benchmark report
airline marketing
you make the difference
facebook reactions
STAR ALLIANCE
LAN Facebook has moved beyond the thumb and put a ‘face’ to user’s feelings by adding new emoticons which let friends share their reactions to posts. Presented as a complement, even an alternative, to written comments, the social network now features emoticons which represent viewers feelings about posts, ranging from smiles to frowns, joy to anger, and keeps a running count. What are we to make of this new, more expressive, Facebook Reactions platform? One possible downside is that negative reactions, previously have lost in a comment thread, are now prominently tallied making them more visible to those seeing the post for the f irst time. Brands which may have blocked comments to avoid negative feedback, can’t block Facebook Reactions. But even the negative Facebook Reactions emoticons can be turned to a positive. Brands can more NOV 2015 ISSUE
immediately gauge reaction to posts, and ref ine their future posts. This new feature can also be a helpful tool for crisis management, helping airlines measure consumer empathy and the effectiveness of its brand recovery communications. Quick to embrace the new feature, LAN Airlines found a clever way to turn the frown upside down by using the various emoticons as voting buttons for a new promotion on its Spanish page. LAN asked visitors how they would feel about travelling to South America for three months giving them suggested answers, each associated with one of the new Facebook Reactions emoticons. The airline gave the two negative emoticons positive meanings. The red, angry face was used to reply: “I can’t wait to star t.” The sad crying stood for: “it’s so sad that this will end.”
With a growing middle class and bustling economy, China is the land of oppor tunity for many airlines and the business travellers who fly them to access the region. The marketing landscape within China, however, can be difficult to navigate. Many brands struggle to produce communications relevant to the Chinese consumer, who trusts social media more than traditional media. According to marketingtochina.com , social media “has become a real key target in marketing, with the highest penetration rate (45 percent) in the world.” As popular western social platforms like Facebook and Twitter are blocked in China, social networks Weibo and WeChat are king. Recognizing the link between Chinese social media consumption and brand relations, Star
Alliance is running an outreach campaign called “You Make the Difference.” This project employs WeChat to target and build relationships with Chinese frequent flyers who travel international. Friends, family and co-workers of a business traveller can send them a message of thanks (for hard work or a job well done) using WeChat. The recipient of the message then selects a Star Alliance airline loyalty program they’d like to have Gold Status in, and they are entered to win one of ten Gold Status give-aways. The sender of the “thank you” message also has a chance at winning Star Alliance round-the-world tickets. Star Alliance has created a Chinese language YouTube video to educate people about this promotion.
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EXPERIENTIAL SOCIAL DIGITAL TV, PRINT, OOH
