Royal Dutch Airlines Introduces Personalizing Luggage Tags App, Clever

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is proving itself confident in the execution of social-media PR, one luggage tag at a time. The airline has launched an application on Facebook which gives customers the opportunity to design their own luggage tags, featuring personalized pictures from one’s own Facebook, and free shipping for the interesting tag. Prior to this launch, KLM Royal Dutch had the Facebook page we must often see when it comes to airlines. Promoting deals, offering customer service and wishing great flights to all has landed itself in the cookie-cutter features of airlines in social media. By introducing an application to the page, however, KLM opens doors to a creative way of keeping in their customers’ minds.

The application is simple, but also an involved art. Once users check yes to permissions, KLM Luggage Tags opens up their facebook photos and allows selection to those of the tag. Bigger, smaller, wider; users choose the additional edits they would like to make to photos before plastering them on a luggage tag. An involved process such as this means that more time is spent dwelling on the airline- not to mention an application addition to the user’s Facebook page. Shipping is free for the tags, though they are as of yet only available in Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Ireland, and Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey and the UK.

The intro page to KLM's Luggage Tags App.

Finally, I put the app to a test which should be standardized among companies who hope to use social media effectively. How well does it work on a smartphone for their on-the-go customers? Success! I was able to open the application and begin making a luggage tag, though navigating through Facebook photos was a bit cumbersome on my Blackberry.

KLM Royal Dutch has really hit the nail on its head here, and deserves the influx of attention its Facebook page is getting because of such. The ultimate goal of social media is to direct traffic to the networking page and spread the word quickly online (in a way it could never be done through traditional advertising). Here, KLM has fared well. It’s a pioneering effort for airlines in the ever-popular realm of picture posting on Facebook. Clever!