KLM - Wannagives

KLM - Wannagives

Dutch airline KLM, one of the main carriers to drive social media adoption in the airline industry, has responded to requests of its online fans and followers to launch its latest social media drive, called ‘Wannagives ’. To be launched in mid- December, the initiative will allow friends, family and colleagues of passengers flying with KLM to treat their loved ones with a surprise during their flight by pre-ordering a gift online. The service was revealed by KLM at the recent Salesforce’s Dreamforce conference in San Francisco.

People can select a gift online – whether a glass of champagne, a fresh orange rose, a watch, or anything else from KLM’s duty free catalogue – which will then be delivered to the passenger’s seat during the flight. A similar service is already offered by leisure-oriented airlines such as Virgin Atlantic and Thomson in the UK, but KLM is the first airline to offer the service via social media, lowering the barrier and adding a cool twist to it. According to KLM, the aim of the concept is to showcase KLM as an airline that cares for its customers.

The new Wannagives service is inspired by KLM’s 2010 ‘Surprise ’ initiative whereby foursquare travellers were surprised by KLM with a personalised gift at the airport that was based on their online profile. KLM Surprise proved to be a massive success for the airline, gaining over 1 million hits on Twitter witin in a month and it paved the way for a variety of social media initiatives since.