"[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." - 
![[Presentation] How travel marketing is changing in Asia with the rise of social and mobile #smasia](http://simpliflying.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Screen-shot-2012-10-08-at-6.11.24-PM-849x350.png?dbce70)
I had the pleasure of delivering the opening keynote presentation at the Eyefortravel Social Media in Travel Asiasummit, in Hong Kong. The region is different, and while there’s lots to learn from airlines around the world, marketing efforts need to be catered to the cultural nuances. In addition to sharing lots of case studies from airlines and hotels from around the world, I made a few key observations and recommendations for travel brands targeting Asians:
- Be open to local practices – I share case study of a person in Indonesia who has over 450 Foursquare badges! Asians love to be “jumpers” on Foursquare, checking-in at locations they are not physically at, just to collect badges. Tap on these!
- Collaborate with other brands – 360buy.com not only changed their own Weibo profile pic for an anniversary sale. And, they paid five figure sums to leading Chinese brands to change their profile pics to 360buy’s as well! It’s the norm, and travel brands should look to collaborate as well. Hotels with airlines and DMOs with tour operators.
- Learn from other industries and adapt - Tesco in South Korea used QR codes at train stations to boost sales by over 100%. Gatwick Airport is now doing the same. So can you!
Enjoy these case studies, and many more in my presentation today, along with lots and lots of statistics from the Asian and global travel marketing industries.
Here are some tweets from the audience in my session.
Interesting Q from @simpliflying: if looking for flights & find a friend on a more expensive flight, would you pay more to take that flight?
@winglets747
Will Horton
“Introverts are extroverts online in #China on #socialmedia ” @simplifying #smasia @EyeforTravel
@edwardperry
Edward Perry
“75% of airlines plan to increase their social media budget in 2013″ -Shashank Nigam #smasia
@madalkatiri
Achmad Alkatiri
RT @wegoid: “52% Facebook user said their friend’s photos inspired their holiday choice and travel plans” -Shashank Nigam #smasia
@TravelDivaRita
Rita Goh
Shashank Nigam
CEO at SimpliFlying
Shashank Nigam is the CEO of SimpliFlying and a globally sought-after consultant, speaker and thought-leader on airline branding and customer engagement strategy. He is also the youngest winner of the Global Brand Leadership Award and has addressed senior aviation executives globally, from Chile to Canada and from Sydney to San Francisco.
Shashank's perspectives have found their way into major media outlets, including CNN Travel, CNBC, MSNBC, Bloomberg UTV, Mashable and in leading publications like Airline Business, ATW, Aviation Week, and others.
Shashank studied Information Systems Management and Business Management at Singapore Management University and Carnegie Mellon University. Hailing from India, he splits his time between Singapore and Vancouver, among other cities.
Latest posts by Shashank Nigam (see all)
- Want your new route to make headlines? Bring Richard Branson on-board, like AirAsia X did in Perth! - May 14, 2013
- Influencer marketing comes of age in aviation – American Airlines Klout and Eindhoven Airport Facebook VIP in focus - May 9, 2013
- What does SimpliFlying stand for? Thinking Differently about aviation marketing (and lessons from Simon Sinek) - May 1, 2013
