As usual the first, insights part of the podcast is free and it also contains a snippet of the interview with Gabi while the full interview with the industry expert – in this instance, Gabi Kool – comes at a price of only USD 19.

You can listen to the free version below in which Shashank Nigam, the CEO of SimpliFlying and Marco Serusi, our Community Engagement Executive, discuss and dissect the state of the loyalty industry. Alternatively, subscribe to it on our iTunes channel:

Note: The HTML5 player above should work with most modern browsers including those in mobile devices such as the iPad and iPhone. However, if you’re having trouble playing the file, please use the flash player here.

Interview with Gabi Kool, CEO of Baltic Miles

In the interview we touch upon several key areas of the loyalty industry, prodding Gabi into giving us some juicy details about his company, the future of loyalty, the role of social media and more. Furthermore, thanks to Gabi’s background in the world of Hotel loyalty we also discover a some interesting lessons that the airline industry could learn from hotels.

Here are some major points touched upon in the podcast:

• Beyond loyalty, Shashank Nigam introduces the concept of “affinity” (05:45)
• How Baltic Miles has evolved over the past year (13:40)
• Gabi Kool’s take on how the loyalty industry has evolved (14:20)
• The development of Baltic Miles’ business model (16:00)
• What could aviation learn from the Hotel Loyalty? (23:50)
• Social loyalty programs and their integration with traditional loyalty ( 26:10)
• A future of consolidation in the Loyalty Industry (31:40)

Get the podcast by simply clicking the button below:

(Clicking on the link above will take you to Paypal where you can securely make your one-time purchase of $19. Please do not hesitate to contact us at podcasts@simpliflying.com if you face any difficulties in making the purchase.)

• Episode 3 of SimpliFlying Podcasts: Industry news roundup and exclusive interview with KLM’s VP for eCommerce
• The Business of Loyalty: SimpliExclusive Interview with Gabi Kool, CEO of Baltic Miles, reveals a changing loyalty landscape
• SimpliFlying launches fortnightly Marketing Strategy podcasts for airline and airport marketers
• The future of airline loyalty – lessons from Loyalty11 Conference
• Episode 5 of SimpliFlying Podcasts: Interview with Vueling’s CEO Alex Cruz and Industry Updates

A number of leading corporates have found interesting ways to tap on the bustling virtual communities on Second life, including Cisco, Adidas, ABN Amro Bank , MTV and even Toyota. Insead Business School has held MBS classes there. The hit CBS show CSI: Crime Scene Investigations plans an episode later this month where a killer is pursued into Second Life. One of the few industries not yet represented on Second Life is the airline industry – and herein lies a great branding opportunity for first movers and fast followers into the realm.

Airlines on Second Life would be able to ensure extended engagement with their customers, and prospective customers, enabling interaction with the brand before (Xpectation) and after (Xpression) the Xperience. Moreover, in unstable times like these for the industry, airlines can get involved their customers more deeply and even generate new revenue streams.

Here are 5 ways in which airlines can enchance their brand value by being on Second Life.

1. Offer flights in Second Life, to take people from one place to another, complete with an in-flight experience – the quality of which should match, or exceed the real-world experience. Xperience can differ between LCC, all-business and legacy carriers.
   
2. Involve avatars in creating their own in-flight experience, then take their top preferences and introduce in real flights – what better way to do market research and bumping up Brand Xpression ratings?
   
3. Reach out to current loyal customers in the real world, and seek their feedback on Second Life, across all touch-points – from call center, to check in counters to lost baggage retrieval.
4. Reward avatars by allowing them to earn FF miles when they use the airline online, or participate in “experience creation”.
5. Another way to encourage participation is to grant real-life in-flight vouchers, for products they may have bought online. This would also increase actual on-board shopping.

Let’s now wait and see which airline makes the first move.

Ponder that!

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