Etihad’s growth as the fastest growing Airline in the world has been legendary. Ward’s marketing strategies have paid off in many markets. In India, Ward tells Shephali Bhatt about the need to do a lot more in future
Andrew Ward
VP, Marketing, Etihad Airways
7 years ago, Etihad Airways made a humble beginning with around $100 million in revenues. Last year, the airways reaped US $2.3 billion. The man at the helm of marketing, Andrew Ward, VP, Marketing, says, “For an airline, the most important thing is to differentiate itself since over the last decade, with the introduction of local carriers, airlines have become general commodities. The consumer is now prepared to buy an airline ticket just like he would buy a train or bus ticket. We have to upgrade the offer so that most people would fly with us for a longer time. We have to offer a higher degree of service, so that when the consumer looks at the price equation, he realises that he is getting good value for money. We need to ensure that the consumer doesn’t switch to any other airline.”
For Etihad and its marketing man, India is an important market in that Indians are spread all over the world. One would find huge numbers of Indians in every continent. For example, even UAE, the key country for Etihad, comprises 30% Indians. Ward comments that he has positioned Etihad as one of the premium offering members of the market. To that effect, he adds, “Etihad Airways has been the fastest growing airline in the world over the last six years. That has been our strength. We have taken new aircraft orders, new spa services, first class private suites and what not. We have been on the path of continuous innovation in order to position ourselves as the luxury premium airlines.”
In this year, Ward has ensured that there be a stronger focus on digital marketing. He has significantly increased expenditure in the digital arena on an year on year basis. The aim is to create Etihad’s own online service environment. According to Ward, although standard banner advertising would always stay there, the most effective mechanism to advertise these days is through the internet. Certainly, there are different stages of development in terms of internet penetration, and Ward is not blind to it – one reason his offline advertising strategy stays fixed.
But given that Etihad is not as well known as certain other airlines in the Indian market, how does Ward plan to distinguish his brand? Ward accepts, “We have to push the brand awareness of Etihad in this market. A good way of doing that is finding a property that is already well known. In some markets, it can be sports personalities but here in India, it’s definitely Bollywood. It’s all about how we connect. We had to find somebody who is famous, in this case, we found Katrina Kaif. We now have to link the airline with her, get her to represent us and thus benefit from her popularity. We have already started a viral marketing campaign online with the video we’ve shot in Abu Dhabi airport. We are going to have her travelling to all our important markets where we’ll have specific events targeting our target and trade audience so that we can work on a B2B basis with travel trade.”
VP, Marketing, Etihad Airways
7 years ago, Etihad Airways made a humble beginning with around $100 million in revenues. Last year, the airways reaped US $2.3 billion. The man at the helm of marketing, Andrew Ward, VP, Marketing, says, “For an airline, the most important thing is to differentiate itself since over the last decade, with the introduction of local carriers, airlines have become general commodities. The consumer is now prepared to buy an airline ticket just like he would buy a train or bus ticket. We have to upgrade the offer so that most people would fly with us for a longer time. We have to offer a higher degree of service, so that when the consumer looks at the price equation, he realises that he is getting good value for money. We need to ensure that the consumer doesn’t switch to any other airline.”
For Etihad and its marketing man, India is an important market in that Indians are spread all over the world. One would find huge numbers of Indians in every continent. For example, even UAE, the key country for Etihad, comprises 30% Indians. Ward comments that he has positioned Etihad as one of the premium offering members of the market. To that effect, he adds, “Etihad Airways has been the fastest growing airline in the world over the last six years. That has been our strength. We have taken new aircraft orders, new spa services, first class private suites and what not. We have been on the path of continuous innovation in order to position ourselves as the luxury premium airlines.”
In this year, Ward has ensured that there be a stronger focus on digital marketing. He has significantly increased expenditure in the digital arena on an year on year basis. The aim is to create Etihad’s own online service environment. According to Ward, although standard banner advertising would always stay there, the most effective mechanism to advertise these days is through the internet. Certainly, there are different stages of development in terms of internet penetration, and Ward is not blind to it – one reason his offline advertising strategy stays fixed.
But given that Etihad is not as well known as certain other airlines in the Indian market, how does Ward plan to distinguish his brand? Ward accepts, “We have to push the brand awareness of Etihad in this market. A good way of doing that is finding a property that is already well known. In some markets, it can be sports personalities but here in India, it’s definitely Bollywood. It’s all about how we connect. We had to find somebody who is famous, in this case, we found Katrina Kaif. We now have to link the airline with her, get her to represent us and thus benefit from her popularity. We have already started a viral marketing campaign online with the video we’ve shot in Abu Dhabi airport. We are going to have her travelling to all our important markets where we’ll have specific events targeting our target and trade audience so that we can work on a B2B basis with travel trade.”
For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2011.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM Best B School India
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM's Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
IIPM in sync with the best of the business world.......
IIPM Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri on Internet Hooliganism
Arindam Chaudhuri: We need Hazare's leadership
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri - A Man For The Society....
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
