"[Working with SimpliFlying] has expanded our minds, opened our eyes and showed us what to do in concrete, practical, and tangible terms. We see the benefits not only to ourselves but to our members as well." - 
"SimpliFlying has a great balance - providing strategic insights and directions while maintaining a down-to-earth attitude in guiding LAN in strategy implementation. Justifying our investment to senior management was not difficult." - 
"The SimpliFlying MasterClass was a combination of trends and insights from the industry, as well as tailor-made topics designed to help Lufthansa progress to the next level of customer engagement. By having every management level participate, Lufthansa achieved great results in regards to 'social status' and loyalty, which was one of the key topics." - 
"At Estonian Air, we always look for partners who can bring innovation and good ideas, with the ability to execute. With Simpliflying, we get exactly that." - 
So, what happens when an organization takes it upon themselves to really pull together their social community and tap into those great ideas? Well, in the case of one innovative airline and a dedicated and thought-leading airport, an idea generating, online community was formed and great ideas began to cultivate! Quality Hunters was the brainchild of Finnair and the Helsinki Airport – a partnership aimed at improving air travel.
Connected Social Community
The idea behind Quality Hunters was really quite simple: to encourage travelers to help them to find ways to improve the travel experience. (Read more about the initiative here). The program began with a contest to send seven individuals (The Quality Hunters) off on an adventure to travel the world in search of cool, fresh, and practicable ideas. The ideas came back in droves and were shared by the “hunters” and the Quality Hunters team through a blog and a Twitter account, @qualityhunters. From a book swap, to decreasing the carbon footprint with new meal ideas, to family travel concepts – over 250 ideas were generated through this program.
The first idea to be brought to life was the Helsinki Airport Book Swap. By redecorating an underutilized corner of the Helsinki Airport the team was able to transform the space into a charming Book Swap – complete with books for travelers to share and trade.
Last week, I happened to be traveling home from holiday in Portugal and stopped in Finland for a few days to visit a friend. On my way back through the Helsinki Airport, not only did I get to swap my copy of Cutting with Stone for another long over due read (The Time Traveler’s Wife), but I also caught up with Aku Varamäki, Social Media Manager for Finnair (@akuvaramaki on Twitter) to chat with her about the program and how the idea was cultivated.
For me, even in the age of iPads and Kindles, a good traditional bound book is always in my travel bag and is a must for any beach trip. Rarely do I have room in my bags for more than one, and I am often left in a bind by the end of my trip, either buying a new book, or just relying on articles that have been saved to my iPad. This idea hits home for me and I can not wait to see the other Quality Hunters ideas brought to life.
Elizabeth Cecconi
Latest posts by Elizabeth Cecconi (see all)
- [Case Study] Social Crowd-Sourcing for Airports - November 27, 2012
- [Case Study] Social Interest and Photo-sharing for Airports - November 17, 2012
- [Case Study] How to Create Inspiring Social Media Content for an Airport - November 10, 2012
