Reputation Management: Maintaining Your Airport Brand in Challenging Times

Transcription

1 Reputation Management: Maintaining Your Airport Brand in Challenging Times Alternative Media, Brands and Look & Feel For The 21 st Century Airport Professor Neal M. Burns Center for Brand Research

2 What We ll Discuss... A Q &D situation analysis Branding and its importance Personal relevance Position and Attitude Airport brand Alternative media, Social networks A Few Suggestions

3 A Q & D Situation Analysis (From An Advertising Wonk and Student of Airports) Major hubs and networks will contract Technology/virtual conferences may cause air travel demand to fall Promoting check in via website reduced time in airport Shrinking airlines will create greater inconvenience for business travelers Travelers anger and disappointment will spread to the Airport facilities Airport segmentation and market differentiation Like television and other media fewer viewers/higher CPM, fewer flights/higher fares

4 Branding It s As Hot As The Next New Book From A Former David Letterman Staffer Just why is that?

5 Why? Here s a Good Guess Brands last longer that patents Their syntax has meaning in many cases world wide Brands have fans regularly participating customers who exhibit loyalty and forgiveness

6 Brands can maintain and increase revenue! For goods and services including AIRPORTS

7 The Notion of Personal Relevance... For All Branding

8 Building a Brand During Tough Times I wanted to share a famous case with you. I had a bit to do with it... and it has been successful... And done well during good and not so good times.

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16 Video

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18 The Real Secret About Branding It s not a communication strategy... Is it yours? Will it work for airports?

19 Building the Airport Brand A fanatical devotion to positioning and tone of voice Facilitate Relationship Generating Experiences (RGE s) Use social networks to gain earned engagement. Understanding the audience s notions of relevance. Build engagement on and off premises

20 Strong Airport Brands Have Major Impact Have real equities Helps define the airport- gives the property Meaning Have organic life cycles They grow, rule... And decline (Think O Hare) Reflect advertising, promotion, performance in marketplace The brand becomes the experience touchpoints Have a following (i.e., customers) Airport fans of Salt Lick Bar-B-Que at Austin Give products and services meaning Attract and improve concession performance Increase airport revenue

21 Starbucks REALLY Understands The Revenue Brands Create! For the grower At futures Grocery 7/11 Stores Starbucks $0.50/lb $1.30/lb $9.00/lb $50.00/lb $225.00/lb

22 What Really Is The Brand Of Our Airport? Its name (O Hare)? The City (Charlotte)? It s managing organization (Vancouver)? A large shopping mall where patrons pull their carts rather than push them?

23 A Collection of Duty Free Shops?

24 A Place To Walk...

25 Is It Just a Place To Wait

26 I Mean Really Wait!

27 A Place To Get Some Work Done

28 Perhaps It s A Place To Get Excited

29 Maybe Just A Place To Ride Trains

30 A Place To Grab A Bite?

31 And This Says What?

32 Contemporary Architecture & Design Bring Excitement To Airports As Well As Cities

33 Airports Can Provide Exciting Executive Briefing & Meeting Centers t Richard Zampi from ZB Space

34 Airports Can Provide Exciting Executive Briefing & Meeting Centers t Richard Zampi from ZB Space

35 Or They Can Look Like This...

36 Soon To Be In Airports...

37 Sources For New Media Revenue Luxurytec Mirror Image

38 In Some Cases/Cities Major Conference Facilities InTouch Meeting Concept

39 Climate Passport Program [travelers may calculate carbon impact of their flights and purchase offsets accordingly.] Does this help the Brand? Perhaps.

40 Let s Make It Clubby Fun South African Airways Cycad First Class Lounge, Johannesburg Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse, London

41 Deploy Novel Merchandising At the Dallas Airport, Samsung created a brand experience to promote their phones.alarge bright cube that calls for your attention shows off the latest phones in small panels.

42 Toronto Pearson International Airport: Finds New Sources of Ad Revenue

43 Indianapolis International Airport Midfield Terminal [by HOK] (est. completion 2008) Exciting!

44 I Mean Really Exciting! (Beijing)

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46 Why Is Airport Branding So Important Today? Technology spreads quickly and the playing field seems balanced-i.e., equally troubled. So, features have less clout Categories are crowded and there is a struggle for identification and meaning. Have you seen Beijing? Is an airport just another airport? Brands have shown that they can be a key part of business growth and value. Nothing like Ruths Chris!

47 Airport Advertising and Promotion Need To Break The Mold Surprise Them! Do things that others in the category don t do The perceived value of offers/actions will be enhanced by a new and striking customer environment Demonstrate real change The concepts and implementation of freshness, honesty and positive RGE s will stem image decline Make news The experience is an important part of the brand and will be noted by customers as well as in earned media

48 Wrapping Up: Building The Airport Brand This is the time for airports and all products and services - to double down to be all in. The brand is the experience and what you do has far more impact than what you say. Demonstrate greater customer understanding than ever before for each segment... Accommodations for the wired travelers Comfort for those with small children Entertainment options to ease delays

49 Recognize Airport Patrons As a Connected Communities Get them and their computers off the floor. They Twitter and blog and their complaints spread like a Southern California wildfire. Listen to them.... And let them know you hear them

50 And, Think Beyond Traditional Media - (In PR as well as Advertising) Think social community and network Combine with brand equity Is your Airport on Facebook? Twitter? Consider audience psychographics when thinking brand exposure Entrepreneurial achiever cell phone, PDA, etc Zen Master balance work and home Career prisoner works every night Select right delivery techniques Alternative media choices are surprising and often effective. Remember the growing impact of W-O-M/Buzz techniques

51 Scalability and Brand Anticipate Airport Management Organizations that will bring system and coherency. The integration also brings economies of scale. Standard procedures for staff training. Fairly consistent mandatories/regs will help bring that change about. Multiple Brand presence serves to strengthen the property s identity.

52 A Simple Exercise To Get Things Going Develop a position (perhaps it s time to think re position ) that the team likes and that is a bit aspirational. Work the attitude/tone of voice issue Live with the alternatives for a while than initiate the changes.

53 And so... Thanks For The Chance To Share My Thoughts With You.

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