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Online Marketing with Jacob Wolfsheimer
Airline Marketing Strategies and Travel Advertising
Airline marketing strategies are lacking. Airlines aren’t embracing the surging online advertising and marketing dollars available to them. While relaxing on the beach, I was confronted with 3-4 aerial banners each day being pulled by small airplanes. These aerial banners advertised local restaurants and happy hours, and the specials on them were time-restricted to that day or the day after on many occasions. What struck me about these banners was how similar they were to PPC ads. Based on the abbreviations, it seemed likely that there were character limitations, like the airplane could only pull so many letters.
So if Google lets me buy advertising on radio, in newspapers, in search engines, why not en-route? Why not on airplanes, in airplanes, on airline tickets, in in-flight entertainment, from the in-flight magazines to the in-flight television? Why not let me sponsor the inevitably coming flying wi-fi? And while they’re at it, why don’t those ads subsidize the cost of my flight? This isn’t about Google and the ad networks, it’s about the airlines needing to embrace simpler forms of discovering how I can advertise with them. And it’s also about co-branding. For every offline marketing advertisement, is an opportunity to better brand the airline and discuss its benefits over competing airlines.
Airplane In Flight
And just like that, on my summer vacation, I had spiraled into thoughts on airline marketing strategies and the many opportunities that airlines are missing out on in the advertising world. I can fly cross country for $350, sometimes less, but I’m perpetually on the search for the cheapest flight. I don’t care much who gets me to my destination, simply that I get there as cheaply as possible, and preferably, on time, with the fewest connections. I don’t mind being bombarded by advertising while I travel, (though I may be alone,) there’s a great post from a while back on “in-flight hostage marketing.” But apparently, at least someone, the Inflight Marketing Bureau is trying to capitalize in this area. But really, unlike the profitability concerns described about Skybus, I think we can have cheap, safe, on-time flights in many destinations, and I think advertising is how it’s done.
What are your thoughts on what airlines can be doing in their marketing strategy? And how businesses can embrace the airline and airplane marketing arena?