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UNDER THE WING & BEHIND THE SCENES
Now celebrating it second birthday, Delta’s blog “Under the Wing” serves as an effective medium to maintain open and direct conversations with its target audience: Delta frequent flyers, customers worldwide and industry insiders.
Delta is the world’s number one airline and is more focused than ever on engaging its customers. As such, Under the Wing is an essential communications vehicle and provides an in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at the company’s operations, destinations and marketing initiatives. Authors on blog.delta.com range from celebrities to Delta flight attendants, executives, aircraft maintenance employees, front-line representatives and many others.
Under the Wing is a key platform used to announce major company milestones, specifically Delta’s merger with Northwest Airlines and the airline’s revamped safety video, which features the now-famous “Deltalina” and garnered more than 1.4 million views on YouTube. Under the Wing also updates customers on Delta’s biggest initiatives, including mobile check in, in-flight Wi-Fi, upgraded airport kiosks, and updates to the SkyMiles program. In addition to supporting corporate initiatives, the blog offers Delta history and trivia, travel tips from flight attendants, and links to its active Flickr photostream, YouTube channel and Twitter feed.
BLOG BEGINNINGS
Delta launched Under the Wing in August 2007 with the following campaign objectives: increase incremental site traffic to delta.com; foster increased brand awareness and loyalty; communicate corporate news and initiatives that reflect the airline’s personality; and extend conversations from marketing efforts, news and promotions in order to gather feedback on customer needs.
It was a rare move for a traditionally conservative industry, but Delta worked internally to develop an organic posting process that met legal requirements yet still reflected its brand personality. And with more than 70,000 employees, maintaining this process would be no easy feat. So, the company developed a Wiki to generate post ideas and detail the posting process and schedule.
Under the Wing has evolved into a fundamental component within the airline’s communication strategy. Delta utilizes it to effectively engage in conversation with its readers in a candid and transparent manner about topics that are essential to the airline’s success. This conversation begins with the post and continues through comments, and when applicable, responses from executives and Delta representatives to address specific issues. Through this dialogue, Delta can better understand customer needs and how the airline can improve corporate initiatives.
BY THE NUMBERS
The numbers speak volumes about Under the Wing’s success in helping Delta achieve corporate goals:
• With almost 1 million visits to blog.delta.com and an average of 30,000 unique visitors per month, the blog serves as a growing tactic in driving incremental traffic to delta.com since its 2007 launch.
• Enabled Delta to communicate directly with customers about corporate news and initiatives. For example, Delta found that its New York customers have a great affinity for the Yankees and Mets. When the airline set its sights on becoming the largest carrier in New York, Delta utilized this knowledge and became the “Official Airline of New York Baseball.” Under the Wing serves as a main communication driver behind this effort, posting regular updates on its Mets and Yankees sponsorship as well as other New York City happenings. As a result, Delta was able to build brand awareness in the market, and in fact, two percent more customers identified Delta as the airline gaining popularity in New York, while Continental and U.S. Airways experienced an 11 and 7 percent drop respectively.
• Increased visibility of Delta’s brand and garnered a significant presence within the blog realm, taking home a 2009 PRSA Bronze Anvil Award, 2009 IAVA Communicator Award of Distinction and a 2009 Interactive Media Outstanding Achievement Award.
• Communicated with and engaged customers on Delta happenings with more than 425 posts on marketing efforts, news, special promotions and more. Experienced 1,300 average RSS feed subscribers and a total of 3,500 reader comments. The typical visitor spends 1-3 minutes on the site.
BLOG BUZZ
Under the Wing has far exceeded Delta’s expectations in helping the airline build brand awareness and communicate corporate news, but don’t just take our word for it. The blog has received positive recognition from customers and media alike.
“Delta’s been our number one airline for at least the past 10 years, and it’s really interesting to see some behind the scenes insight as to what’s going on in and around the airline (as well as outside the airline with posts from Carson Palmer & Jeff Francoeur). It’s also cool that Delta’s reaching out and giving their customers the opportunity to see what’s going on. The history posts and the fleet and IFE updates are my favorites, but I’ve found pretty much everything on the blog so far to be enjoyable in one way or another.” - Delta blog reader
“What I love about this blog is that the people who moderate actually take into account what the readers have to say. Many of us have made suggestions through comments and eventually found our suggestion turn into a reality. That alone is pretty cool. Also, I love the inside look this blog gives us to Delta. It’s a treat for those who are interested in the airline industry.” - Delta blog reader
“Delta has become the latest airline to join the blogosphere after the carrier rolled out its “Under the Wing” blog yesterday… The blog includes an e-mail link for those with story ideas.” USA Today, August 24, 2007
“Delta is using the blog for market research. In the next month, it will post proposed screen shots for its ticket kiosks on the blog for feedback from travelers.” The New York Times, February 8, 2008
“The safety video generated such a buzz after being posted on the Atlanta-based airline’s corporate blog and on the video Web site YouTube that admirers dubbed the 33-year-old Atlanta woman “Deltalina,” a combination of the airline’s name and Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie, who they say she resembles.” Associated Press, March 22, 2008
“By August of last year, Delta.com/change became Under the Wing. Now it is largely a blog for Delta insiders to contribute to, with entries ranging from historical perspectives on subjects such as Delta’s continuing overseas expansion. The blog gained fame when it became a testing spot for a series of in-flight videos produced by Delta on aircraft etiquette (see them at flightglobal.com/¬planeguage).” FlightGlobal Blog, June 18, 2008
TOP TEN MOST POPULAR POSTS
Readers regularly look to Under the Wing to learn the latest on all things Delta. Blog posts are relevant and keep customers up to speed on Delta news and events, introduce them to people behind the scenes and on the frontlines, offer nuggets of airline history and solicit customer feedback. Of course they are all available, archived and categorized for easy viewing at blog.delta.com.
But which posts get the most buzz? Here are the top 10 most popular Under the Wing blog posts in terms of your comments:
1. Enhancing Your Entertainment Experience by Chris Babb (149 comments)
2. In-Flight Entertainment Update & Survey by Chris Babb (76 comments)
3. New SkyMiles Award Structure by Jeff Robertson (67 comments)
4. In-Flight Entertainment: More Planes, More Choices by Chris Babb (59 comments)
5. Medallions and Choice Seats by Shani Nizan (51 comments)
6. Planeguage: The Language of Traveling by Plane by Jaime Jewel (43 comments)
7. Paperless Mobile Check-in Test at LaGuardia by Brian Rutter (39 comments)
8. Your Take: Customer Experience Planning & Development by Jeff Coons (38 comments)
9. The Latest Wings with Wi-Fi: Part XI by Chris Babb (29 comments)
10. New SkyMiles Medallion Program by Jeff Robertson (29 comments)
2009 AND BEYOND
But Delta’s blog is not slowing its momentum anytime soon. The airline is consistently seeking new and better ways to communicate via Under the Wing as social media continues to evolve.
Our focus for the remainder of 2009 is to continue to encourage our employees to request Delta and Northwest customer suggestions, ideas, and thoughts, and to incorporate their blog feedback into Delta’s overall plans for the future. While large corporations like Delta can often be difficult to identify with on a personal level, Under the Wing has proven to be a forum for candid discussion and information, which is particularly essential as we complete our merger with Northwest Airlines. From SkyMiles/Worldperks program integration to onboard potato chip flavor preference, our ultimate goal is to work together to connect customers and employees to make a better airline for everyone.
ABOUT DELTA AIR LINES
Delta Air Lines is the world’s No. 1 airline. From its hubs in Atlanta, Cincinnati, Detroit, Memphis, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York-JFK, Salt Lake City, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Amsterdam and Tokyo-Narita, Delta, its Northwest subsidiary and Delta Connection carriers offer service to 360 destinations in 64 countries and serve more than 170 million passengers each year. Delta’s marketing alliances allow customers to earn and redeem either SkyMiles or WorldPerks on more than 16,000 daily flights offered by SkyTeam and other partners. Delta‘s more than 70,000 employees worldwide are reshaping the aviation industry as the only U.S. airline to offer a full global network. Customers can check in for flights, print boarding passes, check bags and flight status at delta.com.
