1. Airlines 2.0
Using technology for innova2ve
branding through the recession
FTMA
Ft. Lauderdale, April 23, 2009
Shashank Nigam
Founder & CEO, SimpliFlying
Global Head ‐ Brand Strategy, ACA Associates

2. Key take aways...
What does a recession mean for airline brands?
How to tap on the latest technologies to get closer to the customers?
What have other airlines done to enhance their brands?
What are the risks involved in this approach and how to get started?
Simply, how to build a stronger airline brand in 2009

3. READY?

4. Let’s start by reviewing 2008

5. $4,000,0
00,000
Total es
timated lo
sses for a
irlines

6. 30%
Average
drop in
airline s
tocks

7. 7 l
oi
4
f
lo
1
e
rr
$3
ba
$ fa Ex
o p
ice ec
0
pr te
st d
he pr
ig ic
H e
of
oi
li
n
m
id
-2
00
9

8. 50
Expected number of airline bankruptcies in 2009

9. 0 -in
5
k
ec
h
$
c
ag
b
nd
co
se
0
f
to at
s
5
e
Co cs
fi
$
ci
pe
0
s
a
0
ng
si ge
o
2
ar
ho
ch
c
of ur
$
s
t
el
os u
C f
ge
ra
ve
A

10. ESULT?

11. Frustrated
Customers
Employees
Management

12. In other words...

13. Loss of Brand Equity

14. ow What?

15. Airlines need to get closer
to the customer again.
But how?

16. By interacting with the customers on their terms
By getting inside the fickle mind of the customer
By sharing the ownership of the brand
By revealing the personality behind the brand
By tapping on the latest technologies to do this

17. Bring in the social web...
Community || Collaboration || Content || Co-Creation

18. 55%
of consumers want ongoing
conversations with companies and
brands
89%
said they would feel more loyal to a
brand if they were invited to take part in
a feedback group.

19. Of these 89%,
43% would like to see companies offering
customer service through social media
41% would like companies to solicit feedback
37% would like companies to provide new
ways to interact with the brand via social
media

20. How to do it?

21. Interaction without interruption

22. A community for common interests

23. A community for a specific target group

24. A community for frequent fliers

25. A community in another community

26. Co-Creation

27. Customer often knows best

28. In the end, it’s the involvement that matters

29. But first...
Airlines need a Personal!ty

31. Airline food, anyone?

32. Embracing the
accidental spokesperson

33. Empowering the common man

34. Empowering the common man

35. Employees blogging

36. A Holistic Strategy?
Interaction without interruption
Co-creation
Having a personality

37. JetBlue Airways
blogging...

38. JetBlue Airways
on Twitter...

39. JetBlue Airways
on eBay...

40. Great ideas.
Now what?

41. $
Think about ROI

42. Need not be just about money

43. To capture a specific market...
Go where the customer is.

44. It can be about engaging the employees

45. Goals, Actions, and Metrics

46. The key is to have a quantifiable measure of success beforehand

47. isks? What Risks?

48. How to tackle risks?
How to give up control?
Recognize - What can go wrong?
Prepare - To involve the community
Be Resilient - Bounce!

49. How to get started?

51. 1. Give ownership to one person or team
2. It’s OK to start small, but do it well
3. It may require a long-term approach to succeed
4. Success metrics may be different from other efforts

52. In Conclusion...

53. Airlines need to restore the
trust in their brands...

54. Using the latest technology tools to
build trust allows...
Interaction without interruption
Co-creation
Building of a personality
Firm implementation

55. It’s not the strongest of the species that
survives, nor the most intelligent. It is the
one that is most adaptable to change.
Charles Darwin

56. Questions
Shashank Nigam
Founder & CEO, SimpliFlying
Global Head - Brand Strategy, ACA Associates
Email: shashank@simpliflying.com
Twitter: @simpliflying