Sport Aviation Marketing

columbia aircraft “FlipTheBird123″ and “iPO” promotions

Columbia Aircraft is running some interesting promotions these days. The first, FlipTheBird123, targets existing aircraft owners by helping them sell their current plane to upgrade to a Columbia. The second, iPO (Initial Purchase Option), targets newbies by discounting the purchase price by $7,500 for those who received their training in a qualified airplane.

I’m impressed by both programs but not for their financial viability for a potential customer. The financial benefits are insignificant when considering the cost of even the most basic Columbia aircraft. Instead, I think these promotions are effective in two ways:

First, they are a great framework for beginning a conversation with a potential customer. A prospect either owns an aircraft, or does not own an aircraft. Either is a pilot, or is not a pilot. In any case, Columbia has a story to tell. This is a great door-opener which is evidenced by the wide-spread coverage both programs have received in the aviation press.

Second, the promotions do a great job of defining Columbia’s competition as far less superior. The FlipTheBird123 sitelet has a 14 question quiz to determine whether or not you need to sell your plane. I scored 0 out of 14 for my plane to which the site responded, “Do you actually fly this plane? You should consider a Columbia - today.” Funny…effective…and true…

Additionally, The iPO promotion lists all of the other general aviation industry leaders as trainers, including the Cirrus. The text states, “Once you’ve completed your primary flight training…a step up to Columbia is a natural and logical progression.” I don’t think any of us would have considered a Cirrus SR22 a trainer until this promotion came along. Again, very effective.

Are the promotions all good? No. As with the Cirrus sitelet reviewed here and here, the execution of the promotions falls short of the quality one would expect for an airplane priced at $380,000 on the low-end. The flycolumbia.com website, overall, is decent. However, the promotion pages, especially for FlipTheBird123 look more like a children’s game site. As with Cirrus, this baffles me. The idea is the hard part, and Columbia did a great job in that respect. The execution of those ideas should be easy, why skimp?

Either way, Columbia has raised the bar a bit in terms of promotions. It’ll be fun to see if/how the competition responds.

[tags]General Aviation, Aviation Marketing, Aviation Website, Cessna, Cirrus, Columbia Aircraft, Sitelet, Online Marketing, Online PR, Marketing Promotions[/tags]

Add comment March 4th, 2006

cessna sitelet update

Back in November I wrote that the Cessna “43 Reasons” campaign was executed nicely but the concept was lacking. Unfortunately, Cessna created a PR nightmare that makes the campaign nearly tragic.

As Aero-News.net has been reporting, the FAA is imposing a fine on Cessna for their inability to ensure that 42 aircraft had been manufactured in accordance with the FAA-approved type design. Ouch.

Here is what I find surprising: The FAA issued an AD for 42 airplanes on March 5, 2005. Best I can tell, the “43 Reasons” campaign began running about six months later. Didn’t anyone think this would be a bad idea? With 43 reasons to buy, Cessna themselves provided 42 well-publicized reasons not to buy.

So, how to turn lemons into lemonade?

First, we all know the aviation community generally lacks admiration for the FAA. However, Cessna needs to give up their fight for lowering the fine and get the story out of the aviation press.

Second, Cessna should create a scholarship fund of equal value to be leveraged by Cessna Pilot Centers. This would result in as many as 500 potential pilots having their training costs covered up through their first solo. With 250 Cessna Pilot Centers, this would easily pay for its self in widespread local PR, and all positive! Plus, they’d be up to 44 reasons to buy a Cessna…

[tags]General Aviation, Aviation Marketing, Cessna, Sitelet, Online Marketing, Online PR[/tags]

Add comment February 18th, 2006

online integration with press releases

A week or so ago AOPA ePilot, Aero-news.net Propwash and EAA e-hotline emails all had a story about Symphony Aircraft’s certification for doors off flying. I clicked to go over to the Symphony Aircraft site to read more. Their site didn’t even mention it!

This is a huge missed opportunity. Consistency in messaging strengthens a companies position. Having the “doors off” press release picked up by three of the aviation industry’s biggest online newsletters is extremely valuable. Carrying that message through to the home page of the manufacturer website is a no-brainer. Before sending out your next press release, make sure your website is ready to speak directly to the visitors who arrive as a result of the story.

[tags]Symphony Aircraft, EAA, AOPA, Aero-News, PR, Online Marketing, Aviation Marketing[/tags]

Add comment November 26th, 2005