MEDIA & MARKETING: Many of the world's biggest airlines have finally managed to trade their way out of the calamitous post 9/11 slump, but Aer Lingus has literally clicked its way out trouble, via its aerlingus.com website.
The firm has not spent a single cent advertising or marketing any other element of its operation since December 2001. It has ploughed all its marketing and advertising resources instead into aerlingus.com.
The Irish Times has learned that during one week recently the airline sold 45 per cent of all its tickets via the site - which has become a sort of electronic shop front. Aer Lingus executives admit the strategy involves taking the odd leaf out of Ryanair's book, but so be it.
In a strange way Aer Lingus has become aerlingus.com. The hackneyed shamrock symbol, long associated with the "old" Aer Lingus, has not been used in marketing the airline in at least a year. The airline is now a national carrier with a small n.
Marketing the site has even included that dreaded word of all traditional carriers, "cheap", in relation to fares. "That was certainly culture shock to some people in here," said a company source this week. Although the firm continues to operate a telesales service and to sell tickets through the travel trade, the firm is not shy in stating that it wants aerlingus.com to sell more than 80 per cent of tickets online.
Ryanair.com has already exceeded that level. It is also offering more - car-parking at selected British airports, for example - on its site right now than Aer Lingus.
But aerlingus.com and Ryanair.com are unlikely to call the battle off for some time. In future, value-added services will be the name of the game. If the websites are the new shopfronts, Ryanair has already packed its windows with an array of wares. You can buy a mortgage, home insurance and life insurance and personal loans from its site.
Aerlingus.com is not that all-encompassing yet. But it may find that once you emphasise the online route, you have to go all the way. Already the airline is selling insurance via aerlingus.com. The company's chief executive, Mr Willie Walsh, regards aerlingus.com as a major factor behind the turnaround in the airline's fortunes.
"It has helped us reduce our distribution costs which has translated into the widespread availability of cheap seats. Our guarantee is that you will always find the cheapest Aer Lingus fares on our website. That promise has been the key to the success of marketing the internet as a sales channel," he says.
Three years ago about 9 per cent of the airline's revenue per ticket was going on commission, this is now down to 1 per cent. The cost of selling its product (airline tickets) has fallen from €163 million in 2001 to an anticipated €79 million this year.
This is good news for Aer Lingus and its shareholder, the Government, but bad news for the travel trade and possibly for Ryanair, at least on routes such as Dublin-Stansted service which are booked mainly via the website.
Mr Walsh says whatever eventually happens in the cyberspace battle between the airlines, Aer Lingus's decision to put so much emphasis on the site has been the right one. But having stolen some of Ryanair clothes, Aer Lingus must broaden its Web offering. Already some US airlines offer all-in holidays via the Web, others offer specialist packages.
The sites of Ryanair and Aer Lingus, may represent new ways of marketing, new forms of selling, but they are currently judged only on fares. But how will they do if they become all-embracing travel portals, offering everything from fishing gear to pleasure crafts by just clicking your mouse?
Is change on the way for the annual Young Scientist jamboree?
Apart from the General Election, the Dublin Horse Show and the GAA All Ireland championships, there are few more visible events. The laudable idea of providing a platform for the State's young scientific geniuses has proved irresistible to the two major sponsors of the competition, first Aer Lingus and now Esat BT. Into its sixth year of sponsorship, Esat BT, is virtually guaranteed national press coverage. Everyone likes to see some wunderkind being acclaimed in a country that rarely pays any heed to scientific achievement.
Esat BT, however, while recognising it has gained massively from sponsoring the event, is looking for a partner. It costs the telecoms firm €1 million a year to sponsor the RDS show, but for a company whose future was in some doubt last year, this is a serious investment.
Company spokeswoman Ms Una McGirr says the time is right for somebody else to get involved and make the event even bigger. A Government department or agency would be an ideal partner, she says, and preliminary talks have taken place. Esat is also looking at setting the event up as a not-for-profit firm. High-tech giants such as Intel are already involved around the fringes, but so far nobody has climbed on board as a main sponsor.
The event pulls in a 30,000 strong audience of parents and students each year and Esat BT, while crying out for somebody else to share the load, is not begrudging about the benefits that accrue from its sponsorship.
For example, it gets the chance to promote its Net Smart dial up package and also strongly pushes its various ISP brands like Ocean and IOL through the event. But with about 80 Esat staff needed for the show, the commitment is a serious one.
Sponsoring the Young Scientist is now its largest single marketing commitment. It says it has no intention of exiting, but in the future it looks certain that other groups or interests will get in on the act.
Any media, advertising or marketing news please e-mail eoliver@irish-times.ie
