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 date.

• Exclusive webinar on airline marketing & branding: Registration now open
• Ancillary revenues and airline branding webinar slides (with video!)
• Keynote on how budget airlines can use social media for branding – Video from LCC Americas Summit 2009
• 5 insights on social media, which airlines must tap on – presentation from IATA Wings of Change at FIDAE
• Redefining CRM – Cult Relationship Management is in, and how loyalty marketing can benefit – keynote presentation

…

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 a tool that not just creates buzz, but is often free or cheap compared to traditional marketing means.

Before I dive into why and how airlines can build a digital brand, let me address why airlines are shying away from digital branding.

Uncharted waters may be risky, and what about ROI?

Airlines, of all industries, tend to be very risk averse, due to the high cost environment that they operate in. It’s only natural to take calculated risks, especially in this environment. But the essence is to take calculated risks. If the risks are well defined and counter-actions thought of in advance, then they’re certainly worth a shot. The best way to beat fear is to define it.

The other factor that often comes in while taking a marketing investment decision is that of Return on Investment (ROI). In some cases, Web 2.0 initiatives can be directly linked to revenues, but many of the times, soft ROI metrics need to be employed. For example, the purpose can be to engage a new target market, like students, by building an online community like GenFlyLounge by Lufthansa. Another aim can be to engage the employees better, just like Malaysia Airlines does with their blog. The key is to have a well-defined ROI metric before embarking on the project.

Now that I’ve settled some nerves about venturing online with your brand, the question is why do it? For that, let’s revisit what branding actually is.

Brand Building 101

Here’s my own very simple definition of what airline branding is all about (feel free to quote me on this!).

An airline first needs to define itself and know what it stands for. Next, it needs to communicate this message effectively to its target markets.

I believe all airlines will be able to build a brand through the above two-part process. But to really stand out, a brand needs to be unique (something others can’t offer), it needs to be genuine (and often personal) and it needs to be buzzworthy (worth talking about). And this is exactly what I believe technology can help airline brands achieve with relative ease.

Advantages of building an airline brand online

There are four key factors I feel airlines can benefit from, which come with building a brand online.

1. Interaction without interruption – Airline brands are able to reach their target audience without disrupting the flow of their normal activities. Instead of having distracting (and expensive) billboards or advertisements, they can seamlessly integrate the message with a medium well suited for engagement. Virgin Atantic’s Facebook page is a great example of this.
2. Co-creation: Consumers these days like to have a say in the product and marketing strategy. And online tools like Twitter to gather feedback and use of sites like Suggestionbox.com gives consumers a stake in the game.
3. Building a personality: It’s much easier to build a personality online, rather than offline. For example, having employees blog about the airline, or having the CEO maintain his own blog suddently adds life to a faceless airline.
4. Ease of experience: Airlines can use online tools to allow passengers to experience the brand without even stepping on-board the plane. Cathay Pacific’s online experience site is a great example of this.

So, doesn’t it make sense to venture online with your airline’s brand?

These are just very brief points on the advantages of building a strong airline brand online. If you’re keen to learn more, I’d like to invite you to register for a free educational webinar being led by me tomorrow, Janurary 8, entitled “Airlines 2.0: Using technology for innovative branding through the recession.”

Remember, you can still win a 2GB Apple iPod by commenting on any of the articles and subscribing to SimpliFlying by emailRSS for regular updates. The deadline for the contest is this Saturday, 10 Jan 2008. Hurry!

————-

P.S: This article first appeared as a guest post at Bangalore Aviation.

• Airline brands need to emerge from the “jurassic era” – Joe Crump
• Joe Crump of Razorfish predicts doom for airlines that don’t build digital brands
• Emirates engages employees through self-composed music video
• “Use the recession as a catalyst to build strong airline brands” – Joe Crump
• Landor Managing Director Allen Adamson reveals that creating a powerful airline brand is the ultimate test

Allen Adamson, Landor

“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…

Related articles

• Allen Adamson’s blog
• Airlines may start treating passengers as ‘freight’
• Airline proves that small can be beautiful
• Airlines Add Service and Amenities to Asian Routes

• SimpliFlying is “aviation website of the week” (and more accolades)
• MIT’s Prof John Hansman predits a bleak future for airlines
• Building a strong Indigo Airlines brand, and outlook for 2009
• Happy Crew = Happy Passengers = Great Brand!
• Laura Reis of Reis & Reis feels airline social networks are “ridiculous”