Emirates Airlines And Social Media Marketing

Hersh Fadi    June 19, 2017

Airlines are leading brands in their own right on social media. They work really hard to develop high quality campaigns and a strong presence on social media, and it results in excellent outcomes.
Airlines have performed particularly well in the latest Travel Social Media Benchmark results and dominate the Facebook, Twitter and Instagram league tables, helped, in part, by their global customer base. However, brands are also benefiting from a rising interest in the aviation industry and capitalize on this growing trend with behind-the-scenes content and information – from aircraft unveiling to flight schedules and trackers.

Growing international airline Emirates is one of the travel industry’s fastest growing social media brands in the world serving thousands of passengers every day, according to the latest Travel Social Media Benchmark results from talkwalker analytics.

 

Social media is the perfect platform for big global brands, such as international airlines, to reach out and engage with customers and potential customers from across the world. However, key to the future success of some brands – such as  Emirates -is being able to proactively engage and manage social media streams for a truly global audience 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Emirates shows the value it places on its employees and the amazing potential of travel. By partnering with a global brand, they produced stunning examples of storytelling and broadcast to travelers around the world. And by showcasing beautifully crafted storytelling, the airline encourages followers to share its content, creating a self-sustaining network of brand ambassadors.

Emirates has recently issued so-called ‘Meal Ordering Devices’ to all its flight attendants who work in Business Class.

The options are seemingly endless.  Spoilt passengers can enjoy premium liquors, high-end cocktails and a wide choice of award-winning wines from the extensive Emirates in-flight wine collection.

All the smartphones devices are synced to communicate with one another for the duration of the flight, don’t have a SIM card, and have been blocked from running any applications apart from the bespoke Meal Ordering app.

“The orders are taken on a hand held device and are instantly reflected on a tablet in the galley. Each order is then prepared immediately making service faster, more efficient and more personal,” said Terry Daly, Divisional Senior Vice President, Service Delivery at Emirates.

The technology is proving to be a significant time-saver in keeping those premium passengers feed and watered – as well as ensuring what they’re served is precisely what they ordered, without slip-ups.

Emirates inspire travelers around the world with their growing network of worldwide destinations, industry leading inflight entertainment, regionally inspired cuisine and world-class service.

“Industry events are an important platform for Emirates to showcase our products and services to our key audiences, and we always aim to raise the bar on visitor experience through innovative ideas and thoughtful execution,” said Sir Tim Clark, President, Emirates Airline. “The Emirates Infinite Possibilities stand is a reflection of Emirates’ vision to offer passengers a superior and exciting brand experience.”

One of their amazing plugs on social media is when they upgraded YouTuber from Business Class to First Class on a flight from Dubai to New York. Accidental, as they claimed.

The Youtuber was amazed and thrilled about his upgrade, He covered the entire experience and went about highlighting the cabin’s features and perks in a totally unscripted take. His video has reached more than 38,500,000 views so far.

Emirates: Show Don’t Tell

You can’t just rely on “telling” the crowd what makes your brand different, you’ll have to show it.

 

Lessons for Others

Organizations need to transform from being traditional to digital in terms of advertising, communication and online reputation management. Plan ahead and choose the right digital assets & social media platforms. The tools and technologies available today enables the brands to reach and act professionally in order to acquire new customers and to retain existing ones. Remember, timing is crucial.

Emirates’ digital marketing team understood this. Not only do they keep an active social media accounts full of eye candies -video shorts of destinations, videos of their planes, correspondences to commenters, but they also incorporate influence’s to truly capture their buyer personas.

There is so much to learn and to discuss as a case study from Emirates Marketing & PR team who deserves all the respect.

Organization: Emirates
Industry: Airlines Industry
Name of Organization Contact: Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum ,CEO

Authored by: Hersh Fadi

If you have concerns as to the accuracy of anything posted on this site, please send your concerns to Peter Carr, Program Director, Social Media for Business Performance.


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