Virgin America takes in-flight fun to a new altitude with Squabbler
There's more than one way to skin a cat. Virgin America believes cheap and cheerful promotions can do the trick
Now the recently emerged Squabbler has managed to catch the eye of marketing vice president Porter Gale. Squabbler, which pits users against each other, debating two sides of an argument via 30-second online videos, has launched a Virgin America Squabble Challenge.
To possibly win a free flight, users vote for the video they like best on Virgin America's touchscreen in-flight entertainment system. The voter with the best comment wins.
Porter tells AdAge, " I get pitched all the time. Quite often when we say yes, it's because we see something uniquely tech-driven, that's relevant to our guests." She assesses the pitch, audience reach, low cost, and then tests the chemistry of the two companies in a meeting.
Last September, launching new routes to Cancun and Cabo, in Mexico, the airline allied with check-in service Loopt to offer two-for-one tickets when people checked in at airports in San Francisco and Los Angeles - or at one of many taco trucks.
Ms. Gale said that with promotions like that " we can extend campaigns without a lot of budget." She called it a "reach play."
Virgin America departments talk to each other all the time. The social-media team is two full-time people internally monitoring Facebook and Twitter .
Ms. Gale talks about her "captive audience" of travelers: 53% carry laptops, and 33% of guests log into WiFi. The engagement, therefore, can begin during time in the air.
Virgin America spends 70% of its budget on digital and the trend is growing. "There's an advantage to being early," said Ms Gale..
She told of one passenger passed over for a meal. On seeing his tweet, the new-media team communicated with the pilot, who was able to direct food to the Tweeter right away..