Back in 2011, we published a Top 10 on the Best Social Loyalty Initiatives by Airlines that featured a location-based initiative by the British low cost carrier BmiBaby in partnership with Gowalla.  The campaign eventually evolved into a wider off-airport engagement strategy where  travel experts created virtual city tours based on Gowalla check-ins that allowed travelers to explore several different cities served by the airline.

Now, the airline has decided to further enhance its efforts to engage with people based on their location, by launching an Instagram campaign that allows communities of users to meet in person on trips sponsored by BmiBaby.
Instagram community meetings
Instagram is a free photo sharing application on iOS that allows users to take a photo, apply a digital filter, then share it on a variety of social networking services including Instagram’s own. BmiBaby was able to exploit a particular trend within the Instagram image sharing network: having “Instameets”.  Instameets are user-organized events where Instagramers take part in a “photo walk” and take pictures of a particular location or town, that are then shared on Instagram under a dedicated hashtag.
BmiBaby launched a campaign to celebrate the 4th World Instameet Day by providing free travel to members …

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 …