Airline Marketing Monthly, August 2019

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

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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.

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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.

23.

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

24.

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.

27.

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.

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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.

35.

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.

37.

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.

47.

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

49.

Airline Marketing Monthly | August 2019

Air France