Turkish Airlines - Invest On Board @ Slush 2015

Turkish Airlines - Invest On Board @ Slush 2015

There’s an old saying that goes “It’s not what you know, buy who you know that matters.”

It seems that airlines have been adopting this phrase as their mantra lately. Many are doing their best to “get to know” the tech, start-up and creative communities as a means of getting in front of trends, scouting talent and mining for breakthrough ideas.

In November, Turkish Airlines embedded itself in the front lines of creative innovation by taking a stand at Slush 2015 in Helsinki. Organized entirely by students, Slush is now Nor thern Europe’s largest tech star t- up conference and it is growing rapidly. The 2014 event attracted more than 1,400 tech start-ups and 750 investors – it’s an event not to be missed by anyone who wants to know what’s going on in the tech start-up world.

In their booth at the event, Turkish Airlines set up a small TV set comprised of a chair, a camera and a studio light. Then over two days, the airline enticed entrepreneurs to sit down and pitch their start-up on film for the chance to become part of Turkish Airlines’ Invest on Board program, which sees pitch videos incorporated into the IFE offering in Business Class.

Other airlines that have been engaging the tech/start-up community include Virgin Atlantic – which recently paired on a campaign with co-working center group WeWork – and Delta, which offered customers the chance to win a flight ticket seated next to a rising star of the Creative Class .