In marketing, we often talk about the value of brand associations, of being at the top of the mind of consumers and having the brand instantly connect with a feeling, memory etc. However, putting all this into practice is probably one of the hardest things in the industry. According to researchers, there can only be 3 brands in of a consumer per category… don’t believe me?
A short brand-recognition exercise
Let’s do a little exercise: name 3 brands of Cola.

Now let me guess: The first one that you thought of was: Coca Cola? And maybe the color red? The second one was: Pepsi, perhaps? And the third one?  Maybe you struggled a bit with this one, but probably it was the top selling “white label” brand from your local supermarket

Let’s do one more:

Think of good times (or more specifically, the recent holiday season) and name a brand of soft drinks.

I guess that you probably thought of something similar to the image below:

One last test:
Can you think of the holiday season and an airline/airport in the same breath?

Having troubles? Well it’s understandable since no airline …

Our friends at Eezeer have analysed the Twitter habits of airlines as well as their fans/customers for the month of November and have produced the Monthly Twitter Report in continuation with their monthly coverage and analysis of the dynamic social media landscape for airlines.

At the close of the year, it’s worth pausing to consider how quickly the social landscape has evolved over the past year or so. Airlines have not only embraced Twitter but have also realised that there’s great value in using it to drive specific goals such as revenue, engagement and loyalty. Many innovative initiatives on Twitter have been captured in our Top 10 case-packs as well. It’s worth noting that as of November 2011 there were 198 airlines on Twitter with 90 actively tweeting. This, more than anything else, is a sign of changing times and even greater change to come.

A number of facts are immediately clear from this report:

Even though most airlines have jumped on to the Twitter bandwagon, the majority of the tweets are produced by a minority of airlines. 30 airlines provide more than 83% of tweets sent out by airlines.
Delta Air Lines is still the runaway champion, having been consistently been a …

In our latest top 10 case-pack we talked about the importance of social-media-based customer-service and how both bad and good experiences can be amplified and spread at incredible speed on it. We also mentioned that according to recent research, 25% of social media users expect a response within an hour and 6% expect something within 10 minutes!

For today’s post we’re looking at customer-service from a different angle and submitting to you the thesis that airlines having in-flight WiFi could possibly harness the power of social customer-service in radically new ways. For example,  some customers might post something on your Facebook page while in the flight, and expect you to do something before the plane lands.

But what if they ask you to do something you never expected? (Something good, of course!) Read on to see what a delighted customer wrote:

“If someone in the Southwest Airlines corporate HQ can see this – I’m on flight 913 currently en route to Phoenix and I want yall to know that our flight attendant Holly is perhaps one of the most remarkably kind and helpful people my girlfriend and I have ever met. If you can meet us at the gate with something …

Yes, you read that correctly. I did not write Web 2.0. Of course, that’s not because it’s not relevant – it’s terribly relevant – but because this newer term encompasses Web 2.0 and then some. So what exactly do I mean by Mobile 2.0 and why is it important? Cutting to the chase, here are some things we all know: first, ordinary feature phones are dying a fast death and smartphone shipments are rising as iOS and Android become increasingly popular with others, such as Windows Phone 7, hot in pursuit. Second, people are increasingly using their phones to do tasks they earlier used their laptops or desktops for: hotel search, ticket bookings, banking, emails, etc. Third, smartphones are creating an all new category of the always connected traveler – a web-savvy, social-networking geek who isn’t afraid to declare to his virtual networks what he’s thinking or doing.
The future is mobile
Given the rapidly changing interactional/behavioural habits of the traveler, it has become important for airlines to target them where they can be found. Close your eyes and think for a moment about what the word mobile phone means to you: I’m quite certain that most of the readers here …

Yes, you read it right – Fred Taylor doesn’t work in the Customer Service Deptartment at Southwest Airlines – he works with the Proactive Customer Service – and that makes a pretty big difference, as you’ll realize in the interview we managed to grab with him recently.
Who is Fred Taylor?
Keeping a finger on the pulse of Southwest Airlines’ daily operations and making sure their Internal and External Customers are on the same page is a way of life for Fred Taylor. As the Senior Manager of Proactive Customer Service Communications, Fred is charged with shepherding a unique approach that has its roots firmly embedded in one of the Company’s Core Values—The Golden Rule. Fred and his Proactive Customer Service (PCS) Team of four are responsible for coordinating timely information, guidance, and support during disruptions of Southwest’s scheduled service.

Working with 14 other departments, the PCS Team explores new ways Southwest can operate more efficiently; provide more-effective communications; and implement better Customer accommodations.

To Fred, being proactive means practicing what you preach. As such, through effective internal and external communication/action, Fred and his Team helps Southwest Airlines prudently …

Spanair delights holiday travelers
Just around when thousands were stranded at London’s Heathrow Airport and missing Christmas gatherings, Spanair had delightful surprise in store for their customers.

On Dec 24, Spanair’s flight from Barcelon to Las Palmas arrived close to midnight. And when the passengers reached the baggage belt upon landing, they were surprised to see that instead of their luggage, out came beautifully wrapped Christmas gifts, each specially packed for each passenger and tagged individually too. Now, wouldn’t you be delighted if this happened to you? Just see the reaction of the passengers in the video below, and you’ll see what I mean.

KLM Suprises digital travelers
By now, you must have heard of the KLM Surprises campaign. Here’s how it worked: KLM started delighting digital customers at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam before they boarded their flight.

After travelers announced their presence  on Foursquare or Twitter, KLM staff contacted online them to learn of their departure gate and time (1st surprise). Then, after doing some online research about …

Lots of you must be familiar with the rapping flight attendant at Southwest Airlines – who gave a brand new twist to the decades old safety demonstration. Then we had the safety video at Air New Zealand where flight attendants wore nothing but body-paint.

Now, from the Philippines come the Cebu Pacific flight attendants dancing on Lady Gaga’s music during the safety demo. This video has received over 5million views just over the weekend, and certainly gets the passengers in the groove for the flight.

For the unaware, Cebu Pacific has a history of being quirky – like the crew performing magic tricks if the plane sits on the tarmac for too long. So yes, the dance video has gone viral, and I think it’s also well deserved – as it epitomizes the swanky brand. Great job, Cebu Pacific!

Enjoy the video! (click here if you can’t see it below)

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This is a guest article by David Doctor, Director of Airline Distribution at Amadeus. Amadeus is the leading transaction processor and provider of advanced technology solutions for the global travel and tourism industry.

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The latest study from Ideaworks, sponsored by Amadeus; shows that airline ancillary revenue is on the increase, up 45% on last year to €11 billion ($13bn), and that in order to be in the top 10 ancillary revenue generators an airline must drive €300 million in ancillary sales. Airlines cannot afford to ignore the rapid development of this trend but strategies to take advantage of ancillary revenue will need to vary according to each airline’s brand positioning, and this involves careful decision-making.

Unbundling translates into cash
As can be seen from the graphic above, LCCs have moved full steam ahead with unbundling, selling exit-rows, extra legroom and priority boarding. However, the story of the last couple of years has been the entry of the U.S. majors – United and American now generate around €1.5 billion each. Even Singapore Airlines has started charging up to $100 for exit-row seating on their long haul flights.

There are compelling reasons for an …

SimpliFlying has earned its reputation over the years by offering thought provoking insights into the world of airline branding. And nothing has been as instrumental affecting airline brands as social media.

As airlines become more active in this sphere, we attempt to answer a crucial question: Has social media truly benefited any airline? If so, how? To answer this question, we put together a series of case studies. In this set of six case studies, top executives from airlines such as Qantas, Volaris, airBaltic, Alaska Airlines, JetBlue, and of course, Southwest, talk about how their social media strategies are pushing their airlines into the next era.

Recently, Facebook announced that its user base now exceeds 500m. Twitter, on the other hand is still lagging in numbers, but the growth rate of users easily outstrips that of Facebook. As our case studies will show, both of these platforms offer their unique advantages in terms of customer engagement and information sharing. However, more importantly, each requires its own unique strategy.

The heady growth of social media has brought its own advantages and ills. While platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, blogs and wikis offer unprecedented levels of engagement and information sharing with customers, there are perils …

I have received an enthusiastic response to my article written late last week, about why the social “we”b is about the real-world relationships, just as much as it is about online interaction. In that, I recollected how the best side-effect of Twitter has been the number of highly talented individuals I’ve been able to meet around the world.

I’ve got a bunch of emails, tweets and comments over the last couple of days asking me how this observation applies to airlines. Firstly, let me address why airlines need to have real-world interaction with their online “fans”.

Why is real-world interaction needed to complement social media engagement?
Online interaction is good, because it allows the airline to connect with a lot of people across geographies, and allows those people to connect among themselves too.

Where online engagement falls short is often the creation of a long-lasting emotional bond, which comes only through real-life meetings. Imagine a Facebook fan of an airline, who has never flown them before, but has always taken part in online contests or discussions. Wouldn’t the relationship be cemented only if he flies that …