As brands jump onto the new Facebook Timeline bandwagon, here are the Top 10 implementations by Airline and Airports.
If you work in an airline or airport organisation and wish to download the slides, please email contact@simpliflying.com
3. Embracing the “timeline” concept
One of the airlines that surprised us the most was the British airline BMI that, even
though it had been recently been put on sale with little hope of preserving its
brand, created one of the best airline pages on Facebook.
The airline embraced the
“timeline” concept in full
starting from its cover
image that shows the
evolution of the airline’s
brand and aircrafts in one
neatly designed image.
www.SimpliFlying.com
4. Highlighting what’s important to the customer
Furthermore it also created a complete timeline that goes back to the late 1930s and
made excellent use of the starring function to highlight relevant posts like the approval
by the EU competition authority of its sale to the IAG group.
www.SimpliFlying.com
6. Early adopters
Unlike many airlines who waited until the last minute, KLM uploaded its first cover
image on the 1st of March, at the very beginning of the 30 days period provided by
facebook, and used the “adjustment” period to make constant improvements to its
page.
www.SimpliFlying.com
7. Welcoming user generated content
As well as having one of the few cover images that complete the profile
picture, and a timeline that goes back to the 1920s, the most remarkable
aspect of this page is the usage of starred posts to highlight not only the usual
corporate images but also content posted by its followers like the image below:
www.SimpliFlying.com
9. Holistic design
Jet Blue one of the usual suspects when it comes to being proactive on social media
and we have included it here for two main reasons.
The first is the way in which it has customized the icons in its app/tab bar, giving them
a clean and extremely visual design that appeals to the users and fits perfectly within
the general page design.
www.SimpliFlying.com
10. Smart milestone usage
The second reason, however, is perhaps the most interesting one. In our previous
articles we mentioned briefly that airlines could use milestones to highlight their new
destinations and including images that might inspire people to travel.
JetBlue seems to have
embraced the idea and
went a step further by
using the recent addition
of a new destination to
neatly place a route map
right in the middle of its
Facebook page
www.SimpliFlying.com
12. The cover image of tomorrow
Although facebook makes it clear that the cover image is not to be used for
advertising purposes and cannot contain calls to action, web addresses etc… it does
not say that it can’t be use for campaigns or, for example, to say hello.
Here’s what
Emirates did:
www.SimpliFlying.com
13. An image of brand values
But it doesn’t end there. We suggested in the previous article that the cover image
should be used to transmit the essence of the brand – this is exactly what Emirates
was able to do by giving an image of an airline that looks to the future, and at the
same time inspires people to travel asking its users to dream about future travels.
www.SimpliFlying.com
14. Changing every day
Moreover, the airline also found a way to infuse life into its cover page and appears
to be changing the cover image daily, thus giving its users more reasons to visit the
page. The image on the previous slide appeared on the 2nd day of the campaign.
The one shown here was seen a few days later
www.SimpliFlying.com
16. A different interpretation of cover images
Rather than choosing to use a slogan, an image of its aircraft or one of its
destinations, the airline decided to use a picture of an old sign that, judging from the
comments made by users, appears to have both a historical connection with the brand
and an emotional one with its most faithful followers.
www.SimpliFlying.com
17. A visual experience
Furthermore the airline seems to have made an effort to make sure that the
background of the logo on the profile picture matched the one on the cover page and
created custom images for all its tabs, thus creating a smooth visual experience for the
viewer.
www.SimpliFlying.com
20. The age of memes
In marketing it is often said that one has to communicate in a way that is appropriate
to the channel. On Facebook one of the most popular and viral elements are the so
called “memes” and MCO’s idea of using it as a cover image makes for one of the
most creative and effective covers in the airport industry
www.SimpliFlying.com
21. Vintage
In another interesting, and very visual
initiative the airport has exploited the
recent vintage-images trend and shared
with its followers several vintage airline ads
www.SimpliFlying.com
23. Aspirational destination
One of the most interesting Airport pages we found was the one from Aéroports de
Paris that featured an unique cover image centered on lifestyle and clearly design to
promote Paris as a destination.
www.SimpliFlying.com
24. Paris, Paris and more Paris
The company has also been posting Paris-
related content thus providing plenty of
material for users to share
www.SimpliFlying.com
26. Visual Highlighting
Another way in which cover images can be used is to visually communicate a message
or, as Schiphol Airport did, highlight the differentiating elements that form part of the
brand’s proposition to its users.
www.SimpliFlying.com
27. Thorough design
In the process the airport also managed to produce a very neat design where the
profile image works together with the cover image. The page also features a nice row
of custom designed tabs that provide an excellent visual experience for the user.
www.SimpliFlying.com
29. Positive images
Changi Airport stood out from the crowd thanks to its unusual cover design that
featured an eye-catching mosaic of images that appear to have been taken at the
airport . These images help communicate positive feelings to the viewers, thus
reinforcing the airport’s brand
www.SimpliFlying.com
30. Highlighting what’s important
The airport also made an excellent use of the “star” function to highlight important
news and make them more visible to its fans.
www.SimpliFlying.com
32. Local audience
Another airport that decided to leverage on emotions is Heathrow airport that featured
an image of a couple meeting at the airport.
Interestingly, unlike other airports it choose to focus on an encounter as opposed to a
travel experience or a destination, instantly building an emotional connect with those
landing on the page.
www.SimpliFlying.com
33. Complete timeline
Furthermore the page contained some user-generated content and had a timeline
that went back to the days when the airport was founded using a dedicated design
for the post.
www.SimpliFlying.com