The first webinar of the Airlines 2.0 branding series has been a roaring success. Thanks to everyone who attended the webinar. I’ve been getting some very positive feedback about it already. Here’s what one participant had to say:
“Nigam has an excellent grasp of branding fundamentals. Couple this with his deep understanding of the airline industry and you have a compelling combination that deserves attention and serious consideration.” – Max

I will be posting up the Q&A during the session from the participants in the next couple of days.

Meanwhile, I’m happy to share with you the slides presented during the webinar. You can view them below, or download them for later viewing. Incidentally, the slides were chosen by Slideshare.net as the “Pick of the day” yesterday, alongside a Google Talk! I will be posting the actual webinar recording for the benefit of those who missed out.

Please feel free to send me any thoughts or questions on the presentation.

Special thanks to Jeff Ogden for inviting me to lead the seminar. He’s been my best “remote working” experience till …

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In my first post of the year, I had collated predictions from industry experts for the future of the airline industry in 2009. Here’s my own analysis on the current situation, and I feel, among other things, 2009 presents an opportunity for airlines to tap on technology to build stronger brands.

Allen Adamson, MD of Landor Associates, made a statement in a recent article he wrote that resonated with me completely.
“Conventional wisdom says that in tough economic times you take out the scalpel. You cut jobs, budgets, and programs, especially in the areas of advertising and brand-building. Well, for the first time in marketing history, there’s an option that will increase rather than decrease your horsepower.”
Allen was referring to digital branding – or using technology to build the brand. And as you’d have realized from some of my previous articles, I’m a die-hard fan of this emerging field. Branding through technology allows not just airlines, but all companies to leverage on …

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[caption id="attachment_644" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Allen Adamson, Landor"][/caption]

“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”
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“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 …