SimpliFlying

Image from The Telegraph

Not only did Mr. Obama win the US general elections last week, he was also selected as Advertising Age’s Marketer of the Year by the executives attending the Association of National Advertisers’ annual conference in Orlando last month.

For a person who has come from behind, fighting tough opponents to win the elections, success can be attributed to many things. But one that cannot be ignored is his super-efficient marketing machine, which not only helped raise a record $600 million, but also brought Barack Obama and his message to the hearts of millions. So what are some lessons airlines can learn, from Mr Obama, to build a strong and long-lasting brand?

The power of simplicity

Change. It was a message that was understood everywhere, from the boardroom, to the hinterlands. There was no confusion over the meaning of this “mantra”. Effective slogans needs to be simple and grounded in reality. Only then will they drive masses of people toward a brand.

In the airline world, a good example of an airline which has a simple message is AirAsia, the Malaysia based no-frills airline led by Tony Fernandez – who is often referred to as Malaysia’s Richard Branson. AirAsia’s slogan is “Now everyone can fly!” Isn’t it simple and straight forward? It’s a message that even a villager will identify with. Something else that has made this slogan so powerful is that it has remained the same ever since AirAsia was established. This leads to the Obama campaign’s next great strength.

Consistency = trust = loyalty

Since day one, Obama stuck to the same message – Change. In a backdrop of constantly shifting stands first by Hillary Clinton, and then by John McCain, Obama appeared to be the only one who carried his message through with conviction. This fact stood out and built trust among his followers. In consumer businesses like airlines, strong trust almost always results in loyalty.

Other than AirAsia, airlines that have stuck to their “mantra” with conviction over a long time include Singapore Airlines – “Bringing back the romance in travel” and Emirates – “Keep Discovering”. And consumers are indeed very loyal to these brands. Since 1975, another icon, BMW, has used just one slogan: “The ultimate driving machine.” It is the largest imported European car in the US for a reason. Consistent branding results in trust, which leads to loyalty.

Achieving relevance through flexibility

Obama’s campaign was not only dedicated to a simple message over a long time, it also appealed to a variety of people by being relevant to them, in their context. In the image below, you’ll see the various manifestations of Obama’s “Change” campaign – each one appealing to a different user group, even Republicans! By incorporating a little flexibility, Obama managed to create a brand that people could personally relate with. That personalization appealed to micro-groups, or “tribes” as Seth Godin would call them, resulting in his victory.

Given the global nature of the airline industry, there is even more need to resonate with the target consumers by molding the brand to fit a local context. Some airlines that do this well include KLM, which has “KLM Asia” painted on its planes going to that region and British Airways, whose flights to India have Indian flight attendants, wearing traditional Indian dresses. In fact, Lufthansa has even tied up with a master Indian chef from the Taj Hotels Group to design its cuisine for its flights to India. Such measures are bound to resonate much more with customers from specific markets, than just applying a single standard across the board.

Don’t just be better, be Different.

“Better” never works in marketing. The only thing that works in marketing is “different.” Obama did not aim to be a better “maverick” than McCain, or try to appear more “experienced” than Hillary Clinton. He stood for something distinct – change – and made it clear to his opponents.

He achieved two things by doing this. Firstly, by defining himself as something different, he forced his opponents to fight the battle on his turf. Interestingly, Hillary Clinton modified her motto to “countdown to change” towards the end of her campaign. Similarly, well differentiated airlines attract copycats – just look at how many airlines in the US want to be the next Southwest! But Southwest never says that it wants to be a United or a JetBlue even.

Secondly, and more importantly, by being different, Obama was like the piped piper who drew people towards him and they followed him wherever he went. Similarly, airlines that know what they uniquely stand for, and communicate this internally as well as internally create a die-hard fan base that remains loyal. Airlines that do this well? Kulula.com in South Africa, and Virgin Atlantic in Europe.

Lessons in marketing and branding lie all around us. The Obama brand is one many industries can learn from, and here I’ve tried applying the concepts to airlines. What else do you think airlines can learn from the Obama marketing machine? Let’s hear it in the comments section.

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Allen Adamson in his New York office

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“Successfully branding an airline is the ultimate branding test,” concluded Allen Adamson last Friday in his office during an interview with this blog. Allen is the Managing Director at the New York office of Landor Assosiates, one of the most respected branding firms and one that is heavily involved in airline branding globally. Landor has led brand strategy at heavyweights of the industry like Singapore Airlines, Jet Airways, Austrian Airlines, Delta Airlines and Japan Airlines. Allen is also the author of the recently published book, BrandDigital, which details how companies should leverage the latest in Web 2.0 to build their brands.

“The digital airline brand is all about execution”

office…………
“The execution has to be spectacular – online and offline,” Allen explained, when asked what is the key to building successful airline brand in today’s hyper-connected world. Allen believes that the internet acts as a magnifying glass for all business operations and achieving transparency is essential. “If you don’t reveal it, someone else will”, he added. He aptly mentioned SeatGuru.com as an example of a site that has taken advantage of this phenomenon, by revealing the best seats in the plane – something airlines could have done themselves. Allen believes that the internet should be tapped to understand customers better and address their needs in an interactive way - JetBlue being a good example of an airline that does this well.

The importance of internal branding

The other part of brand execution that matters is internal branding - something SouthWest is well known for. In in his experience in working with airlines, Allen has learnt that empowering the employees directly interacting with the customers to make decisions on their own cultivates happy customers too. Training them well and keeping them happy to ensure that they live the brand, and communicate the brand to the customers in every interaction is essential. In this regards, airlines can learn from brands like Disney and Nordstrom, both of which have successfully managed to filter down a consistent brand experience to every touchpoint.

Below, you can watch the full interview with Allen, who was gracious enough to grant us time from his busy calendar for this. Special thanks to Leonie Derry from Landor, who tirelessly worked to ensure that this interview took place.

So, what do you think? Is execution the key to an airline brand’s success, as Allen believes? Is survival more important than the brand, or do they go hand in hand? Let’s hear it in the comments section…

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Image by msmail via Flickr

Some of us have jobs important enough to fly business class frequently. Are the rest of us destined to be packed into cattle class unless we pay an arm and a leg for business? Not really, even when it is generally getting more difficult to earn and claim Frequent Flier miles.

But frequent fliers are often pampered by the airlines in a variety of ways. So why not try out a few interesting techniques to be taken good care of in the air? Here are five ways the clever people earn and use their miles, especially for upgrades.

1. Just Fly It!

The fastest way to earn an upgrade is to earn miles, especially if you fly frequently. A return trip from Singapore to New York on Singapore Airlines economy class generates nearly about 20,000 miles, not far from the 30,000 miles needed for a one way business class upgrade, or a free economy ticket to Hong Kong. Stick to one major airline, or network such Star Alliance or One World. Do take note that super discounted fares may appear attractive but do not usually qualify for miles accruing.

2. Splurge on Regional, upgrade on International

Passengers may want to consider paying to fly premium on regional routes and using miles to upgrade on international routes. This is simply because the costs are so much more manageable. The actual price difference between an economy and business ticket begin to widen with trip distance. Yet flying comfortably is so much more important on long hauls. Splurging on regional and upgrading on international reduces costs substantially. However, this would not work if the majority of the sectors that the passenger is intending to fly are long haul.

3. Swipe your way to an upgrade

Co-branded credit cards are common and available across the globe for major airlines. Singapore Airline’s most premium credit card, the American Express Singapore Airlines PPS Club Platinum card, earns a mile for every dollar spent. To earn a trip from Singapore to Hong Kong, the card holder would have to spend S$30,000 for a return ticket on economy class. While credit cards can be useful to top up that few thousand miles that you need for your next Business ticket, depending on credit card alone for a fee ticket, or even an upgrade could take ages.

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On 11th August, the pilots of Delta and Northwest agreed to the proposed merger between the two airlines, smoothing out the way for a new world’s largest airline to emerge. What does this mean for American and international commercial aviation world? A peek into history may give us some insights.

The glory of Pan-Am

The decline and demise of Pan-American World Airways in 1991 marked the end of an era in United States. Pan-Am was, for many decades, the de-facto flag carrier of the United States with an extensive international work. It was arguably the creation of American politics in the pre-deregulated industry before the early 1980s, as the airline flew international routes while other airlines were largely restricted to domestic routes.

For over three decades after the Second World War, Pan-Am held the stature as the leading international airline in terms of innovative products, as well as opulence in luxury travel, ushering in the jet age by launching the Boeing 707 in 1959, the iconic Boeing 747 in 1969 and record-breaking non-stops between New York and Tokyo, and Los Angeles and Sydney with the Boeing 747SP in 1976. Pan-Am also pioneered business travel with the launch of its clipper class, a market that was to become today’s lucrative business class. Pan-Am was a brand that Americans flew with pride - hardly a case with US based airlines today.

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Image via Wikipedia

The highly anticipated flying boom during Beijing Olympics is facing severe headwinds towards materializing. Even though some carriers like Singapore Airlines and airlines from the Middle Eastern are expecting demand to rise during the games, it is business as usual for most other airlines. In fact, many are initiating capacity cuts on flights to and from China in the weeks before the games. So, what went wrong?

High fuel prices result in flight cuts to China, regardless of the Olympics

As late as 2006, Chinese carriers like China Southern Airlines were openly upbeat about the demand for air travel during the Olympics, and frowning on Airbus’ inability to roll out the A380 in time for the air travel surge. In June 2008, barely two months from the Games, the Chinese carrier along with China Eastern Airlines, announced massive cuts in flights across its entire network .

US based airlines flying into China are singing a similar tune. US Airways won a hard fought battle when it secured rights to new slots between the United States and Beijing last year. Three months before the Olympic Games, it was requested the FAA for a one-year postponement to the inauguration of its hard-won Philadelphia- Beijing route, which recently approved. Similarly, United had asked for postponement to its San Francisco-Guangzhou inauguration.

These airlines have cited fuel prices as the main cause of cut backs. US Airways, for example, cited that the cost of operating the Philadelphia-Beijing route has increased exponentially from US$50 to US$90 million due to much higher oil prices. China Southern and China Eastern are also citing fuel costs as the reason for cutting back flights.

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