“The agility of the Middle Eastern consumers fueled by their obsession with mobile phones is the biggest challenge for the airline industry in becoming digitally fit. A growing number of people perform travel research and booking on smartphones, leapfrogging the stage where desktops or laptops would be the primary device. User journeys become very fluid, fragmented and are no longer linear. Every digital solution has to offer a seamless and pleasant user experience while staying mobile friendly.” Said Olga Kudryashova, Head of Strategic Planning at Cheil MENA.
In an interaction with MediAvataar MENA Olga shared more information on their new Etihad win and what are the challenges attached to it. Here’s the Q&A
MediAvataar: What does the latest Etihad win mean to Cheil?
Olga: It means a lot to the Cheil network. First of all, it is a proof that Cheil’s global partnership network business model works. Partnering with specialist agencies enables the network to draw the best experts in the field regardless of where they are based. The Etihad Airways pitch was won as a result of close cooperation of Cheil in the UAE and its partner digital agency The Barbarian Group based in New York. Moreover, it serves a great deal of motivation and sense of achievement for the Cheil team to work with a client who buys great ideas and is not only looking for a ‘safe’ option.
MediAvataar: How do you plan to counter the competition for them?
Olga: Like other very successful brands, the Etihad Airways team understands that the only way to beat competition is to stay ahead of the curve. Etihad Airways’ brand ambition is ‘Flying Reimagined.’ There is a big difference between ‘innovation’ (a word that is almost bankrupt today) and ‘imagination’. Brands like Apple, Nike and Etihad Airways imagine products, services and experience beyond what customers ask for. They create experiences that customers don’t yet know are possible. Etihad Airways is a brand that reimagines flying beyond customers’ expectations in every little detail. They do not benchmark themselves against any other airline, instead they create their own hospitality standards. Our challenge is how to reimagine digital communication for a brand that makes ‘outstanding’ a norm.
MediAvataar: What brought you two together?
Olga: A clear vision, passion for the outstanding, honesty and hard work.
MediAvataar: What would be the plan of action now?
Olga: Learn, plan, create and collaborate. We have a unique incentive and opportunity to break silos and work closely with all other communication partners of Etihad Airways – M&C Saatchi, Starcom, EG+ – which is a valuable experience. It creates a bigger sense of unity, and significantly enhances the output by fostering experts in different fields to put their minds together.
MediAvataar: What according to you are the challenges for airlines when it comes to digital communication in the region?
Olga: The agility of the Middle Eastern consumers fueled by their obsession with mobile phones is the biggest challenge for the airline industry in becoming digitally fit. A growing number of people perform travel research and booking on smartphones, leapfrogging the stage where desktops or laptops would be the primary device. User journeys become very fluid, fragmented and are no longer linear. Every digital solution has to offer a seamless and pleasant user experience while staying mobile friendly.
MediAvataar: Is digital media more about the numbers and little less about creativity?
Olga: We believe highly targeted digital communication is a creative endeavor, not simply about the numbers. Everyone has access to Big Data these days. It is crucial how you make sense of it and ladder it back to a creative idea. Digital media demands strategic planning and creativity more than ever before because it allows customising communication for each surgically-segmented audience. Successful use of digital media relies on planners to provide in-depth understanding of consumer segments, their digital behavior and user journeys, and challenges creative teams to develop ideas big enough to spark off dozens of dynamic variations and digital executions. Digital creative is not only about copy and image. It is about creating new ways of reaching the target audience and delivering the message.
MediAvataar: Three global trends in the Digital Media, you feel every marketer should try & adopt?
Olga: a.From stalker to butler: When programmatic media entered the scene, everyone got excited that they could now track users wherever they were, whatever they were doing. The learning curve has been steep and digital media specialists are getting better at using data/analytics and dynamic creative to bring relevance into the picture, turning this information into media experiences that are personalised and additive for the guest. Not just interruptive.
b.The increasing role of social listening: The ability to listen to real-time conversation in multiple languages lends brands unique real-time consumer insights and real reasons to engage.
c.Custom-made imagery: We see more and more brands investing in the creation of their own visual content. The usage of stock imagery is almost untraceable in the myriads of digital and social platforms and there is a huge chance you are not the only one using it, even worse if your competitor is using the same one (which does happen!). By using stock imagery brands are putting themselves at risk of being seen as boring, lazy copycats. It is important to have a unique, visual differentiator and point of view.