Airline Marketing Monthly
Issue
August
80 2019
Finnair - Now/Here Podcasts for aviation marketers. A guide in partnership with Wondery
About us
SimpliFlying Pte Ltd, 231 Mountbatten Road, Block D #01-07, Mountbatten Centre, Singapore 397999 SimpliVisible Ltd, 27 Old Gloucester Street, London, UK WC1N 3AX
Visit the SimpliFlying website www.simpliflying.com
2.
Airline Marketing Monthly | August 2019
Published by SimpliVisible, the content arm of SimpliFlying, Airline Marketing Monthly is the only trade magazine worldwide devoted to aviation marketing
Content Editorial
4-6
Featured campaigns
7-21
Finnair - Now/Here
7-8
Finnair - Feel Finnair
9-10
Other recent examples of airline destination
11-13
from Travel
News from SimpliFlying
airline with Air Tahiti Nui The SimpliFlying Global
Air France - A ballet in the 40 sky Hamad International
41
Airport and Qatar Airways - Summer in Qatar 42
Firefly Airlines - Is your
43
seat the lucky one? 16-18
LATAM Group - Recycle
44
your journey 19-20
21-23
A SimpliLive special Building a boutique
39
Manchester Airport - More 45 than an airport Tokyo Haneda Airport - 46 Flight Simulator Room Southwest - Nintendo
47
22
themed flight
23
United - EAA AirVenture
48
Brands in this issue
49
Institute
August industry guide Podcasting for airlines and airports with Wondery
3.
24-38
Airline Marketing Monthly | August 2019
14-15
videos China Airlines - Souvenirs
Air Asia - Campaign song
confusion
Blacks Other 2019 airline safety
38-48
Faro Airport - Escape the
marketing Air New Zealand - Air All
Aviation Campaigns
Editorial
However, if like me you only really started listening to podcasts over the past year, you are not alone. Research shows that most listeners are relatively recent, having discovered (or rediscovered) the medium in the past 1-3 years. Those listeners are more likely to have a University / college education and be higher earners. As a result, if you are an airline marketer that’s an audience you want to reach. That audience is also growing fast, with the estimate being that there will be 1.8 billion podcast listeners worldwide by 2023. Though we’ve covered examples of airlines who have branded podcasts in previous issues, my sense is that the majority are still adopting a wait and see approach from the sidelines. If that’s you, hopefully the special industry guide we’ve produced with Wondery, the world’s largest independent podcast company, will convince you to adopt podcasts as a medium, sooner rather than later. That could be by including podcasts on your IFE system, advertising on podcasts, commissioning your own content - or indeed, all three.
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Airline Marketing Monthly | August 2019
Podcasts are hardly new, they’ve been around for at least as long as Facebook (which started in 2004) has, arguably for longer.
Of particular relevance is the growth of podcasts in non English speaking markets, such as Latin America and China. The podcasting audience is very much international and the announcement by Wondery that the company will be providing content in additional languages ties into that. Going from audio to video, the SimpliLive show will be coming back soon. As some of you will remember, this was a daily video show produced by SimpliFlying founder Shashank Nigam, before he went on sabbatical this year. Shashank has been to Tahiti to interview the management team at Air Tahiti Nui, to look at how a boutique airline can be our video and will have it ready in time for our next issue. This will be the first of several SimpliLive specials featuring airlines around the world. Our cover story this month goes to Finnair, not only for an interesting and innovative destination marketing concept called Now/Here, but also for the way the airline uses staff members in social media take-overs, and gives them significant freedom in using the company’s channels to tell stories. Finnair tells us that authenticity in story-telling - trusting team members to post without going through corporate approval hoops - has resulted in an increase in engagement and followers.
Finally, will you be at the World Aviation Festival in London in September? Drop me an email at editor@airlinemarketingmonthly.com and we can meet for a coffee during the event.
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Airline Marketing Monthly | August 2019
successful. We’re currently putting the finishing touches on
Featured Campaigns
Airline Marketing Monthly | August 2019
6.
An increasing number of airlines now
This has involved Chinese celebrity chef
promote their home country / city as a
Steven Liu taking part in a number of
place to take a short break, rather than
stunts and marketing promotions, for
just somewhere to change flights.
example this one where he teamed up
Examples include Icelandair, which has been promoting Iceland stopovers for years (see our June 2018 issue for the air-
in the Forests outside Helsinki in between flights.
line’s World Cup / Iceland football team
Now Finnair has broadened out its
themed stopovers), Qatar Airways, Eti-
Finland-destination marketing efforts
had (see our coverage of the airline’s 48
through the launch of a new online trav-
hour stopover challenge), TAP Portugal,
el platform, called Now/here.
and of course Finnair.
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with a Finnish Chef to prepare a dinner
The Now/here (or ‘Nowhere’) website
Finnair has been particularly active in
opens up with a video telling people that
targeting Chinese travellers who use
if you want to find ‘busy and bustling
HEL as a bridge between the Far East
megacities’ (cue a picture of Dubai) or
and Europe / North America.
‘monumental wonders’ (image of the
Airline Marketing Monthly | August 2019
Images courtesy of Finnair
Finnair - Now / Here
Sphinx and the Pyramids) you’ve come
their expertise to Now/here for example
to the wrong place.
with financials, IT and marketing.”
The video then moves onto what you will
Experiences are sourced from the sup-
find (silence, nature, wildlife etc) with
pliers (activity providers) and are curated
the call to action being that Nowhere
by the Now/here team. So far, Finnair
is a place for you to find custom, tailor
says there are 1500 partners involved
made experiences in the Nordics.
who have signed up and benefit from
Those experiences include a night in the wild going bear watching, an immersion
Finnair’s marketing experience and international reach.
into Finnish Sauna culture as well as a
Finnair content creator Katri Pehkonen
Midnight Sun photography tour.
further told us that concept was first
of social media properties independent of the main Finnair ones, in particular Facebook and Instagram. The fact that Finnair has essentially decided to create a completely separate sub-brand for its destination content and experiences is interesting. Finnair told us that there’s a separate core team working on the project, consisting of a team lead, a project manager, a product manager, a content creator and a consultant. “Also, professionals from the matrix organization provide
tested in Singapore, Hong Kong, UK, US and Australia, prior to the Global roll-out in February. “We tested the concept idea and look & feel as well as some of the example experiences with a clickable mobile site. The responses among the target group across the countries were positive and rather similar. The concept was perceived as inspiring, fresh and as something new. The way Now/here presents the destinations and products increased an interest to travel to the destination which naturally is one of the main goals.
We tested the concept idea and look & feel as well as some of the example experiences with a clickable mobile site. The responses among the target group across the countries were positive and rather similar. The concept was perceived as inspiring, fresh and as something new. The way Now/here presents the destinations and products increased an interest to travel to the destination which naturally is one of the main goals.
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Airline Marketing Monthly | August 2019
The site itself is backed up by a number
Feel Finnair In July, Finnair turned over its Instagram feed over to staff members, allowing them to take over the account and post destination content. Finnair has been periodically running these since fifth month long takeover since then. Finnair tells us that in addition to these month long take-overs, the airline regularly stages shorter employee takeovers. Examples of the July take-over included Pajaree aka Pajis, a Thai-Finnish cabin crew member who showcased her top three destinations for the benefit of airline’s Instagram followers. Over the following days, she then posted about Lisbon, Osaka, and Bangkok. She was followed by St Petersburg (Russia) based client manager, Yaroslava Belyaeva, who shared St Petersburg travel tips. Finnair says that it regularly advertises the take-overs via employee social network Yammer. This year there were more than 50 staff members who wanted to take part. The communications team then selected ones who reflected different roles, destinations and nationalities, with the aim of showing as much of Finnair as possible. We wondered whether the employees doing the take-over had to submit posts for approval through a third party system and the answer is they do not.
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Airline Marketing Monthly | August 2019
2015, with this being the
According to Finnair, “the person who takes over the account gets our IG takeover guidelines, the do’s and don’t’s, and is responsible for the content. The content is basically decided by the host, and what kind of storytelling he/she opts to do.
Finnair told us that they see an increase in followers and positive and employee engagement during employee take-overs, and that they intend carrying on with the activity as “there are thousands of interesting Finnair stories to be told.” Finnair is of course not the only airline that runs employee take-overs, but it does it really well. Finnair should be commended for trusting its employees to tell their own stories, without having to jump through corporate approval hoops (clearly they are vetted beforehand). This then comes through in the content, which looks authentic and unscripted, as well as in the engagement rates.
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Airline Marketing Monthly | August 2019
Basically the idea behind FeelFinnair is that we all feel Finnair differently, and the feeling should show. We also do collaboration with influencers, and the same applies to them.
Other recent examples of airline destination marketing Airline Marketing Monthly | August 2019
To promote its Tel Aviv Manchester route, El Al released quite a fun and accessible video fronted by flight attendant Tal Raviv, in which she compared the nightlife of the two cities. We were however somewhat puzzled by Tal’s claim at the start of the video that French and Chinese are official languages, alongside English.
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by nominating it as its July city of the month (followed by Krakow in Poland for August). What we found strange about this was a lack of sign-posting and any other context. We saw a lot of daily posts about things to do in and around Bangkok, but were left with a number of questions. Who took these pictures and videos? Was it Lufthansa staff, some influencer, a photographer, or did LH just buy in stock imagery, it’s not explained. It also seemed like a missed opportunity. Why not get a staff member to front the city tour like other airlines do? Why not run a competition and build a micro-site around your destination of the month?
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Airline Marketing Monthly | August 2019
Meanwhile, Lufthansa made Bangkok its focus on social media,
on its Facebook page promoting different destinations, and new routes. This includes Pointe-Noire in the Republic of Congo, Bali and Beijing. Again, to us this falls a little flat, as they are essentially just mini corporate videos.
A much more in-depth destination campaign is one currently being run by
Air France. The airline is working with YouTuber Anil B on his seven new wonders of the world series (which culminated in a book). The seven new wonders include Petra in Jordan, the Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil, and the Taj Mahal.
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Airline Marketing Monthly | August 2019
Turkish Airlines has been posting a series of short video clips
Air All Blacks - Air New Zealand
last year, we questioned whether after years of cranking out hit after safety video hit, we had finally reached peak safety video. And we weren’t alone in pointing out that the rap themed video didn’t really look or feel like a safety video, the airline itself withdrew it (though it cited the need to promote a new domestic campaign as the reason). On August 1st, Air New Zealand came out with its latest offering. Ostensibly it has a rugby theme, around the New Zealand national team, the ‘All Blacks’ (who already appeared in an earlier safety video). This comes as the All Blacks prepare for the Rugby World Cup, which is due to kick off in Japan in September. In particular, the video opens with the airline announcing that as the country is so rugby mad, it will be changing its name to ‘Air All Blacks.’ We then see a bunch of All Blacks players and coaches, some Kiwi children as well as Air NZ crew around a big table, after which Rick Hoffman, best known from the TV series Suits, is beamed in via a holographic image.
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Airline Marketing Monthly | August 2019
When Air New Zealand released its last safety video, ‘It’s Kiwi Safety’, at the end of
Zealand Herald says it is
indeed eat up a lot of
at its own expense, with
a return to form after last
budget.
Hoffman proclaiming that
year’s ‘train wreck.’
as the airline’s lawyer he’s there to advise the ‘crazy Kiwis’ against any kind of rapping or complicated safety demonstrations.
a well made safety video
Zealand website, former
can still get great cut
Saatchi & Saatchi MD Mike
through, and can be a great
Hutcheson called it ‘over
marketing tool.
the top’, saying “I felt it was laying it on with a trowel,
involves the airline’s board
and quite an extravagant
thinking of what their new
way of telling me a simple
safety video should look
story. It was big budget for
like. Different groups of
sure, and I’d like to think
people, from kids, to All
there were better ways to
Blacks players, to fans then
spend that money.”
safety demonstration.
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However, on the TV New
The rest of the video
each act out a part of the
We’d agree that $ for $,
In response, the airline’s general manager of global
Unlike ‘It’s Kiwi Safety’,
brand and content, Jodi
the media reaction so far
Williams said that it “still
to ‘Air All Blacks’ seems
drives great value for us”,
to be largely positive.
and helps the airline cut
Mashable talks about ‘Air
through in markets such as
New Zealand’s cheeky new
the US, where a standard
safety video’, while the New
national ad buy would
However, our first impression was that the video lacks the clear linear
Airline Marketing Monthly | August 2019
The airline makes a joke
narrative that earlier Air New Zealand safety videos had. Instead it jumps about (e.g. from Rick Hoffman, to All Black All Stars, to fans). This could be quite confusing for someone on board to follow, so in that sense Mike Hutcheson is right, arguably Air New Zealand over complicated what should be quite a simple message. Credit - Image from Delta
A look at other safety videos In addition to Air New Zealand, a number of other airlines have released safety videos over the past few months.
Delta - Safety Card Video Airline Marketing Monthly | August 2019
We talked about the need for a clear, simple narrative (especially as airline safety videos are meant to impart vital information), and that’s something Delta managed to do well in its Safety Card themed video. Essentially the video involves ‘the world of the safety card’ - all the characters you see in your standard seat back card, coming to life.
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United - Fly like a superhero We covered this in our June issue, United created a safety video to coincide with the release of the new Spiderman movie, Spiderman - Far
Aegean Airlines - Giannis Antentokounmpo Aegean Airlines 2019 safety video features NBA basketball star Giannis Antentokounmpo. We quite like this, again it is fairly simple. It involves Antentokounmpo walking around a warehouse where you see various stereotypical images of Greece (e.g. a Greek cafe, a fishing boat).
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Airline Marketing Monthly | August 2019
from Home.
ANA - Kabuki safety video In March, Forbes contributor and travel writer Andrew Bender wrote that he couldn’t stop watching ANA’s Kabuki-themed safety video.
Finally, Turkish Airlines carried on its association with the Lego Movie franchise, by releasing a safety video with characters from the Lego Movie II. As with previous Turkish Airlines Safety Video efforts, this looks suitably high budget. So far, it has netted over nine million views on the Turkish Airlines YouTube channel.
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Airline Marketing Monthly | August 2019
Turkish Airlines - Lego Movie
China Airlines Souvenirs from Travel
everything from the Emir-
ent to what you generally
marketing campaigns
ates economy cabin, to
see from an airline.
tend to go in one of two
the in flight entertainment
directions. You either fo-
system.
cus on the product, so you emphasise how wonderful different elements such as the aircraft, the cabins or the in-flight service are. Or you focus on the overall experience, from the des-
and positive messages.
Lufthansa is an example of
Instead we get a brutally
an airline which took the
honest and sometimes
latter approach in its 2018
funny look at some of the
‘Say yes to the world’ cam-
unexpected results of a
paign (see our March 2018
trip abroad.
edition).
The video, ‘Souvenirs from
China Airlines has like-
Travel’, features a collec-
wise (via its ad agency Leo
tion of Taiwanese travellers
Burnett Taiwan) come out
who have just returned
Emirates is an example of
with a campaign looking
from foreign destinations,
an airline which takes the
how travel can change
showing some of the more
former approach. Recent
you. However the direc-
unexpected results of their
campaigns have promoted
tion it takes is very differ-
trips.
tination to the transformative power of travel.
19.
Gone are the life affirming
Airline Marketing Monthly | August 2019
Broadly speaking, airline
ferent and radical departure from stan-
ing hands at the airport post a quickie
dard airline ads, and this has resulted in
Las Vegas wedding, a woman who no
a lot of coverage for China Airlines and
longer looks like her ID photo after hav-
ad agency Leo Burnett.
ing had plastic surgery in Seoul, and a man who finds the tattoo he had done in Amsterdam. In terms of tone and style, it’s quite a dif-
For example, ad industry magazine Ad Week says, “This China Airlines Ad Makes Travel Sound Absolutely Dreadful. And It’s a Huge Hit….
Airlines love to tell you all sorts of reasons to travel more, but they usually don’t mention the likelihood that you’ll get unexpectedly pregnant, injured, inked, married or plagued by a cursed keepsake. One Mile at a Time talks about “China
According to Branding in Asia the video
Airlines brilliantly unconventional new
netted almost nine million views in the
ad”, while Gabriel Leigh in Forbes says
first two weeks of release, with 9,000
that it has all the ingredients of a great,
shares and over 4,000 comments.
viral ad in that it shows the airline as being human and honest in being able to laugh about something.
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As well as the critical acclaim and large number of video views, we noticed that some of the media coverage mentions
Despite the unintended consequences
that China Airlines has improved over
of travel that were shown, it also made
the years, and highlights Taiwan as a
the writer more likely to want to travel.
destination, both of which will undoubtedly please both the airline and agency.
Airline Marketing Monthly | August 2019
This includes a couple awkwardly shak-
News from SimpliFlying
Airline Marketing Monthly | August 2019
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A SimpliLive special with Air Tahiti Nui
feature tattoos within its livery? The tattoos were introduced as part of the airline’s brand refresh last year, which also saw the introduction of the 787-Dreamliner into the Air Tahiti Nui fleet. Earlier this year SimpliFlying CEO and founder Shashank Nigam travelled to Tahiti to look at the tattoos, the brand, and also at a wider more fundamental question: How does a boutique airline like Air Tahiti Nui, which doesn’t have the budgets or marketing muscle of larger carriers, become successful. Shashank explored this topic with a number of Air Tahiti Nui executives, including both the CEO Michel Monvoisin, and managing director Mathieu Bechonnet. Shashank also looked at how Air Tahiti Nui works with the wider Tahitian tourism eco-system, with Paul Sloan, the CEO of Tahiti Tourisme. We’ve taken hours worth of interview footage and from it, we have created a 20 minute SimpliLive special. Take a look at our social media channels, as we’ll be looking to release the video before the World Aviation Festival in London next month.
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Airline Marketing Monthly | August 2019
Did you know that Air Tahiti Nui, the airline of French Polynesia, is the only airline to
The SimpliFlying Global Institute
equip you with what you need to know about marketing and communication in aviation, through the series of courses we are developing. Join the institute at a special early bird rate now by going to our website.
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Airline Marketing Monthly | August 2019
How would you like insights from 100+ aviation leaders to help you grow in your career? The newly launched SimpliFlying Global Institute will
An industry guide produced in partnership with Wondery
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Airline Marketing Monthly | August 2019
Podcasts for aviation marketers
Don’t wait. The time to get engaged with podcasts is now The chances are that if you are reading this, you also listen to podcasts. A listen to them at least once a month, while in the UK there are 7.6 million regular listeners. Those listeners are more likely to be higher earners and University / college educated, and so match the demographic of
You will probably listen to
speaking phenomenon.
someone who is an avia-
podcasts, even if you are
The fastest growing
tion marketer like you - or
not from an English speak-
countries for podcasts
a frequent flyer of the
ing country like the US or
include China, Brazil,
type you try and target
Australia, as podcasting is
Mexico, Argentina and
through your campaigns.
by no means an English
Chile.
In fact, worldwide, Ovum estimates that by 2023, 1.8 billion people will be listening to at least one podcast a month 25.
Airline Marketing Monthly | August 2019
third of Americans now
That’s why podcasts are increasingly on
which offer podcasts from Wondery to
airlines’ (and also airports’) radar. A few
the almost 400 million passengers who
airlines have already commissioned their
fly with both airlines every year.
own branded podcasts. Others now include podcasts Two examples are Delta and American,
Wondery is our industry partner this month in this special guide on podcasts for the aviation industry.
Wondery is the largest independent podcast producer in the world. is the only publisher to have simultaneously claimed the # 1 and # 2 ‘Top New Podcasts' slots on an annual Podtrac ranker.
Headquartered in West Hollywood,
evidence that it outperforms other
California, Wondery recently announced
media in certain key metrics.
investment to take its podcasts global. Coinciding with the publication of this guide, Wondery also announced an industry first, the simultaneous release of the hit podcast ‘Dr Death’, in seven languages. In this guide, we look at a number of different areas of relevance to aviation marketers. First of all, we summarise the latest statistics to emphasise why podcasts are something to include in your marketing and content programmes now, as you start to plan for 2020. We then go into the growing market for advertising in podcasts, and the
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With Wondery included on Delta Studio, we show how podcasts can work as part of an IFE system. Finally, we look at how podcasts are growing in non English speaking environments. As part of that, we’ve focused specifically on China, as podcasts would seem to be a particularly effective way of reaching Chinese travellers. Do you want to know more about including podcasts on IFE systems, on advertising on podcast, or about commissiong your own? Get in touch with Wondery.
Airline Marketing Monthly | August 2019
Twenty of Wondery’s shows have reached # 1 on Apple Podcasts, and Wondery
Podcasts today. A summary of the latest research Over the past 2-3 years, a wealth of research has growth of podcasts. We’ve distilled some of that down into this summary. If for any reason podcasts are not front of mind among your marketing or senior management colleagues, any one of these statistics should convince them otherwise:
The global podcasting audience is large, and is growing Over one-third (39%) of Internet users consume one podcast a month, according to the recently released Q3 Digital Global Statshot. That’s even higher than the figures from Edison Research’s Infinite Dial report, which has regular podcast listeners in the US at 32%. However, the Digital Global Statshot looks at Internet users aged 16-64 (and not the total adult population). And that number is growing. Podcasting has been around since 2004, but most listeners have only tuned in fairly recently, with Edison’s research showing that 75% of monthly podcast listeners have been listening for three years or less.
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Airline Marketing Monthly | August 2019
been published about the
Regular podcast listeners are more likely to be higher earners Edison Research’s report
while 29% earn more than
Meanwhile, Edison’s re-
on the podcast consum-
$100,000.
search also shows that
er, shows that in the US, 41% of regular podcast listeners have a household income of US $75,000+,
This compares to 29% and 19% for the US population as a whole.
30% of regular listeners have a postgraduate degree, and 84% have some kind of college education.
When considering a medi-
you also want evidence
growth is coming partic-
um as an airline marketer,
that the frequent fliers of
ularly from younger age
you want to hit that sweet
tomorrow, as well as to-
groups.
spot in terms of age.
day, are present. That way
You don’t want a platform that skews too young (one
any investment you make has longevity.
To take the UK as one example, media regulator OFCOM found that the
reason why few airlines
Podcasts do exactly that.
steepest growth for pod-
are on Snapchat and al-
Even though the age
casts came from 18-24
most none on TikTok), but
range of listeners is broad,
year olds.
Podcasts are a global phenomenon Though most published
podcasts largely involve
Argentina and
podcast statistics look
non English speaking
Chile.
at the US and UK, the
markets and China,
top growth markets for
Brazil, Mexico,
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Airline Marketing Monthly | August 2019
The frequent fliers of today - and tomorrow - consume podcasts
If podcasts aren’t part of your advertising budgets they should be - here’s why Airline Marketing Monthly | August 2019
Is there a medium with proven growth, that reaches high spending consumers, and that delivers when it comes to ad recall, affinity, recommendation and purchase intent? The answer is yes - podcasting. There’s now a wealth of research showing that podcast advertising outperforms other advertising channels. Let’s look at some of these statistics:
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Listeners are more likely to remember - and buy - from you Media group Slate carried out a study showing that podcast units were more than twice as successful than banner ads in driving statistically significant lifts in Brand Awareness and Ad Recall. Nielsen and Midroll conducted similar research which had an even better result, showing that podcasts deliver over four times better brand recall than display ads. The same research by Nielsen also looked at purchasing intent. Nielsen took two AdWeek), and one was not. The group that heard the ad was 61% likely to purchase the product, compared to 56% who didn’t hear it.
Podcasts allow you to target consumers effectively One of the key points Nielsen makes in its research is the power of targeting, and the fact that whatever your brand and product, there is a podcast for you in terms of subject matter or audience match. Nielsen found that almost two thirds of consumers (64%) said that the ad they heard or the sponsor was a good fit with the podcast content. To take a few examples from the Wondery catalogue to show how this could work for airlines. Say you are launching a new route to Italy. Anyone listening to the Fall of Rome podcast series, is by definition almost certainly interested in classical history and monuments. Or, if you are launching a new premium cabin, a business focused podcast like Business Wars will deliver the right kind of audience.
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Airline Marketing Monthly | August 2019
groups of consumers. One was played as an ad mid-roll in a podcast (source
You build a deeper relationship with the audience To take our example of an airline launching a new route to Italy, say you sponsored (or even produced) a 10, 15 or 20 minute YouTube show, how many viewers would watch most of the way through? Most research seems to suggest that you lose the majority of viewers after around three minutes as they scroll away and find something more interesting on their smartphone, laptop, tablet or PC. And don’t forget that on Facebook and Instagram, a view can be as little as three seconds to count.
episode. In an age of shortening attention spans, podcast listeners are loyal and really do engage with the content all the way through.
You reach consumers who ignore TV ads You lose a lot of your nominal online video audience, but the same is true for traditional TV. According to an IPG Media Lab study, 29% aren’t even in the room while the ad is playing for the minimum two seconds for it to count as a view. That’s if they watch live TV in the first place. A study last year of 2000 US and 1000 UK consumers found that 53% of consumers no longer watch commercials on live television, while a quarter (including 40% of millenials) watch no live TV at all. So how can you reach them? Podcasts are one way. A survey found that 8/10 of podcast listeners surveyed said that they also subscribe to a service like Netflix. Streaming services like Netflix of Amazon Prime Video of course match podcasts, in that they allow people to consume content at their convenience.
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Airline Marketing Monthly | August 2019
Contrast that with podcasts, where 80% listen to either most or all of the podcast
Advertising with Wondery
Existing partners include major brands such as Hulu, Uber, Unilever and 20th Century Fox. If you are an airline marketing manager, Wondery can build a cus-tomized media plan with podcasts that reach audiences aligned with key demographics, geography and affinities. Wondery will also work with you on the creatives, and can produce high-quality traditional ads, custom content, and multi-platform integrated programs. Finally, Wondery offers third party verified delivery data from the industry’s leading host platform, Art 19. It’s podcast campaigns are accurate and effective, making Wondery a trusted partner for hundreds of brands worldwide. For more information, go to the Wondery website.
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Airline Marketing Monthly | August 2019
Our partner this month is Wondery, which reaches more than 12 Million unique listeners every month and is the youngest and the only independent network ranked within the Top 5 Publishers by Podtrac.
Podcasts on an IFE Wondery on Delta Studio heights — or to ruin. Meanwhile Imagined Life guides listensurprising moments and challenges that shaped someone’s life before they were famous. The first few episodes share the lives of JK Rowling, Elton John, and Elon Now installed on 700 aircraft, Delta says it has the most extensive in-flight entertainment system in the world by fleet size. The airline is also currently investing in a new, next generation IFE system, which passengers can experience now on the A330-900neo, while passengers can stream Delta Studio content to their personal devices on the airline’s entire mainline fleet and most regional aircraft. That content of course includes movies, TV shows, as well as ad free podcasts from Wondery. Featured Wondery podcasts in August include Business Wars, which gives you the unauthorized, real story of what drives major companies and their leaders, inventors, investors and executives to new
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Musk. We’ve already cited the research which proves why podcasts are a good fit for an airline like Delta, but one more point should be added in, they are perfect for frequent travellers. A frequent flier may take a mixture of shorter regional routes and longer-haul flights, especially if s/he needs to connect via a hub such as Atlanta or JFK. For a shorter flight like that, a 30-60 minute podcast is perfect material. You can then listen to individual episodes on different flights, whether that’s on the same stretch, or you can pick up where you left off on a new trip in the future. Are you interested in including podcasts on your own IFE system, get in touch with Wondery.
Airline Marketing Monthly | August 2019
ers on an immersive journey through the
Wondery’s hit podcast, ‘Dr Death’ expands in local seven languages audiences and regions when it comes to podcasts. In recognition of this, our industry partner, Wondery is simultaneously releasing its hit podcast ‘Dr Death’, in seven local languages, distributed across key global markets. Wondery’s Dr. Death podcast first launched in September 2018 and quickly earned listener and industry acclaim, including Podtrac’s recognition as the #1 podcast of 2018. With over 50 million downloads in 200+ countries, this overnight blockbuster will now be available to a wider international audience with releases in German, French, Mandarin, Neutral Spanish, Castilian Spanish, Portuguese and Korean.
Dr. Death is the first and only podcast to get translated to multiple local languages. 34.
Airline Marketing Monthly | August 2019
In the introduction we talked about the growing importance of non English speaking
Hosted by award-winning journalist Laura Beil, Dr. Death is the universally gripping story of trust and vulnerability. A charming, renowned surgeon skillfully gains the trust of 33 patients who are all maimed or killed on his operating table. Patients have nowhere to turn but to a medical system that fails to protect them. Laura Beil adds, “This story takes a look at the medical system that failed to protect its patients, and I think that’s why it will resonate globally with listeners, because we’re all going to be patients at some point.” Wondery is working with premium global platform partner Apple Central America. Simultaneously, Wondery has announced distribution deals with Ximalaya, the largest direct-to-consumer streaming audio platform in China; Podbbang, the largest direct-to-consumer streaming audio platform in Korea; Deezer and Prisma Media in France, and Audio Now in Germany.
Do you want to include Wondery on your airline’s IFE system, or do you want to talk to Wondery about podcast production? Get in touch.
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Airline Marketing Monthly | August 2019
Podcasts to launch this industry first in Europe, Asia and South &
Want to reach Chinese travellers? Try podcasts Airline Marketing Monthly | August 2019
A common theme we’ve explored in previous issues, is to look at how airlines and airports can best target Chinese travellers. On one hand, it’s not possible to reach them in many of the conventional ways you use to get to Western consumers, thanks to the Great Firewall blocking most major social networks consumed in the rest of the world.
comes to outbound travel. According to the World Tourism Organisation, in 2011, 11% of trips abroad were made by Chinese tourists. By 2030, that is due to double to 22%. And not only that, they spend more on retail purchases than other nationalities. Swiss research consultancy ‘m1nd set’, found that the Chinese are number one for duty free sales, accounting for 13% of
On the other hand, China is the world’s
the total (ahead of South Koreans with
number one growth market when it
5% and Brits with 4%).
36.
One way of reaching them is via podcasts.
Mandarin language podcast available for
This is especially since Chinese consumers
download before s/he travels, on in-flight
are very receptive to good audio content.
via the in-flight entertainment system the
In fact, the Chinese podcast industry at
evidence is that s/he will be receptive to it.
$7.3 billion, is 23x larger than the US market figure of $314 million (source). That figure is largely down to the fact that Chinese listeners are used to paying monthly subscriptions to access content. In the West services such as Wondery+, where listeners pay $5 per month for increasing in popularity. However, for now at least most consumers still listen to ad-supported podcasts for free.
lines be offering Chinese consumers? There would seem to be a number of opportunities for airlines. An airline could commission destination guides specifically aimed at Chinese travellers, which could in turn be supported by advertisers (e.g. tour providers). However, according to this Marketwatch piece, the top five categories are culture, kids & family, self-growth, finance and skills. As a result, non fiction and personal
Also podcasting in China encompasses a
growth type content, of the type offered
wide range of audio content, the Chinese
by Wondery would seem to be particularly
definition would include audio-books, as
relevant.
well as meditation and self improvement guides (even though arguably much of this features in Western podcasting as well). However, if a Chinese traveller finds a
Indeed, the Marketwatch article says that even a podcast with the title “how to make your voice more attractive” netted 218,000 paying subscribers.
In the previous article, we talked about how Wondery is simultaneously releasing the hit podcast ‘Dr Death’ in seven languages. This includes Mandarin Chinese (as well as Korean, German, French, neutral and Castilian Spanish and Portuguese). This is the first time a major industry podcast has been released in multiple languages, and recognises the growing importance of podcasts in non English speaking markets such as China. Whatever market you operate in, and whatever the primary language of your passengers, get in touch with Wondery about your podcast requirements.
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Airline Marketing Monthly | August 2019
exclusive content and ad free content are
What kind of podcast content should air-
Aviation Campaigns
Airline Marketing Monthly | August 2019
38.
Air Asia - Campaign song
song, Bahagia Bersama
that it actually ends up
Branson and Air Asia’s
(Happy Together).
annoying passengers.
Gamaliel is an up and
Last year, we wrote about
coming Indonesian singer
British leisure airline Jet2,
with several hundred
whose theme song is
thousand social media
‘Hold my Hand’ by Jess
followers. The track that
Glynne. Coverage in the
he recorded for the airline
UK press claimed that the
can be listened to on
song had been playing
various music streaming
on repeat so many times
Tony Fernandes’ music
services such as Spotify
that passengers were
background was
and Apple Music.
threatening to stop flying
Tony Fernandes have in common? Other than being larger than life characters who both started their own airline, both were in the music business, working for record labels.
highlighted by Air Asia, when it unveiled its new brand ambassador for Indonesia, singer Gamaliél, who also composed the airline’s new campaign
39.
It is also being played
the airline.
inside all AirAsia Indonesia
The story even made the
flights. On that point, the
Australian media with
airline needs to watch out
News.com.au reporting
that the song isn’t being
that “this song is driving
overplayed to the extent
people crazy on flights.”
Airline Marketing Monthly | August 2019
What do Virgin’s Richard
Air France - A ballet in the sky
ers, coaches, technical teams) from Paris to Singapore and Shanghai, as the official airline of the Paris Opera ballet’s Asian tour. On the final flight, from Shanghai to Paris, the dancers carried out a surprise performance on board.
Present to watch and record what was going on, was Sam Chui, who is probably the world’s biggest AV Geek YouTuber with 1+ million subscribers. 40.
Airline Marketing Monthly | August 2019
From June 21 to July 5th, Air France carried 151 members of the Paris Opera (danc-
Doha Airport and Qatar Airways Summer in Qatar July and August are not surprisingly the low tourist with temperatures often reaching 50 degrees celsius. In Qatar, both Hamad International Airport and the national carrier, Qatar Airways, have been running a Summer in Qatar programme. This includes promotions with airport retailers, as well as a free stopover / tour programme for anyone with a connection of 5+ hours. Meanwhile the airport has set up a Heritage Zone in Concourse B. Housed in a traditional tent setting, this includes activities such as calligraphy writing and henna tattoos. Qatar Airways meanwhile is supporting the campaign with discounts on flights to Qatar and on activities such as tours.
41.
Airline Marketing Monthly | August 2019
seasons in the Gulf States,
Faro Airport - Escape the confusion
Slating your local area
The Ministry of Infrastruc-
(though it’s questionable
as a way of encouraging
ture and Housing asked
whether the South of
residents to escape some-
ANA (the national airport
France is any better).
where else might not be
operator) to remove the
the best approach for an
post, as well as to provide
airport. However this is
an explanation. Meanwhile
what Faro Airport, in Portu-
the President of the Algarve
gal’s Algarve region, did in
Tourism Association put out
July.
a statement, condemning
In a now deleted Instagram
42.
the post.
However, it’s a good reminder that customer facing organisations, not only airports and airlines, need to have some kind of sanity checking process in place, as well as guidelines.
post, Faro Airport encour-
This is a good example of
aged fans to “escape the Al-
how something quite small,
garve confusion” and head
in this case an Instagram
for Marseille in the South of
post, can blow up into
France instead.
something much bigger.
According to The Portugal
The person who posted the
survive a crash, as part of
News, in the ensuing con-
image probably thought
a weekly trivia campaign
troversy, the Portuguese
he or she was simply stat-
offering followers “excit-
Government got involved
ing the obvious, that as a
ing” prizes. The airline was
after Parliamentary dep-
tourist hotspot the Algarve
forced to apologise and de-
uties in the region com-
does indeed become extra
lete the tweet (via Business
plained.
crowded in the Summer
Insider)
Another example of social media gone wrong involved KLM India, which posted a tweet about the safest place to sit if you want to
Airline Marketing Monthly | August 2019
image credit via Flickr Creative Commons, cvtperson
Firefly Airlines - Is your seat the lucky one? At the end of July, Malaysia Airlines owned Firefly Airlines ran a competition lucky one.” The stunt involved mystery gifts being hidden in the seat back pockets on certain flights, with cabin crew being the only ones who were in the know, so that they could make an in-flight announcement. Prizes included free return tickets, hotel stays with partners and promotional merchandise. This follows an earlier promotion by the airline called “dump your ex.” Firefly gave anyone who could prove that they flew with a competitor, 50% off their next return flight. In many areas, running a ‘dump your ex’ promo, where the graphic shows a man with a new girlfriend, while the ex looks on, would be problematic. However, Malaysian marketing magazine Marketing Interactive says that among Malaysian consumers,
43. the reaction was largely positive.
Airline Marketing Monthly | August 2019
called “Is your seat the
LATAM Group Recycle your journey
These initiatives are important, but the
claims to be one of the top three sus-
challenge for airlines is much more fun-
tainable airline groupings in the world.
damental than plastic use or recycling.
As part of that, it has launched a ‘Recycle
In Europe especially there is increasing
your Journey’ initiative.
debate about whether air travel itself is
Essentially the programme will see waste from ‘Mercado LATAM’, the com-
This comes as 16 year old Greta Thun-
pany’s buy on board food service being
berg, one of the figureheads of the envi-
recycled. The initiative was launched on
ronmental movement, announced that
domestic flights in Chile in July, and is
she will be travelling to the UN Climate
due to be rolled out to other Latin Amer-
Action Summit in September, via a zero
ican countries over the coming months.
emissions race yacht, the Malizia II.
The industry is of course under increas-
Greta Thunberg is of course Swedish,
ing pressure to show it is environmental-
and Sweden has witnessed the phenom-
ly responsible, and every month we now
enon of ‘flygskam’ or flight shaming.
see a different airline announcing that it is reducing or eliminating plastic - the latest to do so is Emirates.
44.
ethical.
See as well our April editorial on the subject.
Airline Marketing Monthly | August 2019
Latin American airline group LATAM,
Manchester Airport More than an airport The UK’s third largest airport, Manchester Airport, has launched a campaign to show the benefits that it brings to its catchment
Called “More than an Airport”, it sees people, businesses, tourist sites, charities and other organisations featuring in a series of images that will be displayed across the campus of Manchester
champion”, and “a re-
Airport.
sponsible business.”
In addition to being
Each of these taglines
usually does) reel off facts
shown at Manchester Air-
then features a different
and figures in response,
port itself, the images are
individual, group or or-
such as the number of
also being used across
ganisation which has ben-
jobs created. The Man-
social media, online and
efitted from Manchester
chester Airport campaign
at various sites across the
Airport in some way.
however is effective be-
North of England.
45.
Airports are of course
Airport is no exception. Any airport can (and
cause it has an element of realness beyond statistics.
More than 50 companies
not always received fa-
and individuals from
vourably. In the UK for
It actually shows how it
across the North feature
example every major
benefits local commu-
in the campaign. Tag-
airport has some local
nities, residents, groups
lines used in the cam-
group campaigning on
and businesses by putting
paign include “a commu-
issues such as noise, night
human faces and stories
nity champion”, “a good
flights or airport expan-
behind the campaign.
neighbour”, “a diversity
sion, and Manchester
Airline Marketing Monthly | August 2019
area.
Southwest Airlines says that it is celebrat-
gift card from the airline and a Nintendo
ing “a summer of surprises” with Ninten-
Switch prize pack containing a Nintendo
do Switch. To kick off the partnership,
Switch system and a download code for a
the airline staged a Nintendo-themed
digital version of the Super Mario Maker 2
gaming flight from Dallas to San Diego,
game.
coinciding with the annual Comic Con convention.
46.
At the same time, Southwest and Nintendo have been running a month long
Nintendo representatives onboard pro-
Let’s Play Getaway sweepstakes, giving
vided passengers with the opportunity
one person each day the chance to win a
to play a custom air travel-themed Super
Nintendo Switch system and a download
Mario Maker 2 course, called the South-
code for the digital version of the Super-
west Super Sky Challenge.
Mario Maker 2 game.
Everyone onboard who played the game
The whole promotion has been hosted
was entered for a chance to win a $500
on a special campaign microsite.
Airline Marketing Monthly | August 2019
Image Credit Stephen M. Keller / Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines Super Mario Maker 2
Tokyo Haneda Airport Flight Simulator Room
there’s a special airport hotel room that will specifically appeal to AV Geeks. A Flight Simulator Room has been set up in the Haneda Excel Hotel Tokyu, which is attached to Tokyo’s Haneda Airport. The “Superior Cockpit Room”, which was opened to coincide with the hotel’s 15th anniversary, includes a full-sized 737-800 flight simulator. However, though you can enjoy the view from the cockpit window whenever you want, you won’t just be able to roll out of bed for an hour’s worth of flying before breakfast. According to grape, you have to book a 90 minute session with a qualified instructor. This session comes in at 30,000 yen (US $276) in addition to the 23,500 yen (US $216) you’ll pay to actually stay in the room.
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Airline Marketing Monthly | August 2019
When it comes to novelty or themed hotel rooms, Japan is the place to go. Now
United Airlines - EAA AirVenture
Once in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United staff
airlines such as flybe, easyJet and Qantas
met with around 70 female high school
to increase the low % of female pilots (cur-
students interested in aviation, to discuss
rently around 5%) in the industry.
pursuing careers in the field and to tour
The latest airline to highlight its commitment to women in aviation is United. In
The airline’s Chief System Pilot Bebe O’Neil
July, the airline flew a 787-Dreamliner with
later announced an additional scholarship
an all female crew to the largest airshow
for aspiring female aviators at a Women in
in the world, EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh,
Aviation Luncheon.
Wisconsin.
United says it has the most female pi-
Joining the pilots and flight attendants
lots of any major airline and that in 2018,
on-board were nearly 100 other women
it held Girls in Aviation Day events in a
representing a variety of United’s work-
record number of 12 locations around the
groups such as Airport Operations, Inflight
world, and has plans to add even more
Services, Flight Operations, Technical Op-
locations this coming fall.
erations, Network Operations and more.
48.
the aircraft.
Airline Marketing Monthly | August 2019
In previous issues we’ve covered efforts by
Brands featured in this issue Aegean Airlines Air Asia Air New Zealand Air Tahiti Nui ANA China Airlines Delta El Al Faro Airport Finnair LATAM Group Lufthansa Manchester Airport Qatar Airways Southwest Tokyo Haneda Airport Turkish Airlines United Wondery
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Airline Marketing Monthly | August 2019
Air France
