I know a lot of us on the EK forum don't really read many of the other forums on FT, so I thought I'd start a thread on interesting things other airlines are doing, especially since things with EK have been going downhill recently and they've been very slow to embrace the social media space.

To start off, a friend sent me a link to something KLM has been doing, which I thought is pretty cool and worth checking out here

Thanks ung1 - I am bit into media and PR: Excellent campaign with very little investment and wide audience reach. I like the TVC, too!

I guess here in the ME such campaigns might not work due to privacy issues.

I think it's a question of making an effort to do something in the area. EK likes to focus on sponsoring sports events - very expensive. They have no social media presence (no facebook/ twitter) or for that matter even participation in FT (unlike BA/ LH which have people on here). While privacy may be an issue in the ME, most of EK's client base is abroad. I think it's down to who is managing these business functions at EK and their outlook.

Thanks ung1 for doing this, great idea.

As a FF for BA where I never used the Economy plus, I would love that Emirates would introduce this or use this on the old Biz seats on some aircrafts.

I also like the upgrades or awards using miles on BA, EK's upgrades or awarrds with miles are too high where BA is very low compared to EK.

Arrivals lounge will also help sometimes.

Though I would also say that EK has some advantages, I would take EK's Biz over BA's First anytime.

Am not aware about privacy policies in ME, but I guess many Eu countries ( Germany, Austria, Swiss to note a few) would have similar if not more stringent priivacy guidelines ?

If there is any place in the world where you could do this without fear of legal retaliation, it is the Middle East. The reason why airlines here do not engage in social networks marketing is that they are street smart. They know that this is a waste of money. I bet that none of the guys in the youtube video would be willing to pick KLM over another airline if KLM were more expensive (even by only EUR 10).

Maybe 10 years from now SN marketing will have found a sweet spot, but for the time being it is better to watch from the sideline.

At the risk of veering OT at post #7, isn't it all about brand presence and image? KLM is doing this cheaply, instead of spending the millions that EK does on it's sports sponsorships.

Look at this Air France commercial. Air France touts itself as one of the best places on earth but the advert in isolation is pretty neat I think.

EK doesn't seem to have come out with a new TVC since the 380 ads. The whole welcome to Dubai thing should be run by Dubai Tourism, not EK, IMO.

Interesting thread^

What do you think of this TK commercial about TK being a global airline. Currently only on Facebook, a touching story.

link: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=2019588926492

And IMHO, these kinds of social media advertising are more successful if the bang per buck spent is considered..

I thought this Virgin Atlantic commercial communicates the brand value very well, despite the constant complaints on the BA board. It's very bling, like EK, but also very chic, unlike EK.

TK has been promoting itself heavily in the US and many people I know that would have taken EK, have switched to Turkish. They have been doing a good job at offering reasonable fares and for many destinations have betters connections than EK from the US.

As for privacy issues, they don't exist for individual citizens...only for the governments that want to control the inhabitants within its borders. Unfortunately, the UAE has been moving further and further into the "people here have no privacy" realm as witnessed by the blocking of skype, Blackberry restrictions that quietly went into effect as of yesterday, and many other political measures currently underway.

Hopefully EK and other airlines in the region can be more encouraging of social media as it becomes a more and more popular tool in the region and the world, though honestly I would see it happening with TK and even MS before EK/EY ever embrace it.

Here's something EK have done that's really cool (see the video). The only disappointment is that what the guy is wearing isn't the EK uniform.

Great video!

And look at the teaser at the very last second: "Emirates - a friend of Europe"

Tell that to LH.

Thanks for the link!