Last week I had lunch with Shashank Nigam, the founder and CEO of SimpliFlying, the world’s best-known airline marketing consultancy. The group has worked with over 75 airlines and airports.
Nigam is originally from India but he grew up in Singapore and has lived all around the world, including in Toronto, where he now resides with his wife and two young kids. He’s the youngest winner of the Global Brand Leadership Award and regularly addresses senior aviation executives across the globe. His perspectives on airline marketing have become well-known through interviews in over a hundred media outlets, including the BBC, CNBC, Reuters, and Bloomberg, and leading publications like the Wall Street Journal and New York Times.
If you’re an aviation fan, you’ll want to read Shashank Nigam’s first book: “Soar: How the Best Airline Brands Delight Customers and Inspire Employees.” “Soar” charts the journey of eight remarkable airline brands through the eyes of the very people who made it happen: the employees. The airlines featured are: Singapore Airlines, Southwest, Finnair, AirAsia, Turkish Airlines, Air New Zealand, Kulula, and Vueling. These eight were selected based on their brand resonance in their core markets and geographical diversity.
An airline has over 50 different brand touch points at which it can choose to operate exactly as it has in the past or exceed expectations at each step. By gaining exclusive access to people within these airline organizations, Nigam details how they build endearing internal cultures and consistently delight customers. “Nigam’s vision is fully expressed by his analysis of these powerful connections between these airline brands, their customers and their employees,” said Jeff Cacy, former Managing Director of Airline Marketing at Boeing. “He is the leading steward pushing the boundaries of airline marketing, a pioneer to do so.”
Here’s what Nigam had to say about his book: “This is the culmination of a long journey. I am grateful to everyone who supported me in this journey, especially to the airlines that opened up their hearts – literally! – to us, and enriched this book immeasurably. For the first time, readers across the world will get an insider look, in one book, into how eight airlines from around the world build endearing brands while facing different challenges.”
In an ultra-competitive industry like aviation, what makes a brand last? That is the core question Soar seeks to address. This book sets a new direction on and a new attitude toward airline marketing.
Grab it: Grab “Soar: How the Best Airline Brands Delight Customers and Inspire Employees” by Shashank Nigam on Amazon for $17.70.
