APEX EXPO 2016 Education Day: Content Is King
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APEX Insight: From discussing the accessibility of in-flight content to exploring strategies for providing customer care through social media platforms, Education Day’s Track B sessions covered a lot of ground – all while proving that content really is king.
Closed Captioning Regulations and How It Impacts You
Russ Lemieux presented on the latest updates from the US Department of Transportation’s (DOT) ACCESS Advisory Committee, which held what was supposed to be the sixth and final meeting, October 12-14, about future regulations related to closed captions and descriptive audio for in-flight entertainment content available on airlines operating within its airspace. After failing to reach consensus among stakeholders, another session has now been scheduled for November 2, with the aim of producing a final report by the end of the year. “The DOT’s intent will be to come up with a final conclusion and some consensus on as many issues as possible. But the likelihood of agreeing on too many things is fairly remote,” said Lemieux. “This will be an opportunity for APEX to reengage as we’ve established a fair amount of credibility with the DOT. We sense that they are looking for an issue that will satisfy the airlines.”
Digital Ancillary Revenue Opportunities and Obstacles
What are airlines getting right about maximizing revenue? And what are they getting wrong? Panelists Duncan Jackson, president of Flightpath 3D, Cyril Jean, CEO of PXCom and Igor Smirnoff, COO of PressReader weighed in to give their thoughts on these questions. “Passengers prefer not to be pushed, but to feel valued when being advertised to. It’s about being done at the right time, with the right proposal,” said PXCom’s Jean. Panelists agreed that delivering timely and relevant content that could add value for passengers is a sustainable model for driving ancillary revenue.
Converting the Connectivity Opportunity
Introducing in-flight Wi-Fi won’t stop passengers from connecting to the information brands they use on a daily basis says Spafax’s VP, Entertainment, Henry Gummer. For him the question is, What can airlines do to add value when offering a gate way to the Internet? His solution is to partner with familiar media brands that passengers use. “Combine an understanding about your audience and needs with a brand’s understanding and come up with new highly-relevant experiences using an in-flight connected service,” he said.
Providing Real-Time Customer Care at 35,000 Feet
Scott Carmichael, Gogo’s senior manager for Social Media and Content presented on how the in-flight connectivity provider uses social media to respond to customer care in less than 10 minutes – with passengers at 35,000 feet. “Social media has huge amplification; if someone is angry, everyone is going to see it. But if you do a good job, the amplification is also going to be huge,” said Carmichael. “Airline customer care, is like me opening a restaurant in your living room. If you do it right the results are phenomenal. A customer will trust you.”