Conversations

MSI Conversation: Creating, Growing and Reinforcing Brand Loyalty in a Highly Commoditized Industry: The Curious Case of Airline Consumption

Imagine a world where the consumer in your product domain sees what you do as a pure commodity. Absolutely not differentiated in any meaningful way from other competitive options out there. Then add the idea that technology has now allowed your consumer to bypass your marketing and branding attempts, to boil down decision making information merely to easily accessible simple information on a screen. Now add the fact that your business is now under siege because those people using it are much less likely to use it during the mandated self-quarantine protocols of social distancing and reduced face to face contact and travel. Sounds like a nightmare? It’s the day to day reality of the airline industry. What should you do when faced with such a crisis?  Well, the Chinese symbol for crisis consists of two characters roughly translated to [1] Danger but [2] Opportunity, and in this conversation, Professor Americus Reed will discuss his academic research on the Covid-19 post pandemic “Identity Loyalty Imperative” and thought leader and Vice President of Marketing at JetBlue, Elizabeth Windram will describe the tactical strategies her firm has employed to keep consumers engaged with the brand, and to fight back the powerful inertia that creates the commodity problem.   This new series unleashes the power of academic research to provide the right answers to the tough questions industries are grappling with. In each hour long video session, a professor and an industry leader will discuss the pressing challenges facing industries in today’s difficult environment. The academic will share the latest research on topics like disruption, branding, and analytics. Then their industry counterpart will talk about how to apply these concepts and frameworks to help facilitate better marketing decisions. Corporate members will be invited to share insights and ask questions in these live, interactive Zoom sessions.