Kansas City International Airport uses social media to engage with passengers, find problems, and provide timely responses. Their #RaceAcrossMO campaign, where an airport representative raced a Porsche across Missouri, gained significant attention. London Gatwick Airport uses a mix of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other networks to share airport information with passengers throughout their journey. Aberdeen Airport launched social media to communicate during a crisis and now uses it for dialogue, promoting its brand and services.

1. Best Airlines Driving Revenue
Best Airport in Social Media
Finalist Presentations
from Social Media
Finalist Presentations

2. Best Airport in Social Media
Finalist
Aberdeen Airport
United Kingdom
http://simpliflying.com

3. Aberdeen Airport - Simpliflying 2012

4. Our social media mission statement:
Dialogue dialogue dialogue

5. Passenger facing social media
• Launched to communicate with passengers during a crisis (the infamous ‘ash cloud’ of
2010) but it quickly emerged that a brand new way of communicating had been
unlocked.
• Each of the airport duty manager has been trained to respond out of hours, allowing
passengers to get answers to their questions whenever they arise.
• First and foremost, we use social media as a service to engage in a dialogue with
passengers.
• It also allows us to promote our own products and services. For example, the day during
which the airport saw the greatest number of downloads of the new mobile app was on
the day when a link to the mobile app page was push out on Facebook and Twitter.
• A great tool to communicate trusted messages to the media, freeing up the
communications team during a crisis.
• More than doubled our Facebook fans since the start of the year, massive growth.

6. Staff facing social media
• Launched at the start of 2012 to add an extra strand to the staff communications
strategy.
• Used to simply alert staff to the presence of a new communication message in one of
our existing channels. As an example, we would never publish the details of a newly
agreed pay deal on our Facebook page, but we would use Facebook to remind staff to
look in their daily briefing sheet for a pay deal update next time they are on shift.
• Used to promote staff social events, meanwhile staff are encouraged to promote their
own social/charitable events on it.
• Launched from a desire to create a communications channel that was more personal
and relaxed, whilst remaining trusted and informative.

7. Our commitment
• Social media should always be used to engage people in a real and honest
conversation.
• We commit to always properly engaging with compliments, suggestions, enquiries and
complaints, with a timely response. Any issues will be passed on to the correct
department or person, so the conversation doesn’t end at the point of logging off.
• We will use social media to communicate in times of crisis.
• We will provide valuable and tangible benefits for followers. “What do they get from
following us?” This comes in the form of timely and relevant responses, latest news and
information, and a variety marketing/commercial messages.
• We always take language and tone very seriously. Passengers/staff should feel as if
they are speaking to a friend.

8. Some of the views of our passengers
• Mark Elrick @dollydigital : Who 'does' Twitter right? Which companies
and business engage with followers correctly. Not just as a marketing
tool. Big or small. #Curious Reply from a follower: @ABZ_Airport use it
well. (cont) I've asked question about travelling and had prompt answer.
• “See when I get back to Aberdeen I want to heartily shake the hand of whoever
operates the @abz_airport account..(cont)..For an account promoting an airport
it's amazingly light-hearted especially in winter :P”
• “helpful informative and friendly. And very useful in the bad weather. Plus, we
get to appreciate behind the scenes efforts!”
• “Your updates are more accurate and frequent than the airlines”.

9. And finally..
• We wont take ourselves too seriously.
• We must be prepared to take the complaints as well as the compliments.
• We will engage with other airport colleagues to find out the REAL answer to
questions.
• We will keep dialogues open as much as possible.

11. Best Airport in Social Media
Finalist
Warsaw Chopin Airport
Poland
http://simpliflying.com

12. An Air of Culture
Chopin Airport in social media
Sylwester Puczen
Przemys aw Przybylski
Warsaw, 22.08.2012

13. Why we need social media
- To build awareness of the Chopin Airport brand and promote
Warsaw and Poland around the world
- To have easier access to opinions from passengers, spotters,
local communities etc.
- To be able to easily communicate with passengers and provide
them with immediate assistance
2

14. Facebook
Two pages:
- Polish language – 17,528 fans
- English language – 2,927 fans
• Chopin Airport is the most popular check-in location in Poland
with 62,642 check-ins
• Big fan activity – 37.87% from January to August 2012
• Joint initiatives with spotters – cleaning the area around the
airport, an open day
3

15. Twitter
• One of the ten most popular
airport accounts in the world
(22,500 followers)
• One of the fastest growing
airport accounts on Twitter
(December 2011 – 1,000
followers, August 2012 –
22,500 followers)
• Recognition in Poland and
abroad – positive media
coverage
• 56.49 Klout score for the last
90 days
4

16. Google+
• One of the first two airport accounts
• One of the most popular airport accounts on G+ - 272 fans
5

17. Pinterest
• One of the first airports on the site
6

18. Foursquare
One of the most popular check-in locations in Poland – 23,350
check-ins
7

19. YouTube
249.186 video views
8

20. Best Airport in Social Media
Finalist
Kansas City International Airport
USA
http://simpliflying.com

21. KANSAS CITY
INTERNATIONAL
AIRPORT
SimpliFlying Social MEDIA
SOCIAL
Media Presentation
PRESENTATION
@KCIairport
Facebook.com/kansascityinternationalairport

22. A LOOK AT SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE
 On a day to day basis KCI uses social media to:
 Listen for conversations going on about the airport
 Be helpful and provide useful information for followers and fans
 Over 90% of Tweets sent out are responses to conversations taking place
about the airport, and not a broadcast of marketing and PR messages
 Used to find out about and fix problems
 Parking shuttles frequently running late, graffiti in the restrooms, a bathroom door
blocked by a line to a Starbucks
 Responsive to complaints on airport design (cot’d on next slide)

23. A LOOK AT SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE
 KCI Airport was designed in the 1960s before modern security requirements
 Post-Security there are very limited food options and often times cramped spaces
 Our customers are vocal about the design and go to Twitter to complain
 Honest responses to complaints turn annoyed airport users into brand advocates
 Comedian Todd Barry went on David Letterman and talked about his interaction with @KCIairport

24. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU RACE A
PORSCHE AND A 737 ACROSS THE STATE
OF MISSOURI? … A LOT OF GREAT
SOCIAL MEDIA BUZZ!

25. #RACE ACROSS MO – THE CHALLENGE
 A race from One Kansas City Place (2nd tallest building in Missouri) to
the St. Louis Arch (tallest)

26. #RACE ACROSS MO – THE RULES
1. Airport Rep (Justin Meyer - @KCJetSetter) must arrive at
KCI the recommended 1hr prior to departure on September
26, 2011
2. Justin could not use private transportation (i.e. own car at all)
3. The car could not speed
(tracked by Garmin)
4. Race begun at 9:30 am

27. #RACE ACROSS MO – TWITTER PROMO

28. #RACE ACROSS MO – FACEBOOK PROMO

29. #RACE ACROSS MO – MEDIA BUZZ

30. #RACE ACROSS MO
 The Result:
 KCI Airport won!
 Campaign Aftermath
 Several Trending Topics
 150+ new followers
 200+ direct mentions
 100,000+ impressions

31. #RACE ACROSS MO
 Benefit to KCI and Carriers
 Noticeable decline in short haul pax on flights under 500 miles over the last 10 years
 Helped educate the public that perceived “hassles”
of air travel experience are unfounded
 In Q4 2011 and Q1 2012 Southwest Airlines
reported a 9.3% increase in onboard passenger
revenue for MCI-STL over the previous year,
despite a small drop in pax direction each way

32. ADDITIONAL EXCITING EVENTS
 FedEx donated a 727 to the KCI Fire Department for training exercises
 Held a ceremony for the donation and invited #AvGeeks (self proclaimed aviation
geeks) from the community to help us celebrate
 Created a #KCI727 hash tag and live-tweeted photos and videos from the ceremony
 80,000+ impressions gained from the hash tag and event

33. INITIATIVES TO WATCH FOR
 Currently in discussions with airport vendors and concessionaires to
set up Foursquare and Facebook places discounts
 Examining ways to drive parking revenue by making our current parking
rewards program more social

34. THANK YOU
 Joe McBride – Senior Manager, Marketing and Communications
 Joe.McBride@kcmo.org
 Kathleen Hefner – Manager, Marketing and Communications
 Kathleen.Hefner@kcmo.org
 Jaspreet Singh – Intern, Marketing and Communications
 Jaspreet.Singh@kcmo.org

35. Best Airport in Social Media
Finalist
London Gatwick Airport
United Kingdom
http://simpliflying.com

36. The social media journey
through Gatwick
2012 Simpliflying Awards submission
1

37. The role of social media at Gatwick
• Rather than just being a promotional or customer
services tool, social media is built into every stage of the
passenger journey
• A mixture of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Qype,
Foursquare, mobile barcodes and (most recently)
Soundcloud are deployed with three overall objectives:
1. To bring the 'new' Gatwick post it's £1 billion investment
programme to life
2. To improve the passenger experience by using social media
to impart information
3. To give passengers a way to feedback to Gatwick, and to give
us the chance to resolve any problems, often in 'real time'
2

38. How we use our arsenal of different
social networks
• We mix and match content
on our social media
channels to reach
passengers at different
stages of their journey:
• Trip planning and pre
departure
• At the airport
• Once passengers return
3

39. Trip planning and pre departure
• Our passengers can learn about new routes, and also
take part in competitions / promotions via our Facebook
page
• They can be inspired and informed about what's going on
at Gatwick through the images shared on Instagram
• They can read about the latest developments at Gatwick
on our Tumblr blog
• They can research shops and restaurants to visit while at
the airport by looking at consumer reviews on Qype
4

40. At the airport
• Passengers interact with us on Twitter, our main
customer services channel
• They check in on Foursquare, often unlocking special
offers from retailers in the process
• They can leave feedback on retailers and restaurants
via Qype
• If they have children, they can download an exclusive
series of stories from Soundcloud
5

41. Once they’ve come back
• They can leave comments about their Gatwick
experience through Twitter and on Facebook
• They can upload pictures onto their Facebook page and
upload and tag them on Instagram
6

42. Facebook
• We use Facebook as a way of
show-casing what is happening at
the airport, and also to support our
airline and retail partners
• New routes are promoted through
Facebook. We also have been
running a summer shopping
campaign, where every two weeks
we give someone the opportunity
to win £200 in shopping vouchers
• Though not as prevalent as
Twitter, we also field a certain
amount of customer services
queries 7

43. Tumblr
• Tumblr is the world's most popular
blogging platform. Our Tumblr site
(www.gatwickairport.tumblr.com) was
the first airport tumblr in Europe
• Tumblr's very visual scrapbook style,
lends itself to communicating airport
news and developments in a setting
that is more informal and accessible
to passengers than a press release
page
• As a result, we regularly upload short
posts about everything from our
Soundcloud audio-book campaign to
new routes 8

44. Instagram
• Instagram is the world's largest
mobile social network with 80+
million users.
• We embraced the network when it
was small and were the first airport
worldwide to have a feed.
• We regularly repost passenger
images of Gatwick and show
Gatwick news through photos. We
also organised a day trip for
Instagram's most active users in
London, generating unique content
from the day
9

45. Qype
• Qype is Europe's largest review
and listings service, with 20+
million visits a month
• We've partnered with Qype to
bring the Qype API into the
Gatwick website, sourcing a
restaurant listing for example will
also give you that venue's Qype
reviews
• We were the first airport in Europe
to roll out a ratings programme of
this nature, and all reviews - good
and bad - are left up on site for all
to see 10

46. Foursquare
• So far there have been 100,000
foursquare check-ins at Gatwick,
40,000 offer claims
• Evidence also shows that people
who check into Foursquare retail
locations spend more. As a
result, we have been working
with our retail partners to run
specials across the network
• As a next step, we are looking to
tailor Foursquare tips and offers
to different nationalities passing
through the airport
11

47. Twitter
• Twitter is our front line customer services channel. The
idea is that we monitor the channel out of hours as well
as during office hours, and aim to resolve passenger
concerns and issues often in real time
• Twitter is also deployed during peak periods - for
example the Olympics, during industrial action by
immigration staff and during bad weather / snow
• During these peak periods we've sometimes had to field
hundreds of Twitter queries an hour
• Monitors and signs around the airport actively
encourage passengers to call us out via our Twitter
handle (@gatwick_airport)
12

48. Soundcloud
• We were the first airport worldwide
to work with audio social network
Soundcloud
• Over the summer, authors have had
the chance to submit kids' short
stories, which we have then turned
into audiobooks for parents to
download at and before they get to
the airport
• In August 2012 we had 60+ authors
send us their stories and generated
significant pick-up in literary, travel
and social media communities
online 13

49. Some key results
• Two years ago we had 4,000 Twitter followers and a Klout score of 16.
Now we have 33,000 followers and a score of 60
• Over the past year, the size of our Facebook community has tripled to
10,000 fans
• We were the first airport worldwide on Instagram, the first in Europe
on Soundcloud, Tumblr and Qype
• Over 100,000 check ins at Foursquare locations, 40,000 offers claimed
• 1,600 followers on Instagram - 4,500+ images tagged #gatwick or
#gatwick airport
• Our social media campaigns have offline extensions. For example,
we regularly use QR codes to point passengers towards content
• By using a mix of networks that talk with passengers at different
stages, we're underpinning out commitment to becoming London's
airport of choice, as well as being a leader in social media worldwide
14

50. Best Airport in Social Media
Finalist
Helsinki Airport
Finland
http://simpliflying.com

51. Quality Hunters
Season 2
By Helsinki Airport
With Finnair and Miltton

52. tion
Ou r Loca

53. Could we improve the customer
experience and service quality
not only FOR
but also WITH
our customers?

54. Background – QH Season 2
In a continuous drive to offer better and more convenient
connections between Asia and Europe, the Quality Hunters
Season 2 was ready to start.
Recognizing that it is not just about a super-efficient
airport and the shortest possible route, we were
searching for ideas large and small to make travelling
convenient, pleasant, and hassle-free.

55. Background – Total of 8 Hunters
The most coveted job of the year was given to 8 innovative,
inspiring and creative Hunters who took on the task of
traveling and developing the via Helsinki route between
Asia and Europe into the most innovative and convenient
way to travel.
Each hunter was given a specific theme to monitor and
develop, and asked to find ingenious ideas for improving the
overall travel experience.

56. See QH2 video on YouTube
Click here to go to YouTube!
(Requires Internet connection)

57. Goals
• Biggest crowdsourcing effort in the service
industry ever
• Promoting Via Helsinki as the fastest way to
travel between Asia and Europe
• Driving recognition of the brands of Helsinki
Airport and Finnair
• Development of a community
• International coverage

58. Enhancing the whole customer journey
Arrival to the terminal
Before
Entrance Check in
Security check Airside Boarding
Arrival Baggage claim Leaving the airport

59. Everybody can join the discussion!
Recruitment Sharing
www.qualityhunters2.com
Platform
Central Channel

60. Shortlisted ideas
We got total of 260 ideas...
Fresh deli mobile
Boarding bracelet Finnish Asian fusion kitchen
Meat free Monday
unit Airport Explorer
An ongoing online service development platform
Service app audiobooks or e-magazines Organising random
business meetings Magazine and book swap
Theme flights Acknowledge birthdays and anniversaries Destination information
New meal options for the airport and flights Activity / action centre
A public place of the arts and performances strategic
theming of gatesAirport Hostel On-board private hiding place Micro communication
at all touchpoints Develop announcements at the airport and
onboard Helsinki Airport themed products Communication cards on plane Bring Finnish
nature to the airport Airport casino

61. Examples of implementation
Idea: A public place of the arts
and performances
!Design Gallery ready in January
2012
!Three more galleries also ready in
2012
Idea: Bring Finnish nature to the
airport
! Design security lines ready in April
2012

62. Examples of implementation
Idea: On-board private hiding place
!Ready in May 2012
Idea: Magazine and book swap
!Ready in June 2012

63. Example of Crowdsourcing
• The Helsinki Airport Book Swap Station
is designed by the QH2 Community on
Twitter and Pinterest

64. Thank you!
www.facebook.com/helsinkiairport
www.twitter.com/helsinkiairport
www.twitter.com/qualityhunters
www.youtube.com/flyviahelsinki
www.helsinkiairport.fi
www.finavia.fi

65. The End
Look forward to the final results to be announced
on 3 October 2012 on http://simpliflying.com