really well-produced "destination"
videos made by Delta employees that were put on their site. They were
hardly noticed.
11. Seduce travelers with video. Again, the bigger and the more
well-produced the better.
12. Help a customer find what they need. Don't make it difficult.
Going over my notes from the conference, I was immediately struck by
how utterly delightful I found a press release that was issued by
Southwest Airlines on Friday. The press release was exactly the type
of communication that Henry was referring to -- and frankly, I found
it refreshing without being "too cute." Sometimes in the past
Southwest communications could be "overdone" and they ceased to be
funny.
This release was great. It got your attention. It was entertaining.
And -- it also gave the airline a chance to drive home their bigger
message: We're not going to hit you over the head with added fees. And
it arrived in a week that was just horrible -- in terms of
industry-related news.
The release dated Friday, the 13th, began:
Southwest Airlines confirms that passengers are NOT avoiding travel
today, Friday the 13th. Traditional superstitions are thrown out the
door by many travelers looking for no fees and a low fare.
Initial reports tell us that passengers are not avoiding row 13 on our
aircraft today, and the date has not stopped them from flying
altogether. Bookings are strong and the price of gas proves to be much
scarier than taking to the skies.
Along with exceptionally high online bookings, Southwest Airlines
announces it will not charge a fee for throwing salt over one's
shoulder. However, the airline will still not allow black cats onboard
its flights and is recommending that Customers wrap mirrors in bubble
wrap to avoid breakage and seven years of bad luck.
Excellent. Mr. Harteveldt would be so proud. I'm just happy that there
is at least one company in this industry that still understands the
value of branding, marketing, and using lemons to make lemonade. Just
like Chris Baum in Detroit.
There is a lesson here folks. Anyone out there listening? I mean,
besides Southwest.
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