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Social Media Innovation for Airline Travel – “Meet and Seat”
Dutch airline KLM is currently developing an innovative tool that will allow passengers to choose who they sit next to on flights in 2012. The passengers will be able to do this by accessing other passengers’ profiles, who have opt-ed in for this service on Facebook or LinkedIn.
The service is aptly named “Meet and Seat”. It will allow passengers to pick whom they will seat next to on an airline flight based on interests, professions, or even looks. However, the program might not be all it’s cracked up to be. Imagine a fellow business traveler picks another business traveler thinking that they will have a quiet and peaceful flight, but it turns out the fellow business passenger gives them a non-stop sales pitch throughout the entire flight. Or for a single person looking to meet another single person, the situation could turn into an awkward experience that neither person can escape from for the rest of the flight. The question is will the service resonate and succeed with passengers?
AirTroductions, an online dating service for frequent fliers, offered a similar service to meet fellow travelers back in 2006. However, the service appeared to never really take off and they rebranded their name to TripLife. TripLife is the same concept, but they have now expanded the scope past just the airplane and the airport. TripLife members can meet someone at any point before and during travel, such as at a hotel bar or restaurant.
However, this is likely just the beginning for social media innovation in the blue skies. For example, Malaysia Airlines released a service on Facebook to see if friends are visiting a similar destination or if friends are taking the same flight at the same time. Some airlines, like Virgin America, even offer a seat-to-seat text chat service through their in-flight entertainment system.
Will any of these services take off and will customers want to use the service? One never knows. However, other companies, like airline Virgin Atlantic, have expressed interest in the idea. One could easily envision a Virgin Atlantic flyer meeting another passenger at the bar in-flight on the plane. As social media continues to grow, I imagine that we will see more of this type of innovation and marketing from other travel companies. I believe this service will be a big hit with young, single people. Other travel industries, for example cruise ships, could also offer similar services. I know I will not be requesting to sit with another passenger anytime soon since the only person I want to request to sit next to is my wife.
Social Media Innovation for Airline Travel – “Meet and Seat”
Dutch airline KLM is currently developing an innovative tool that will allow passengers to choose who they sit next to on flights in 2012. The passengers will be able to do this by accessing other passengers’ profiles, who have opt-ed in for this service on Facebook or LinkedIn.
The service is aptly named “Meet and Seat”. It will allow passengers to pick whom they will seat next to on an airline flight based on interests, professions, or even looks. However, the program might not be all it’s cracked up to be. Imagine a fellow business traveler picks another business traveler thinking that they will have a quiet and peaceful flight, but it turns out the fellow business passenger gives them a non-stop sales pitch throughout the entire flight. Or for a single person looking to meet another single person, the situation could turn into an awkward experience that neither person can escape from for the rest of the flight. The question is will the service resonate and succeed with passengers?
AirTroductions, an online dating service for frequent fliers, offered a similar service to meet fellow travelers back in 2006. However, the service appeared to never really take off and they rebranded their name to TripLife. TripLife is the same concept, but they have now expanded the scope past just the airplane and the airport. TripLife members can meet someone at any point before and during travel, such as at a hotel bar or restaurant.
However, this is likely just the beginning for social media innovation in the blue skies. For example, Malaysia Airlines released a service on Facebook to see if friends are visiting a similar destination or if friends are taking the same flight at the same time. Some airlines, like Virgin America, even offer a seat-to-seat text chat service through their in-flight entertainment system.
Will any of these services take off and will customers want to use the service? One never knows. However, other companies, like airline Virgin Atlantic, have expressed interest in the idea. One could easily envision a Virgin Atlantic flyer meeting another passenger at the bar in-flight on the plane. As social media continues to grow, I imagine that we will see more of this type of innovation and marketing from other travel companies. I believe this service will be a big hit with young, single people. Other travel industries, for example cruise ships, could also offer similar services. I know I will not be requesting to sit with another passenger anytime soon since the only person I want to request to sit next to is my wife.
Next up, GEICO…
- @TheGEICOGecko – 8,050 Followers & 1,236 Tweets
- @GEICO – 6,845 Followers & 2,598 Tweets
GEICO’s Twitter pages, @TheGEICOGecko and @GEICO, were so-so. The number of followers was about a third of @StateFarm and @StateFarmNation, which is surprising because of the large Gecko following. GEICO does tweet almost every business day, mostly touching on popular marketing characters. GEICO does a nice job of intertwining their other social media pages with noticeable links that redirect followers to the GEICO Facebook and YouTube pages. As for the tweets…There is a nice mix of Gecko and recent events such as: Halloween, Thanksgiving, and shopping on Black Friday. However, they do a poor job of tweeting about current pop-culture events that connect with the average twitter demographic.
Overall, GEICO puts forth the effort on Twitter…just not to the level of State Farm Nation.
Twitter Grade: C+
- The GEICO Gecko – 201,080 “Likes”
- GEICO – 198,666 “Likes”
- GEICO Motorcycle – 5,002 “Likes”
- GEICO Military – 952 “Likes”
GEICO has numerous Facebook pages, many more than the four I listed above (RV, Local Office, Nascar, Careers, Caveman, Kash, and Skytyperse to name a few). Not to mention Warren Buffet has a large following of over 200K. Character appeal is overly apparent with pages dedicated to each of GEICO’s marketing personalities, with the Gecko getting the most love.
GEICO does a great job of bringing the Gecko to life. You’ll notice a lot of pictures and videos of him on Trips to New York and Buffalo. Shots of the Gecko sightseeing at Niagara Falls…Hanging out with the Bills WR David Nelson at the Buffalo Zoo …Getting a self-portrait in Central Park…Even dancing with the Naked Cowboy in Time Square.
GEICO has a great thing going on Facebook, but again, they haven’t reach their max potential. Relying on the Gecko is working, but there is room for more.
Facebook Grade: B
YouTube
- GEICO Channel – 16,705 Subscribers & 37,118,819 Million Uploads
GEICO has set the bar for the YouTube standard in the insurance industry. The number of video uploads and page subscribers far exceed GEICO’s competition. The abundance of activity is a result of successful advertising through various popular characters that star in the GEICO commercials. The Gecko is the most prominent TV personality on the YouTube page; however, Guinea Pigs, Mr. Butters and the Cockatoo, and the GEICO Question Guy make appearances.
On the top of the webpage, the Gecko is featured, in which consumers can “Follow the Gecko’s Journey.” This feature includes links to the Gecko Facebook page, the Gecko Twitter page, and GEICO.com.
The number of subscribers, views, and uploads says it all.
YouTube Grade: A
Overall Grade
GEICO has done a great job of leveraging the popularity of its television marketing. The Gecko is an obvious staple in GEICO marketing, but social media efforts need to be pushed further if they hope to connect with consumers on Facebook and Twitter. GEICO is one of the best in this space…I just think they can do better.
Social Media Grade: B+