'Flying High' with Digital Media: SWOT Analysis for Virgin America
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Transcript of 'Flying High' with Digital Media: SWOT Analysis for Virgin America
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‘FLYING HIGH’ WITH DIGITAL MEDIA A SWOT ANALYSIS OF VIRGIN AMERICA AIRLINES
Peyton SatterfieldPRCM 3280: Public Relations and Social Media
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A LITTLE BACKGROUND• Subsidiary of Virgin Group
• 25% ownership – 75% VAI Partners• United-States based airline – August 8, 2007• Main hubs:
• San Francisco International Airport• Los Angeles International Airport & Dallas Love Field
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WHO IS RICHARD BRANSON?
• British entrepreneur• “By law, no more than 25% of a U.S. airline may be owned
by foreign interests.” (i.e. Virgin America)• Virgin brand – CEO support
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VIRGIN AMERICA AIRLINES as of 2016• Alaska Airlines –purchasing Virgin America?
• $4 billion purchase• Talk of job cuts (225 jobs – 8% of Virgin
America’s workforce)
• Alaska Airlines main management• Virgin brand will disappear, Alaska
will remain• Problem? Virgin’s global
recognition vs. Alaska’s general confusion/unknown
(NYSE)
importance of the VIRGIN
AMERICA BRAND
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• September 12, 2016: group of Virgin America customers file lawsuit to block Alaska Air Group’s purchase• Do they have a legitimate case?
• Does it matter?• Places spotlight on the deal/ spins public opinion
• “The potential elimination of Virgin America as a competitor, the most innovative, passenger friendly, premium low cost and unique airline in the industry, is substantial and foreboding.”
(Joseph Alioto law firm)
importance of the
brand
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SOCIAL MEDIA
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STRENGTHS• Overall strengths:
• Strong CEO & parent co. backing
• Over 5 million passengers a year
• High brand recall• Premium airline – for cheap!
• Strong consistent theme (color & design)
• Early start –
• Social media team - 2009• Marketing to the correct audiences –
bold, casual and young
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STRENGTHS• Marketing to a youthful
audience – comes naturally• Instagram
#VirginGotMeLike
• FLYER FEED – successful and innovative blog• Twitter feed• “Grab a seat” button• “Pokemon Go at SFO”
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NUMBERS GAME
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#VXSAFETYVIDEOHow Virgin America got 11 million people to watch an airplane safety video
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WEAKNESSES• Overall Weaknesses
• Profitability spotty • No commanding position
in largest markets
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WEAKNESSES• Social Media
• Twitter: too graphic heavy, harder to scroll through.• Blog: more active (especially during a crisis/major change)• Niche marketing to a non-niche market
• Company seems young & hip untrustworthy?• Cannot connect with broader market – i.e. Wall Street
No real predictable future for company OR brand security
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OPPORTUNITIES• Unique branding = “trend-setters” for luxury
aviation• Global market possibilities• Merger possibilities
• Not compromise the brand• Alaska Airlines ad
• SOCIAL MEDIA• Instagram/YouTube/Print and Digital Ads
• Niche marketing in a non-niche market = market to more than one section
• Can still be daring, brave and fun• Twitter – partner with Go Pro; shows usefulness of partners & their
impact on buyer behavior• Use social media outlets to control the story and inform
stakeholders about merger news
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THREATS• Alaska Airline?
• Alaska Airline recently requested the U.S. Transportation Department launch a public investigation into ownership and control of Virgin America.
• IF the merger occurs this could prove dangerous• Marketing to the niche market – become niche?
• And then become extinct?• Possible employee cuts – job anxiety – work becomes
less important
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RECOMMENDATION• Turn social media outlets into better marketing tools
• Section off target groups – market specifically to all• Retirees being spontaneous & doing something
adventurous • Make blog mobile-friendly (Google Mobile-Friendly Test)
• Refurbishing blog in a less web-site based way• Use promotions incorporated into the blog
• Move past the popular stylistic short captions• Use hash tags – content more visible
• Refrain from immediate double posts of the same exact caption and picture – frustrating to your followers
• Virgin already creates in a unique space – USE THAT!
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SOURCES• Balthazar, B. (2013, October 29). MUST WATCH: Virgin America’s Flight Safety
Video is Awesome, Catchy, Epic. Retrieved from http://popgoestheweek.com/2013/10/must-watch-virgin-americas-flight-safety-video-is-awesome-catchy-epic/
• Calvey, M. (2016, September 12). Alaska Air hits turbulence as Virgin America flyers sue to block deal. Sam Francisco Business Times. Retrieved from http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco
• Calvey, M. (2016, August 29). Alaska Air slashing Virgin America management jobs following purchase. San Francisco Business Times. Retrieved from http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco
• Lucky. (2016, August 27). Alaska Airlines Tries To Appeal To San Francisco In New Video. [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2016/08/27/alaska-virgin-america-branding/
• Virgin America. (2016, July 7). Pokemon Go at SFO [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://blog.virginamerica.com/blog/pokemon-go-at-sfo /
• Virgin America SWOT Analysis Part 2: Opportunities for an IPO in a more benevolent environment. (2014, August 20). Retrieved from http://centreforaviation.com/analysis/virgin-america-swot-analysis-part-2-opportunities-for-an-ipo-in-a-more-benevolent-environment-182675