Social Media Marketing: A Case Study on Jet
1
Prof.Kavitha
Venkatachari, IBS
Mumbai
Airways
Abstract:
Social media marketing has begun to play an increasingly
important role in the Service Industry, particularly the Travel
2
Aziz German Wala,
PGPM
& Tourism industry. This study studies the usefulness of
social networking services, micro blogs and social commerce
sites in the field of tourism in India. This study shows that
airline companies make a substantial amount of profits from
their investments in social media marketing activities. Jet
Airways, a leading airline in India, uses a variety of social
media
for
effective
social
marketing
activities.
By
understanding the characteristics of each social medium, the
effectiveness of the company’s marketing activities is
maximized. As such, this case study provides opportunities to
understand
consumer
behaviors
influenced
by
new
information technologies in the travel & tourism industry.
This study presents the effectiveness of the social media
marketing in a case study of Jet airways which is adopted
several strategies at very early stage.
Keywords: Social media marketing; Internet marketing;
Micro blogging; Social networking site.
Introduction:
Social media based on openness, connectedness, and
participation is reshaping the business paradigm. Today a
1
Faculty of Information
large number of people use a form of social networking
Technology, Mumbai.
services, such as Facebook, Myspace, and LinkedIn for their
kavitav@ibsindia.org
personal and or professional function of life. As the consumer
2
2014 Batch Student,IBS
recognizes the role social media plays and its popularity
Mumbai,
grows, the tourism industry has invested in the strategic
aziz.german@yahoo.com
application of social marketing through social media.
For example, Tourism Australia recently
interviews. Experts in the field have stated
developed marketing programs through
that case study is “a strategy for doing
Facebook and went beyond general online
research which involves an empirical
advertising. Continental Airlines, a leading
investigation of a particular contemporary
airline company, maintains a constant
phenomenon within its real life context
interaction with customers by using instant
using multiple sources of evidence.”
messages
from
Although it may not be possible to portray
or
the whole context, a generalized idea can
to
information
answer
-seeking
questions
customers
“followers”.
be partly confirmed in a case study based
Therefore, it is critical to understand
on
consumer behavior depending on changes
2002).Likewise, using a case study of Jet
of new information technologies, because
Airways for this research could be useful
social media marketing is playing an
for the purpose of verifying a generalized
increasingly important role in hospitality
concept of social media marketing in
and tourism field (Chan and Guillet, 2011;
travel industry.
Xiang and Gretzel, 2010).While there is a
The research consisted of observations in
growing interest in social media marketing
(Phase I) and interviews in (Phase
in the tourism industry, the degree to
II).During Phase I, a series of observations
which and the quantity of academic studies
were
focused on the topic are negligible. By
marketing activities from March 2011to
examining how different social networking
April 2012. And the online advertisements
services are used in the case study of Jet
related to Jet Airways’ social media
Airways, this study does not only provide
marketing were reviewed and analyzed. In
academic foundation through exploratory
the course of Phase I, the interview
approach with a case study, but also
framework for Phase II was developed as
present managerial implications in the
well. During Phase II, interviews were
strategic application of social media
conducted with a couple of marketing
marketing in tourism.
personnel of Jet Airways.
Review of Literature
There are three types of interviews that
Research Method
could be potentially considered: fully
The Research methods used in this case
structured,
study
unstructured interviews (Robson, 2002). A
consisted
of
observations
and
particular
made
phenomenon
of
Jet
(Robson,
Airways’
semi-structured,
social
and
fully structured interview is based on
•
What are the strategies for each
predetermined questions similar to survey
social media, such as Twitter, Face
questionnaires, and is an opposite concept
book, and Social Commerce etc?
of open response questions. A semistructured
interview
•
includes
predetermined questions, and yet semi-
What events do you promote to the
customer, using social media?
•
What are the customer profiles of
structured interview takes a more flexible
the participants in social media
format and may switch the order of
marketing campaigns?
questions and add explanations as needed.
•
What are the benefits by doing
In contrast to structured interviews, an
social
unstructured interview doesn’t have a
company?
marketing
for
your
preset of questions or formats and may
Case Study Of Jet Airways, The No.1
involve a casual conversation about a
Among Indian Airlines For Social
specific topic. Among the types of
Media Practice:
interviews, a semi-structured interview
About the company:
was selected for the study because it was
Jet Airways was formed in 1992,
deemed important to make interviewees
following the open skies policy enunciated
feel
The
by the Indian government in 1992.Jet
interview process included the main and
Airways currently operates a fleet of 83
follow up interviews with marketing
aircraft, including 10 Boeing 777-300 ER
managers of Jet Airways in May 2012 and
aircraft, 12 Airbus A330-200 aircraft, 47
November 2012, respectively. Table 1
next generation Boeing 737-700/800/900
provides the outline of semi-structured
aircraft, and 14 modern ATR 72-500
interview questions.
turboprop aircraft. With an average fleet
Table: 1 Outline of Semi-structured
age of 4.57 years, the airline has one of the
Interview Questions:
youngest aircraft fleet in the world.
•
•
comfortable
(Cha
2009).
Please describe marketing activities
Flights to 64 destinations span the length
adopted by you in the area of
and breadth of India and beyond, including
online and social media marketing?
New York (both JFK and
How does your company manage
Toronto, Brussels, London (Heathrow),
these
Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur,
social
activities?
media
marketing
Newark),
Colombo, Bangkok & many more.
customer preference and needs through
Objective of the study:
individual
•
•
•
•
How
are
the
social
customers
(Weber, 2007). Using real-time online
marketing activities of Jet Airways
communication tools available on such
managed?
social networking sites,
How is Customer analysis done by
maintains a friendly relationship with its
the company?
customers. Lastly, social commerce sites
What are the issues in Brand health
allow customers to make a direct purchase
and awareness and how are they
online during a limited time period (Rad
addressed?
and Benyoucef, 2010). A jet airway is
What is the rate of return on
offering its products for purchase through
investment and potential revenue
Autonomy Interwoven. Customers who’ve
through social media marketing
had positive experiences with social
tools employed by the company?
commerce
each social medium when using social
for
marketing
purposes.
For
example, micro-blogs such as Twitter is a
very
with
media
It is important to understand the nature of
media
interaction
powerful
platform
to
spread
information quickly to as many people as
possible (Zhao and Rosson, 2009). Jet
Airways takes advantage of this property
of Twitter and posts products which have
approaching deadlines in need of quick
sales. The success of social marketing
through Twitter can be seen by the sheer
number of followers of the Jet Airways
Tour on Twitter.
On the other hand, in addition to Twitter,
social networking sites such as Facebook
are used in order to provide more detailed
information to customers and to identify
voluntarily
Jet Airways
visit
social
commerce sites. This allows Jet Airways
to jump start on social commerce business
with
minimal
investment.
By
understanding the distinct characteristics
of each social medium, the effectiveness of
company’s
marketing
maximized.
Moreover,
efforts
social
is
media
marketing serve as an additional revenue
source for the company through social
commerce.
Detailed
marketing
process
includes
providing travel information services twice
a day on Twitter or Facebook and
promotional events twice a month through
other social media by the company staff.
Products with approaching deadlines are
typically sold at special rates through
social commerce sites. Customer inquiries
are addressed via social media, email and
that age groups of those who made online
phone services, in order to improve the
purchases through Jet airway’s Twitte
Twitter or
customer relations. Moreover, offering
Facebook.People in their 20s ( 27 %) and
rewards during or after a travel, customer
30s (70%)
%) constituted the majority of on
on-
satisfaction is increased which
h often leads
line customer base. Interestingly, there
to repurchase through social media
media.
were more on-line
line customers in their 50s
Customer Analysis:
(10%)
%) than those in their 40s (12%). It is
A comparative analysis of the customers
explained that the Internet access in India
who typically purchase products off-line
off
is easily available to people in their 50s
and those using social media provides
who tend to have financial stability and
important findings. While the people in
more free time. No significant difference is
their 40s or more purchased products offoff
found in gender, however; over 70% of
line, people in their 20s and 30s bought
those using social commerce are female in
products using social media sites and
their 20s and 30s. Potential customers can
considered price more than the quality of
be identified
dentified based on this analysis.
product (Günther et al., 2009) .It
It is found
Age
Kingfisher Jet Airways
4
10
13-20
40
27
20-30
79
71
30-40
33
28
40-50
3
10
50andabove
Table: 2 Customer Analysis (Source: Simplify 360)
Figure: 2 Customer Analysis (Source: Simplify 360)
This table gives us the likes and dislikes of
for
customers
on
various
concerns and requirements of Indian
Customers
like
good
parameters.
looking
Jet
Airways.
Understanding
the
and
customers, Jet Airways took step to
courteous staff, Punctuality and excellent
address those and its consistent delivery in
customer management. However they do
a credible and efficient way more than any
not like high pricing.
advertisement could have ever done.
While the initial endorsement built the
Brand Awareness:
brand awareness in the market, the
Jet Airways has built its brand by focusing
subsequent
on the ingredients required to realize its
passengers had with Jet Airways helped to
stated corporate mission – to be the most
cement close ties. This positive experience
preferred airlines in India. When Jet
spread by word of mouth among the
Airways
Indian
various segments of the market. It created
Airlines was the market leader and was a
a buzz about Jet Airway’s impeccable
virtual monopoly
oly as it was state owned.
service, its friendly staff and it’s on time
Indian Airlines had built a reputation for
flights. All of this enhanced Jet Airways’
providing pathetic service, delayed flights,
image in the eyes of its prospective
bad food and grumpy and irresponsible
customers.
entered
the
market,
brand
experience
that
staff. These things initially made it easy
Airlines
Kingfisher
Jet Airways
Table:
80.00%
Positive Sentiments
3
Brand
Negative Sentiments
Neutral Sentiments
67.37%
5.04%
27.59%
55.71%
13.71%
30.58%
Health
Comparisons
(Source:
Simplify
67.37%
55.71%
60.00%
40.00%
20.00%
27.59%
30.58%
Positive Sentiments
Negative Sentiments
13.71%
5.04%
Neutral Sentiments
0.00%
Kingfisher
Jet Airways
Figure: 3 Brand health Comparison between KingFisher and Jetairways
360)
Figure: 4 Number of conversations across the web (Source: Simplify 360)
The analysis of the effectiveness of social media Usage:
Table: 4 Measurement Metrics for Social media marketing (Hoffman and Fodor
2010)
Jet Airways regularly updates on Face
allowance). They have uploaded pictures
book and Twitter about their latest travel
on image sharing sites such as Flickr and
deals and offers new flight announcements
videos on YouTube to showcase their in-
interesting
Queries/
flight features. First-time fliers of this
Redressal (about flight timings, luggage
airline can now get an insight of
places
to
visit
entertainment and other features offered on
and Kingfisher Airlines. Together, they
their flights. Another reason why airlines
accounted for 72 percent of the total
are watching the social media closely is
volume of results. As observed in many
the factt that 75 per cent of frequent flyers
other scenarios, the Pareto rule is found to
would fly an airline if it is recommended
be true here. (This rule states that, for
by a friend, rather than flying the cheapest
many events, roughlyy 80 percent of the
one, as per MindShift data.Face
Face book
effects come from 20 percent of the
followers 64,222 and Twitter followers
causes.)Jet Airways and Indigo Airlines
4,348.
come in at the third and fourth positions
The two most prominent carriers in India
by volume
me on social media are Air India
respectively. JetLite and Spice Jet were
found in a very low number of results.
Figure: 5 Social Engagement Matrix
According
to
the
recent
study
by
beautifully synchronized their presence
Buzzom.com on Indian Airlines, Jet
across
Airways has emerged as the most active
Facebook, Twitter, You tube
tube, Flickr,
domestic airline on social media, followed
Foursquare and LinkedIn. They have also
by other airlines like spice Jet,, Kingfisher,
Kingfisher
started using QR codes.
Air India, Indigo and Go Air. When the
online
conversations
about
various
domestic airlines were studied. Jet has
social
media
platforms
like
various products like Jet Mobile, check-in
options, online booking etc. Aside from
that, Jet are also running contests on the
regular
basis
around
events
like
Valentine’s Day, Women’s Day etc.,
throughout the year.
Figure:5 Share of a voice(Source:Simplify 360)
It has also launched an affiliate marketing
programme as part of the airline's new
digital
partners
marketing
may
strategy.
integrate
Jet
Affiliate
Airways'
booking engine on their site and allow
visitors to book tickets online. Apart from
getting direct access to the airline's
customized
booking
engine,
affiliate
partners also get promotional content and
banners on a regular basis. Hence, Jet
Airways, as one of the early adopters of
Twitter
Jet uses Twitter to engage with their
customers by responding to their queries
or complaints and updating them on recent
news. No wonder they have the largest
follower base among Indian Airlines with
more
than
8,400
followers,
consequently a high klout score of 53.
They re tweet the positive tweets and try to
help address the problems in case of
complaints or queries. .
this model in India, could be setting the
YouTubeJet has its official channel on
stage for others to follow suit.
YouTube but they haven’t been able to
Face book
and
leverage on this platform yet. They have
lot to learn from rival Kingfisher Airline’s
On last count, Jet had 211,369 fans on
you tube channel which has more than
their Face book page, the highest among
460,000 channel views. They seriously
Indian Airlines. Some of the features on
need to create some interesting videos
their Facebook page are information on
which viewers feel like sharing with their
special offers, convenience of booking on
social networks.
Face book through a widget, customized
landing page for new fans to get an
LinkedInJet
overview of the airline , flying tips for
company page on LinkedIn. Again, Jet is
their guests, crisis updates, awareness of
the first airline in India to showcase its
also
recently
created
a
products on LinkedIn, keeping guests
JetWings
(the
in-flight
flight
magazine),
updated with the latest initiatives and
business cards, press advertisements, etc.
additional services to enhance
nhance their travel
To access information, users simply need
experience. The LinkedIn initiative will
to scan (take a picture) of the QR code
help make the airline an integral part of
(using a QR code reader) with their
their guests’ (especially the corporate
Smartphone which will redirect them to
customers’) travel plans and also increase
Jet’s mobile site.
awareness among individuals who seek to
experience its services. 2800+ followers
on LinkedIn Page.
Flickr
Jet also has a presence on Flickr where
they upload day to day pictures of the Jet’s
QR Codes
culture, whether it be their ground staff,
cabin crew etc. This has been done to have
a peek into daily life of Jet which
represents a cool image. Although they are
yett to gain some substantial traffic to
Flickr but continuous updates show their
commitment. What comes out from all this
Jet has also been the early adopter of QR
analysis is that Jet is very clear with its
codes.. It provides synopsis of product
social media strategy and this is how a
features, advertisements, etc with QR
brand should openly approach and adopt
codes across our various communication
social media practices into its DNA.
channels including its Face book pages,
Year ended 31st March
Traffic parameters
2012
2011
Departures (Number)
41,992
39,003
Available seat kilometers (ASKMs) (Million)
5,829
5481
Revenue
ue passenger (RPKMs)(Million)
4,543
4,340
Passenger load factor (%)
77.9
79.2
Revenue passengers (Number)
4,794,658
4,332,469
(Source: Simplify 360)
use social media marketing tools in hotel
Conclusion:
and travel business.
This study presents the effectiveness of
social media marketing in a case study of
References:
Jet Airways, which adopted several social
media marketing strategies from the early
on. First ,different social networking sites,
micro blogging and social commerce tools
provide distinct features which should be
catered
to
meet
purposes.Therefore,the
different
application
of
social media marketing strategies requires
extensive research on target population
and through planning efforts. This study
shows that companies make substantial
profits from their investments in social
media marketing efforts. As shown in the
case study of Jet Airways, social media
marketing enhances the brand awareness
Bansal, G., and Chen, L (2011). “If they
Trust our E-commerce Site, Will They
Trust our Social Commerce Site Too?
Differentiating the Trust in Ecommerce
and S-commerce: The Moderating Role of
Privacy
and
Security
Proceedings
of
Association
for
the
.Concerns,”
6th
Midwest
Information
Systems
Conference, Omaha, Nebraska.
Boyd, D., and Ellison, N. (2007). Social
Network Sites: Definition, History, and
Scholarship,
Journal
of
Computer-
Mediated Communication, 13 (1), 210230.
by engaging customers directly. Social
media marketing is not only a marketing
Cha, J. H. (2009). A Case Study: ‘L’
tool but also a significant profit generator.
Casino in Liverpool and the Chinese
The use of social media is expected to
Leisure Community, International Journal
grow, therefore the hospitality and tourism
of Tourism Sciences, 9 (2)23-40.
industry should positively adopting social
media marketing in their business model.
This study is expected to contribute to
social media marketing related studies and
provide a cornerstone for similar future
empirical studies. In practice this study
could present the practical view on how to
Chan, N. L., and Guillet, B. D. (2011).
Investigation of Social Media Marketing:
How Does the Hotel Industry in Hong
Kong Perform in Marketing on Social
Media Websites?. Journal of Travel &
Tourism Marketing, 28 (4), 345-368.
Günther H., Krasnova D., and Schöndienst
Rad A., and Benyoucef M. (2010). A
V. (2009). Modeling Microblogging
Model for Understanding Social
Adoption in the Enterprise. Proceedings of
Commerce, Conference on Information
the Fifteenth Americas Conference on
Systems Applied Research. Nashville,
Information Systems, San Francisco,
Tennessee.
California.
Hoffman, D. L., and Fodor, M. (2010).
Can You Measure the ROI of Your Social
Media Marketing?, MIT Sloan
Management Review, 52 (1),41-49.
Honeycutt, C., and Herring, S. C. (2009).
Beyond Micro-blogging:Conversation and
collaboration via Twitter, Proceedings of
the 42nd Hawaii International Conference
on System Sciences IEEE, Big Island,
Hawaii.
Michaelidou, N., Siamagka, N. T., and
Christodoulides, G. (2011). Usage,Barriers
and measurement of Social Media
Marketing: An Exploratory Investigation
of Small and Medium B2B
Brands,Industrial Marketing Management,
40 (4), 1153-1159.
Qualman, E. (2009). Socialnomics: How
Social Media Transforms the Way We
Live and Do Business, Hoboken, New
Jersey, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.