MBR_Issue_27 -January 2017 low res

Malta Business Review
AVIATION NEWS
DEBATE: BLOGS
Malta Business Review
CUSTOMER
e x p e r i e n c e i n v e s t m e n t s
Emirates was named World’s Best Airline
2016 at the Skytrax World Airline Awards,
and in the past year, the airline continued
to work hard to deliver memorable
experiences for its customers.
Emirates continued to strengthen its inflight
entertainment (IFE) offering. With the
airline now operating an all-Airbus A380 and
Boeing 777 fleet, this means customers on
all Emirates flights can access on-demand
entertainment with up to 2,600 channels of
movies, music, TV shows, games and more,
to choose from.
Reflecting the increasingly connected
digital lifestyle, over 8.8 million Emirates
passengers connected to Wi-Fi on board
in 2016. In addition, more than 400,000
phone calls were made in-flight, and 1.7
million sms messages were transmitted by
passengers.
For its premium passengers, Emirates rolled
out a range of enhancements onboard
with luxury in mind. New additions in First
Class included the world’s first moisturising
lounge wear designed for an airline,
keeping skin hydrated during the flight. New
blankets were introduced including plush
faux sheep-skin blankets for First Class and
soft duvets for Business Class passengers.
Emirates also partnered with VOYA luxury
spa products for its passengers to enjoy
in its signature shower spa, dedicated
lounge bathrooms and First and Business
Class washrooms. In addition, Emirates
and luxury Italian brand Bvlgari redesigned
the airline’s exclusive amenity kit bags by
giving them a sleek, modern look. So far
in 2016, 2.75 million First and Business
Class amenity kits have been distributed on
Emirates flights.
Building on the strength of its loyalty
programmes, the airline’s frequent flyer
programme Emirates Skywards marked
a milestone of 16 million members by
launching Cash+Miles. The innovative
flight redemption programme allowed
members to redeem a combination of cash
and Skywards Miles on any Emirates flight,
reducing the cost of tickets and making any
seat available for members. The airline also
revamped its corporate loyalty programme,
Emirates Business Rewards, delivering a
more competitive and easier redemption
process for flights as well as upgrades at any
time for businesses.
BRAND
A P P E A L
Emirates topped The Brand Finance
Global 500 report as the world’s most
valuable airline brand in 2016, with the
airline’s brand value growing more than
17% to US$ 7.7 billion. Throughout 2016,
Emirates continued to use sports, musical
and cultural events as a platform to engage
with its customers and fans.
In October, Emirates returned with
Hollywood actress, director and producer
Jennifer Aniston for another fun global
advertising campaign that showcased the
iconic Emirates A380.
In November, Emirates teamed up with
Dubai Miracle Garden to construct the
world’s largest floral installation through
a life-size version of the Emirates A380,
covered in more than 500,000 fresh
flowers and living plants.
Emirates operates daily scheduled
flights between Malta and Dubai on a
Boeing 777-300 aircraft. Emirates flies
twice weekly to Malta, on Mondays and
Wednesdays, via Larnaca in Cyprus, and
on Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays
and Saturdays the airline operates the
Dubai - Malta route on a circular routing
via Tunis in Tunisia. Emirates unveiled
plans to re-route its daily service between
Dubai and Malta via Larnaca, Cyprus, from
1st February 2017. MBR
How and
why your
customers
engage
with
bloggers?
By George Carol
I’m sure all marketers out there
know the terms “opinion leaders,”
“influencers” and know about
“turning customers into brand advocates.”
But, I am not sure if all marketers
acknowledge how much influential
fashion, travel and other bloggers have
become over their target audience.
Something to seriously think about.
It’s all about their influence, their trust and
– their reach!
According to reliable sources and
statistics, 5-10 percent of social media
users are responsible for 60 to 80 per
cent of influence. Especially in beauty and
fashion industry, customers tend to follow
number of bloggers at once to see what is
trending. The most popular blogs with the
highest number of followers work as socalled
hubs in the blogosphere and have
the highest influence on their followers.
The influencing power of bloggers lies in
the engagement with consumers. They
trigger conversations and are credible
because they are normal people just like
us with families and real lives. They aren’t
top models, but the woman or daddynext-door
types that are trustworthy. And,
the similarity between reader and blogger
makes a big impact on the final purchase
decision. Got it?
A good, professional fashion blogger also
adds value and expertise because he or
she discovers, evaluates, compares and
introduces products to a wide audience.
And the blogger also helps to explain how
the products can be used to achieve a
particular look. The real bloggers, not the
wanna-be-ones, who buy fake likes and
followers are the ones you want to be
watching out for going forward.
Fashion & Travel Blogger Grazielle Camilleri
Fashion
blogger turned
journalist?
A shining example of a fantastic blogger
that made her hobby into a profession is
Grazielle Camilleri, a Maltese blogger with
more than 20,000 followers on Facebook
and another 20,000 Followers on
Instagram. She recently won Malta’s Best
in Business Award for Best Start Up in 2016.
In December 2015, she published her first
blog and a year later she is going strong,
spreading the message to her strong-target
audiences that are hungry for information
and fresh content with beautiful imagery
and excellent writing skills. Check her out
at www.graziellecamilleri.com
So, do I market online or via bloggers?
My reply to you is to find a pleasant balance
to do both. One works best alongside the
other. You will reach your various target
markets this way. Some of your customers
are constantly on their iphones while
others prefer their traditional hardback
magazine coffee to read with their cup of
tea in the garden at tea time!
Stay tuned for more marketing tips!
MBR
60 61
www.maltabusinessreview.net