TRENDSETTER: American Airlines’ Christine Valls Sees a Shift in Airline Marketing
Christine Valls, Manager of E-commerce Product Marketing for American Airlines’ Latin American and Caribbean operation, believes that there is a dramatic shift occurring now in airline marketing. “We are living in a time when more people simply purchase tickets online. Future air travel growth is not necessarily about encouraging more people to fly, but rather about creating an online travel management relationship that keeps people coming back. That kind of loyalty is critical to the image and the revenues of an airline.”
She also sees opportunities for those multinational companies that are willing to take advantage of today's changing environment. Valls asserts, "Global is no longer a geographical condition. Customers from all corners of the world live and transact in all the corners of the world. Consistency in your brand will help you achieve a sense of familiarity with your customer. The key is to get to know your customer and which medium gets his/her undivided attention. Small changes to your campaigns that touch on key value differences or interests also intensify that sense of familiarity."”
Recently named an Internationalist of the Year, Valls' primary marketing objective now is to encourage more Latin Americans to buy their American Airlines tickets online. Despite working in a marketplace with strong distrust of online credit card usage and limited Internet bandwidth, aa.com showed in an increase in bookings in 2009 due to a number of engaging online campaigns that cleverly encouraged use of the site.
Christine Valls started with American Airlines as an intern 20 years ago, and she remains passionate about the American Airlines company, its people and its brand. "The E-commerce possibilities inLatin America and the Caribbean are endless. This region has been the sleeping giant that is now waking up. We can take risks and try things that have never been tried before. Our world is colorful and without boundaries. And for a marketing executive, that is the definition of Paradise.".
