Folks at Finnair (Finland’s national airline) provoked me to write this blog. Probably I would not bring out any of this if their positioning for a time being remained “The fastest route to Asia” and if a cute northern reindeer remained a hero in their communication.
Seems that sometime last year the airline decided that from now on they would stand for a quality travel. Without being cynical I think this an appropriate resolution at the time when a quality becomes increasingly rare. I also think that Finland (country as a brand) and Finnish companies have the right perception and matching general reputation to own the concept of quality.
Finnair has rolled out quite a few marketing initiatives to support this “sort-of-re-branding-quality-travel” strategic decision. They started off last year by launching a website called “Rethink Quality” and declared it will be the place for “Finnair’s continuous quest for better travel”. Actually the kick off was not bad, they had some interesting and high profile people writing, including Tyler Brûlé – probably one of the most demanding travellers in the world, the one who has a complete eye for quality and perfection.
I guess that “The Best Job in the World” – a hip campaign by Queensland’s tourism authority in Australia that earned massive global media coverage in early 2009 – was one of inspiration’s at Finnair to introduce their version of the most desirable job on this planet. The airline launched a very interesting marketing initiative – they were in a search for Quality Hunters – four people who would become their “independent advisors” and travel the world on Finnair’s destinations in a quest for quality.
The core idea behind Quality Hunters was great. I saw it as a superb platform to facilitate conversations across different fields, industries, people and opinions; a platform that had a great potential to nurture new ideas, concepts and experiences.
I also view that the initiative turned out to be a failure – a concept that was poorly executed: from designing their own website to the quality and the impact of the content. At the end it turned out to be “just another” sort-of travel related blog site with no real focus and edge.
If you boldly announce this is your quest for a quality and if you put a quality at the heart of your promise then you have to deliver it. Not making it as a statement but creating a new movement that is also an inspiration for many others.
On Finnair’s corporate blog you would find an excitement saying “Quality Hunters an international success” where presented numbers look big. While it looks relatively impressive I remain challenging Finnair of its real impact beyond a written word “campaign” in their yearly marketing plan. Comments on the airline’s Facebook page are pointing that the concept of Quality Hunters didn’t earn its right momentum.
Recently (Jan 2011) I was an economy class passenger on the return flight Brussels – Helsinki – Hong Kong – Helsinki – Brussels. It was good time to observe more of Finnair’s marketing activities and experience an idea of “quality travel” in action.
As I was browsing Finnair’s onboard magazine “Blue Wings” I was deliberately searching for adventures of Quality Hunters – in a form of a short story; exciting image; a quote; a tip; a suggestion; a fact; a wisdom; a new idea or whatever. I found 39 words that vaguely mentioned the fact…
However, what I noticed during my trip was the billboards at Helsinki airport that featured the updated Finnair’s logo and the new tag lines saying “New born” and “Designed For You”. One of the quotes in the onboard magazine’s article “Notice something different?” said, “We took the best parts of our old visual language and tweaked some of the details. It continues to reflect the smoothness with air travel, but with a more dynamic and modern look. A sense of dynamism is also visible in the new crew uniforms.”
“No” is my honest answer to the question whether I noticed something different.
I could start with a tiny detail that I didn’t see the crew wearing new uniforms in none of the four flights. But the point is not about the uniforms.
The point is about what you say and what you deliver.
The point is how timely you say things.
The point is how you roll out your great plans and visions.
The point is whether you want to make a genuine brand development or to roll out another advertising campaign.
The point is are you tyrannical enough when it comes to details executing a concept of quality travel.
The entire public relations message and the design talk about the new logotype is totally irrelevant if the substance (a newborn quality designed for me/you) is not present. For example, the relevance would come if just few of “more than 1000 ideas for service upgrades suggested by staff and customers” (as mentioned in Blue Wings magazine) would be practically executed, communicated and explained to a wider audience. Probably, new uniforms was one of suggested ideas and nothing is wrong with that; employees working in a narrow space and at high altitudes should have an appropriate dress code that not only represents a brand’s design identity but also is comfortable to wear. New uniforms is a strong and one of many internal and external communication and brand engagement tools. Sure, that in a service industry looks play a great importance for a brand; but more importantly is what it actually does.
Advertising is not a solution and a roll out plan for a brand development. Brand engagement starts internally and then by implementing a tangible proof of change or improvement
As I said, a notion to own the territory of quality in airtravel is noble and Finnair is quite well placed to earn that position. To do that the strategy needs some serious rollout planning and the implementation should be staged prior coming out with bold and unsupported statements. Until then it is just untimely done marketing stunt.
January’s issue of the onboard magazine also said, that “the company will continue to scout for feedback from experienced travellers”. Here are my three suggestions that would help Finnair to own the territory of quality travel:
First. Be transparent. Your website says that Finnair Lounge is available “for any customer wishing to use service for a charge of 45 euros.” My transit time was more than 7 hours and the truth I experienced that 45 euros are charged for every three hours.
Second. Pamper you customers with more of quite time on long haul flights. Departure time to Hong Kong is around midnight and 1:15 am on the return flight to Helsinki. This is a time when people (not only in a business class as ads usually portray) want to relax and fall a sleep or as you say “have an enjoyable flight”. Instead, we get full lights on until 2:30am or even longer, inappropriately heavy meals and hard sales announcements. Without any exaggeration I saw zero people within a visible radius of my position who would buy anything at that time of the day/flight. If you think that onboard sales are still important stream to you revenues, come up with more innovative ways – may be a screen in front of a passenger could help to place orders.
Third. Rethink your menu. Appropriate and digestive meals on your transcontinental flights would be highly desirable. I do not think it is a sign of quality when you are offering me a heavy meal at 1 am or a stuffy sandwich in “the morning” after 8 hours of motionless sleep when a fresh smoothie would be just perfect and enough. In fact, I even wouldn’t mind to pay for that if you had offered it to me.
To me these are some basic elements and first thoughts based on experience that can enhance the quality of travelling also in the economy class and it does not require more space or a glass champagne prior the take of as in the business class.
I will be curious to follow how Finnair navigates their brand in the future.
Finnair’s untimely marketing stunts
Folks at Finnair (Finland’s national airline) provoked me to write this blog. Probably I would not bring out any of this if their positioning for a time being remained “The fastest route to Asia” and if a cute northern reindeer remained a hero in their communication.
Seems that sometime last year the airline decided that from now on they would stand for a quality travel. Without being cynical I think this an appropriate resolution at the time when a quality becomes increasingly rare. I also think that Finland (country as a brand) and Finnish companies have the right perception and matching general reputation to own the concept of quality.
Finnair has rolled out quite a few marketing initiatives to support this “sort-of-re-branding-quality-travel” strategic decision. They started off last year by launching a website called “Rethink Quality” and declared it will be the place for “Finnair’s continuous quest for better travel”. Actually the kick off was not bad, they had some interesting and high profile people writing, including Tyler Brûlé – probably one of the most demanding travellers in the world, the one who has a complete eye for quality and perfection.
I guess that “The Best Job in the World” – a hip campaign by Queensland’s tourism authority in Australia that earned massive global media coverage in early 2009 – was one of inspiration’s at Finnair to introduce their version of the most desirable job on this planet. The airline launched a very interesting marketing initiative – they were in a search for Quality Hunters – four people who would become their “independent advisors” and travel the world on Finnair’s destinations in a quest for quality.
The core idea behind Quality Hunters was great. I saw it as a superb platform to facilitate conversations across different fields, industries, people and opinions; a platform that had a great potential to nurture new ideas, concepts and experiences.
I also view that the initiative turned out to be a failure – a concept that was poorly executed: from designing their own website to the quality and the impact of the content. At the end it turned out to be “just another” sort-of travel related blog site with no real focus and edge.
If you boldly announce this is your quest for a quality and if you put a quality at the heart of your promise then you have to deliver it. Not making it as a statement but creating a new movement that is also an inspiration for many others.
On Finnair’s corporate blog you would find an excitement saying “Quality Hunters an international success” where presented numbers look big. While it looks relatively impressive I remain challenging Finnair of its real impact beyond a written word “campaign” in their yearly marketing plan. Comments on the airline’s Facebook page are pointing that the concept of Quality Hunters didn’t earn its right momentum.
Recently (Jan 2011) I was an economy class passenger on the return flight Brussels – Helsinki – Hong Kong – Helsinki – Brussels. It was good time to observe more of Finnair’s marketing activities and experience an idea of “quality travel” in action.
As I was browsing Finnair’s onboard magazine “Blue Wings” I was deliberately searching for adventures of Quality Hunters – in a form of a short story; exciting image; a quote; a tip; a suggestion; a fact; a wisdom; a new idea or whatever. I found 39 words that vaguely mentioned the fact…
However, what I noticed during my trip was the billboards at Helsinki airport that featured the updated Finnair’s logo and the new tag lines saying “New born” and “Designed For You”. One of the quotes in the onboard magazine’s article “Notice something different?” said, “We took the best parts of our old visual language and tweaked some of the details. It continues to reflect the smoothness with air travel, but with a more dynamic and modern look. A sense of dynamism is also visible in the new crew uniforms.”
“No” is my honest answer to the question whether I noticed something different.
I could start with a tiny detail that I didn’t see the crew wearing new uniforms in none of the four flights. But the point is not about the uniforms.
The point is about what you say and what you deliver.
The point is how timely you say things.
The point is how you roll out your great plans and visions.
The point is whether you want to make a genuine brand development or to roll out another advertising campaign.
The point is are you tyrannical enough when it comes to details executing a concept of quality travel.
The entire public relations message and the design talk about the new logotype is totally irrelevant if the substance (a newborn quality designed for me/you) is not present. For example, the relevance would come if just few of “more than 1000 ideas for service upgrades suggested by staff and customers” (as mentioned in Blue Wings magazine) would be practically executed, communicated and explained to a wider audience. Probably, new uniforms was one of suggested ideas and nothing is wrong with that; employees working in a narrow space and at high altitudes should have an appropriate dress code that not only represents a brand’s design identity but also is comfortable to wear. New uniforms is a strong and one of many internal and external communication and brand engagement tools. Sure, that in a service industry looks play a great importance for a brand; but more importantly is what it actually does.
Advertising is not a solution and a roll out plan for a brand development. Brand engagement starts internally and then by implementing a tangible proof of change or improvement
As I said, a notion to own the territory of quality in airtravel is noble and Finnair is quite well placed to earn that position. To do that the strategy needs some serious rollout planning and the implementation should be staged prior coming out with bold and unsupported statements. Until then it is just untimely done marketing stunt.
January’s issue of the onboard magazine also said, that “the company will continue to scout for feedback from experienced travellers”. Here are my three suggestions that would help Finnair to own the territory of quality travel:
First. Be transparent. Your website says that Finnair Lounge is available “for any customer wishing to use service for a charge of 45 euros.” My transit time was more than 7 hours and the truth I experienced that 45 euros are charged for every three hours.
Second. Pamper you customers with more of quite time on long haul flights. Departure time to Hong Kong is around midnight and 1:15 am on the return flight to Helsinki. This is a time when people (not only in a business class as ads usually portray) want to relax and fall a sleep or as you say “have an enjoyable flight”. Instead, we get full lights on until 2:30am or even longer, inappropriately heavy meals and hard sales announcements. Without any exaggeration I saw zero people within a visible radius of my position who would buy anything at that time of the day/flight. If you think that onboard sales are still important stream to you revenues, come up with more innovative ways – may be a screen in front of a passenger could help to place orders.
Third. Rethink your menu. Appropriate and digestive meals on your transcontinental flights would be highly desirable. I do not think it is a sign of quality when you are offering me a heavy meal at 1 am or a stuffy sandwich in “the morning” after 8 hours of motionless sleep when a fresh smoothie would be just perfect and enough. In fact, I even wouldn’t mind to pay for that if you had offered it to me.
To me these are some basic elements and first thoughts based on experience that can enhance the quality of travelling also in the economy class and it does not require more space or a glass champagne prior the take of as in the business class.
I will be curious to follow how Finnair navigates their brand in the future.