Airport World Magazine, Feb/ Mar 2014 - David McMullen, vice president of airports at SimpliFlying talks to Gatwick Airport’s Jeremy Fletcher about the implications of Gatwick rebranding itself as ‘London’s airport of choice’, the process behind it and how integrated communication efforts are used in pursuit of these goals.

1. MARKETING
D
avid McMullen, vice president of airports atSimpliFlying
talks to GatwickAirport’s Jeremy Fletcher about the
implications of Gatwick rebranding itself as ‘London’s
airport of choice’, the process behind it and how integrated
communication efforts are used in pursuit of these goals.
A reality check on branding
McMullen: We are witnessing many established airport brands
repositioning to better meet customer needs. Why did Gatwick feel
the need for change?
Fletcher: The sale of Gatwick meant we needed to distance
ourselves from our BAA heritage. We wanted to set ourselves apart
and make it clear we had become a competitor. Gatwick, through
research, exemplified a personable, friendly and professional
approach, and these were excellent core values to build upon.
McMullen: Indeed, it is important to find out what the current
brand perception is before further action. Tell me, what is the new
brand direction at Gatwick now?
Fletcher: Our new identity was crafted to emphasise ‘your London
Airport’. Be it passengers, employees, airlines, retailers or
partners, we all have a responsibility of ownership around the
brand. Clearly the identity is a small part of our brand and how
it is portrayed, we cover the key elements of physical, digital and
emotional touch points.
The relationship between airport brands and
their customers
McMullen: Speaking of touch points, new media channels and
social networks have loosened control over brand messages. We
always advise our clients to put in place measures to stay
connected to the consumers and ensure the consumer can have an
active role to play as well.
Fletcher: We see it as more of an open network of opportunity. We
have embraced a large number of the social platforms because
they allow us to have open dialogue. This has almost become
expected these days and it is important to reach our diverse
audience groups with diverse messages.
McMullen: Of course, the relationships between brands and their
customers have now become more open-ended as online
discussions extend the brand experience before and long after the
‘travel phase’ of the traveller’s lifecycle. Social media is especially
valuable in capturing customer insights relating to brand position.
Fletcher:Time-sensitive information is critical in allowing passengers
to feel informed and in control. We useTwitter and our website for
key updates. Feedback from these channels is directed to our core
operational teams through daily performance meetings. In addition,
having established a passenger experience group made up of teams
across the organisation, we can ensure that we are focusing on
issues that matter to passengers.
McMullen: In the case of Gatwick, how do you see social media
helping the airport to gain competitive advantage over neighbouring
airports – or even competing European or global airports?
Fletcher: We strengthen our competitive position by sharing the
good things that we are doing, and building a network of
ambassadors who will share these positive stories for us. As our
network of routes expand, we need to find new opportunities for
communicating to a wider audience.
I have a question for you now. As the UK market has changed
significantly in the last four years, do you think that UK airports
have become more competitive with each other?
McMullen: Effective marketing is critical to creating a successful
airport. Increasingly over the last 12 months, customer intimacy
and loyalty are common topics when we speak with airport CEOs.
Airports need to establish a market position based on
understanding the market and competition, whilst appreciating the
dynamics of the airline industry. They can actively define this or
passively permit the market to create the position.
Competing airports also define your position in the market –
particularly with a strong network of brand ambassadors on social
media. Airports like Gatwick have recognised that the perceptions
AIRPORT WORLD/FEBRUARY-MARCH 201442
AIRPORT MARKETING EXCHANGE
Today’s airport business and the modern multi-channel environment that we live in allow airports
to collaborate effectively with passengers and potential passengers on brand strategies.
SPOTLIGHTON
GATWICK’SREBRAND
DavidMcMullen. JeremyFletcher.

2. MARKETING
of both can be shaped by your own marketing strategies.
If we look at the London region as an example, Gatwick
has six rival airports and even competes with the Eurostar
on European routes, not forgetting the fierce competition
from other UK runways like BHX & MAN. Social positioning
will become key to an airport’s success.
Through ourongoing research we’re alreadywitnessing that
52% of global airports are focusing on airservice development/
passengerdevelopment in theirsocial media campaigns.
Knowing what matters in airport marketing
McMullen: When creating or re-energising a brand, it
is vital that airports understand where they are – relative
to other airports and/or other industries – to measure
the impact of their efforts. How successful has Gatwick’s
social media strategy been in becoming ‘London’s airport
of choice’?
Fletcher: We regularly review our success criteria.
We want to be sure we’re getting it right. Our award
cabinet for social media is expanding, such as the
‘airport of the year award received at the National
Transport Awards, Transport Times. It is about telling
people what we are doing and making sure that service
is consistent and passenger-focused. We also use external
sources like YouGov for brand research and passenger
research and feedback.
McMullen: How does Gatwick measure the impact from
their branding and customer service initiatives such as the
live Twitter chats?
Fletcher: Seeing the involvement and responses to Twitter,
alongside our ever-increasing social media followers,
allows us to identify where we are making an impact. It is
vital that we are constantly engaging and evolving to
ensure we stay ahead of the game.
Success comes with dedication
McMullen: Training is often overlooked by many
organisations, especially in social media. In our recent
survey with 46 global airports, although the majority
invest in at least one day of social media training, it is
clearly not enough if they want to achieve business
goals effectively.
Fletcher: At Gatwick, all teams involved in the use of
social media are trained on various platforms to handle
both daily conversations and in times of crisis. Images
are increasingly important in telling and sharing stories.
We recently worked with @Oggsie to train a team of staff
Instagrammers on ‘social photography’, editing and
hashtag usage.
McMullen: It is very encouraging to see how Gatwick uses
‘social photography’ to drive the footfall of travel retail
and energise sales even further. We see revenues
becoming an important business goal to be driven on
social media for airports very soon.
Fletcher: How does SimpliFlying see its involvement
in the industry in terms of influencing best practice
and evolution?
McMullen: It begins with spearing the awareness
about how consumers have evolved to become
connected travellers today. At SimpliFlying, we developed
a lifecycle that identifies key stages and objectives
of the connected travellers. This helps airports and
airlines understand where the windows of opportunities
lie, be it for brand awareness or selling. Compared
to airlines, airports are just starting to catch up to
this phenomenon.
Fortunately, there are a handful of airports such
as Gatwick that have showcased innovative marketing.
As we work alongside some of these leading airports to
inject fresh perspectives, we seek to extend our
knowledge and expertise to more in the aviation
industry to help them think differently in this age
of connected travellers.
43
SimpliFlyinghasworkedwithover40airlinesandairports
globallytohelpthemthinkdifferentlyaboutaviation
marketing.DavidMcMullenleadsSimpliFlying’sglobal
airportengagementprojects.
Which airport would you like to see featured in the next Q&A exchange? Send us
your suggestions or join the conversation on Twitter #airportmarketingX
AIRPORT WORLD/FEBRUARY-MARCH 2014
AW