[LIVE] KLM Aviation Empire: Airline Strategy Mobile Game — Launch Event live-blogged from Amsterdam

In February, KLM announced it would be launching a new game for Android and iOS devices, something that the company described as “logical next step in the digital revolution of KLM”.

Intrigued by this description, and following an invitation by KLM, we are here in Amsterdam and will be live-blogging the launch event for KLM’s game Aviation Empire starting at  15:30 local time (13:30 GMT). 

What’s so special about it?

Of course, hearing that an airline is launching a new game may not be big news to most people in this industry, but then if this was just another airline doing it, we would not have travelled all the way to Amsterdam to live blog it for you, right? 

The first thing that got our attention is obviously the fact that this is not a Facebook game or a cleverly designed website but an actual game that can be played on mobile devices. 

Secondly, it does not seem to be geared towards the acquisition of new frequent flyers members, e-mail contacts or any other similar goal, and it does not appear to be linked to a competition to earn miles or free flights. 

Its purpose seems to be entirely to entertain people and build a stronger relationship between the brand and its followers, adding a further level of sophistication to the gamification trend we identified in our State of the Airline Marketing report. 

The third element we identified by looking at the information available is that this game will most likely appeal to a hyper-connected, constantly on the move type of human being who frequently travels by air: the Connected Traveler. And, in particular, business-minded connected travelers who will be happy to play strategy related games on their mobile device while waiting for their flight. 

The teaser

Judging from the video teaser, it also appears to be of a much higher standard than most airline games. 

Liveblog

[14:54] We are live in Amsterdam waiting for the event to start.

[15:50] Heading to the hangar for the event.

[16:10] The event just started under the wing of a 747-400.

[16:12] The game is not yet available, but ready for launch. They are working closely with Apple and Google on this.

[16:13] The 747 is in maintenance at the moment and is having the new business class cabin installed. Crews will also have iPads on board.

[16:14] KLM informs us about their huge footprint on social media: 3.9 millon followers on Facebook.

[16:15] The game will try to breach the gap between the digital world and reality.

[16:18] KLM: The nice thing about social media is that people are very honest. If people like something they will tell you and if they don’t they will also tell you.

[16:19] KLM currently has 80 people working on social media services.

[16:20] 25,000 interactions happen between KLM and its audience per week on social media.  Customers demand continued engagement.

[16:21] Importance of sales without sales: KLM focuses on serving people well so that they will share and recommend the product.

[16:22] KLM says that gamification is here to stay and is the way forward.

[16:25] KLM started by flying from Amsterdam to London, therefore the only way to start the game is to fly between these two cities.

[16:26] There will be incentives connected to the real world in the game.

[16:26] The game uses geolocation, giving advantage to real world frequent flyers.

[16:27] The aim is to continue building links to the real world.

[16:28] The game has been created together with a company called Little Chicken. (Over 100 game concepts were evaluated before settling on this one.)

[16:30] The game itself is GPS based, highly addictive, social by design.

[16:33] The main challenge was creating a fun but relevant enough game.

[16:34] The amazing thing is that even the KLM revenue management team got involved!

[16:36] The name was crowdsourced on Facebook, and during testing, the airline got 1800 beta testers in one day.

[16:37] KLM says that getting used to the aviation world was a tough learning curve for the game design company.

[16:38] The game starts back in 1919 with a connection between Amsterdam and London, and yes with vintage planes.

[16:39] Players need to invest in infrastructure, like airports, but also buy planes and other materials.

[16:40] The game has been made quite real. Even fuel prices go up with time.

[16:41] You can even micromanage prices!

[16:42] The game is also about making passengers happy. If you do, you can earn credits because happy customers will purchase more.

[16:43] The network is also important: you have to manage routes, establish hubs and obtain traffic rights, all based on the planes you have available in the historical period in which you are playing. Remember that you start in 1919, so it’s a long way to go to direct long range flights.

[16:44] The game has badges, including hidden ones, and they can be shared on social media.

[16:45] GPS enabled: when you travel in real life, you unlock the airport you traveled to on the game and earn credits.

[16:46] The presentation has ended. We are looking forward to try the game now.

[17:20] After speaking with KLM’s staff at the event, it seems this is just the beginning. A lot more seems to be in the works (although they won’t tell us the details) and they are certainly open to experiment with new things.

[18:00] KLM aims for one update per month to the game.

Update: It seems that the game is now available on iOS.