Driving Customer Engagement
Using Social Media Initiatives
Lessons Learned from Scandinavian Airlines
Christian Kamhaug
@ckamhaug
31.08.2012

Why Social Media? 2
31.08.2012

SAS Social Media Objectives 3
All communication within the social media arena
shall support SAS business strategy & brand
promise
1. Listen to, Engage & Involve customers to build a better SAS
2. Drive traffic to SAS websites in order to generate sales
3. Build lasting relationships through excellent customer service
4. Increase & maintain SAS image as a valued partner for all
stakeholders
SAS Vision:
To be VALUED FOR EXCELLENCE by all stakeholders
31.08.2012

Social Relations – the LEIA Principle
First you need to Listen
Then you can Engage your
customers in social conversations
Only then can you aim to Involve
your friends in social media
200.000 fans can’t be wrong?
Leverage the power of the crowds to
make an even better SAS – and
invite them in
Analyze & follow-up

Crowdsourcing 5
Involve your customers in your product
development
Show your fans new products early
Ask their advice
Get the customers to feel ownership to
your («their») product
Innovative and powerful marketing tool for
new products
Sharing is caring
31.08.2012

The Summer Plane: Background 6
Every summer, SAS shifts capacity from domestic to
European leisure destinations
With only 8 weeks in operation (8-16 round-trips), there are
limited resources available for traditional marketing and
promotion of the new routes
By letting the public decide the destination, we create buzz
about all the new destinations, we follow-up on the new
strategy of more focus on Leisure-destinations, and we prove
that we are an airline that listens to our customers, and we
follow our social media strategy of Listen-Engage-Involve-
(Analyze)
No other airline in the world has ever done something like this
31.08.2012

The Summer Plane - crowdsourced 7
Where do you want to fly this summer?
Suggest a destination!
800 suggestions in one week
More than 180 destinations suggested
Top 10 destinations went to a vote on Facbook
Alanya (GZP) , Turkey was the winner
Flights start 03JUL 2012
Will be operated twice a week year-round
Massive media attention
Won a FlightGlobal Webbie Award
31.08.2012

Design our cups: Background 8
After a number of years of Buy-on-Board,
SAS re-introduced free coffee & tea on all
flights in January 2012
How to get attention about this small, but
significant product update?
Through social media, newsletters and print
ads SAS invited customers to design their
cups or vote for their favorite
www.flysas.com/design
31.08.2012

Design Our Cups: The Campaign 9
Big hit!
750 designs in one week
Top 10 went to a vote on
flysas.com/design
More than 8000 votes
The winner got 100.000 EuroBonus-
points and her design on 3 million
cups!
Press attention + social media buzz
31.08.2012

The Next Step: Crowdsource everything! 10
31.08.2012

My SAS Idea 11
Launched 13 June 2012
In six days:
– 500+ registered members
– 400+ ideas
– 2000+ votes
Open for customers as well as employees
Employees have access to ”internal” ideas
Only the most popular ideas will be evaluated
Top-management buy-in has been essential
Signals a completely new way of working with innovation
31.08.2012

How to succeed in social media 12
Find your “enthusiast”
Set your goals
Allocate resources – Facebook is not free
Find your tone-of-voice & live up to it
Be among the 1%
– 90% reads content / 9% likes&comments / 1% produces the content
Be honest
Set clear guidelines for your employees
Follow up
31.08.2012

Christian H.F. Kamhaug
Account Manager
Current Position
Christian Kamhaug joined Gambit H+K in August 2012, and works primarily on digital
communications with a focus on social relations and concept development. He has
already worked on projects for clients in sectors such as travel & tourism, IT, oil & gas,
financial services and FMCG.
Prior history
Christian was previously the Head of Social Media at Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), within
corporate communications. As globally responsible for social media at the airline, he was
in charge of strategic as well as tactical use of social media channels at SAS, having
introduced social communications at SAS in 2009.
He has a long and varied background in the airline industry, from Scandinavian Airlines in
Norway and Sweden, regional carrier Widerøe and low-cost carrier Norwegian. In addition
to social media, he has experience from revenue & network management, eCommerce,
business development and ancillary revenue. Gambit Hill+Knowlton Strategies
Fridtjof Nansens plass 4
Oslo, Norway 0160
Christian holds a masters degree in management from the Norwegian School of T: +47 220 48 200
M: +47 90 25 51 68
Management, where he majored in Information Management, with a special focus on
christian.kamhaug@hkstrategies.com
eCommerce
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