challenges and rewards of branding in an alliance marketing environment
DESCRIPTION
About the added value of an alliance, both for members as well as customers, how the partnership is illustrated and some of the branding evolutions made, the need to align marketing strategies as well as some practical insights into working together in a complex 19-member, multi-cultural environment.TRANSCRIPT
CASE: BRANDING IN AN ALLIANCE MARKETING ENVIRONMENT
Fatima da Gloria, Director Brand & Communications
April 18, 2013
WHO ARE WE?
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One of the 3 global airline alliances
19 member airlines
1,000 destinations
552 million passengers
436,000 employees
SAAM, the central office
A cooperative (legal identity) since 2009
35 people, 20 nationalities
WHY WERE AIRLINE ALLIANCES CREATED?
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We enable cooperation where legal constraints restrict global consolidation
Consolidation Cooperation = +
within the continent between continents
SOME KEY QUESTIONS
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When setting up an alliance
What is the added value of the alliance
What is the member recruitment strategy
Is there a central organization and what is its role
What is the key focus with regards to deliverables
How is the day-to-day governance arranged
How are competitive conditions ensured
How is compliance monitored of alliance principles
OUR VALUE PROPOSITION FOR CUSTOMERS
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Creating a seamless travel experience
8. AFTERCARE
Branding Recognition of products and services, minimization of perceived purchasing risk, trust.
Network Global coverage and reach, connectivity, frequency
Frequent flyer and elite benefits Earn and burn FFP miles network wide, Improved experience along customer touch points
Airport Experience Check-in, baggage drop-off, lounge access, boarding, transfer, baggage handling
Connection and transfer experience Seamless connection and transfer process
Buying process Coordinated selling, global corporate contracts, integrated online booking tool
SkyTeam products Round the World tickets and fare passes
Post-flight Service recovery, issue management
OUR VALUE PROPOSITION FOR MEMBERS
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Creating solutions allowing members to connect and grow their business
Growth of loyal customers by offering consistent value across all members
A Seal of Quality
Why invent the wheel?
The power of collective sourcing
Combining networks without employment of own aircraft fleet
Cost benefits
Network benefits
Customer value
Sharing expertise
Brand & reputation
ILLUSTRATING A COMMON SEAL OF QUALITY
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The SkyTeam “bug” or lock-up logo
Briefing:
It shouldn’t struggle with the logotypes of different partners
draw inspiration from customer-oriented service companies
whose business it is to take care of the customer
ALL MEMBERS ARE REPRESENTED EQUALLY…
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The SkyTeam cobranding
SOMETIMES SKYTEAM IS IN THE LEAD…
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Intro the SkyTeam blockmark in 2010, and a Chinese version from 2012
AND CAN ALSO BE EXPERIENCED IN 3D
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Requiring a common visual language accepted by 19 members
Beware of consensus!! But take local specificities into account.
Strong brand values defined from the start
Same agencies partnering since origin of the alliance
Agencies are partners that attend all meetings
Much attention to building a sense of team spirit & buy-in from key members
Strict enforcement of brand rules that start during pre-joining process
ACTIVATING MEMBERS TO PROMOTE SKYTEAM
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Why pay for advertising when our members access 161M frequent flyers
3% of fleet to be painted in SkyTeam colors with a minimum of 2 aircraft
2 pages in the inflight magazine 1 news page & 1 ad page
1 DM campaign per year to FFP members
How? A CEO dashboard!
NOT COMPETE WITH THEM
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Balancing act: complementing the marketing strategies of our members
Home Markets
Home carrier in the lead, acts as voice of SkyTeam
No SkyTeam advertising, except within own media and unless requested by the home carrier
Shared airport facilities not (heavily) branded as SkyTeam unless requested by the home carrier
Strategic Markets
Member and SkyTeam communications exist side-by-side and “pool” where possible (e.g. at fairs)
Alignment between timing of campaigns
PR messaging, distribution and events aligned with local marketing teams (representatives of the carriers operating in that market)
Shared airport facilities are SkyTeam branded
Global
Strong PR alignment through Corporate Communications team
Support of members via social media and SkyTeam website (while not detracting customer bookings!)
SKYTEAM INSIDE
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Allowing some alliance-wide services to be marketed as members’ own
SkyTeam app functionality used within members own app, for example worldwide lounge finder
SkyPriority branding and communication rules and tools incorporated within the member’s identity
Setting and auditing membership requirements
Helping candidate members to join (dedicated transition teams)
Creating marketing campaigns
Provide guidelines and member building blocks
Design common SkyTeam lounges and other shared airport facilities
Guide sales communications and provide them with tools
Manage media messages
Manage central platforms: website, apps, social media
Working Groups
Advertising & Branding
Corporate Communications
Corporate Social Responsibility
SkyPriority Project Team
MCCs
Supervisory Board
Governing Board
Sharing Tools
Online sharepoints
SkyPlace for documents
SkyTeam Hub for all creative artwork (run by agency)
Conference and web calls
WORKING IN AN ALLIANCE OFFICE
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Its all about managing the decision making process as well as execution
Organizational (Brand & Comms) Collaboration Platforms
ALLIANCES: CULTURAL MELTING POTS
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Building upon our Differences
“Easy to build the foundations of a building. Less easy to agree on how many windows, doors, rooms….”
Multicultural factor: one of the main risks of alliances failures
Intercultural differences don’t lead to disagreements, but lead to misunderstandings
Disagreements are immediately obvious and can be dealt with
Misunderstandings are generally discovered when it’s too late,
when each party has tackled an action plan in its own way.
Need to consider national and corporate cultures
BE AWARE OF PERSONAL ATTITUDES
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Spend time on creating awareness, sensitivity and alliance values
What do we notice ?
difficulties in accomodating different ideas or ways of doing things
difficulties in understanding: accent, pronunciation, choice of words
not enough checking for understanding
uncertain use of humour
thoughts not always expressed fully to colleagues, especially on controversial topics
different perception of time
Each side is convinced that the way it does things is the only possible way to do them….
MOST IMPORTANT LESSON
Have FUN, good COMPANY, and good FOOD!!