Lufthansa embraces mobile

We saw an interesting case study today from Cybermedia one of the companies we met as part of our C-Scout Tour, on Lufthansa, who recently set up a mobile website with the aim of engaging a younger audience, raising awareness of the brand amongst this audience and countering a consumer perception that they are too expensive. Theirs is a long term strategy which they are hoping will in time lead to sales and loyalty to the airline.

In developing their mobile site they used all of the usual tools that you would expect in order to reach this audience - games, wallpaper, screen savers, City Guides, downloadable music to name a few. A key to gaining traction was getting the site included on carriers deck's. This requires a specialist to negotiate the tricky path of carrier negotiations however once a site is listed it is very hard for it to be removed. Content is then refreshed regularly. For instance, new games may be introduced every 3 months and the whole site may be refreshed every 6 months based on consumer feedback. Theirs is a long term investment and they have some way to go but its interesting to see how this channel is being utilised for brand activity.

Another interesting case study we saw detailed how the Australian Tourism Board who ran a 3 week test on social network site Mixi that targeted groups who talked about Australia and their desire to travel there. The deal incorporated community management, email and paid for media space that promoted special deals to Australia. And the result? 15-20% of those who registered went on to buy tickets. Again, its curious to see how brands are using these channels to drive awareness and sales. It requires indepth knowledge of the audience and what they will respond to, as well as a willingness by brands to try something different but for those that persevere it seems there are new audiences and sales, to be found.