United Airlines Launches Media Network: Big Deal?

United Airlines has announced that it’s launching the airline industry’s first media network. This seems logical enough, and should help to fund the carrier’s big investment in seat back entertainment. However, I’m not sure it’s as big of a deal as United is making it out to be.

The basics of Kinective Media by United Airlines

Kinective Media by United Airlines is the Chicago-based carrier’s new media network, which is described as the airline industry’s first media network that uses insights from travel behaviors to connect customers to personalized, real-time advertising, content, experiences, and offers, from leading brands.

The idea is that United is giving marketers the opportunity to scale their reach across a range of channels, including United’s mobile app and inflight entertainment screens:

• United’s mobile app has 110+ million total downloads, and nearly 100 million sessions per month
• United has nearly 100,000 seat back entertainment screens, and that number will only grow as United continues to add seat back screens throughout its narrow body fleet

With this initiative, advertisers can’t access the personally identifiable information of United customers. Instead, Kinective Media leverages insights of customers to create aggregated and anonymized audience segments that it offers to advertisers. MileagePlus members will receive more personalized and real-time offers and experiences.

Kinective Media is already working with brands like Norwegian Cruise Line, Macy’s, Chase United co-brand credit cards, TelevisaUnivision, IHG Hotels & Resorts, and more. The focus is on premium brand relationships across key verticals, such as retail, luxury goods, financial services, automotive, media brands, and travel.

Here’s how Richard Nunn, CEO of United MileagePlus, describes this new concept:

“We’ve built a first-of-its-kind, real-time, adtech-enabled traveler media network where brands have already started connecting to premium audiences at an unmatched scale. Unlike some commerce media platforms, United gives brands across a wide range of industries the ability to reach engaged customers throughout the entire marketing funnel – from brand consideration to conversion – in a way that’s highly personalized and relevant, and we’re already seeing impressive results. There has been a huge strategic shift within this high growth sector in the past five years where advertisers and brands have come together to determine how best to connect with consumers in a way that’s valuable, effective and personalized.”

My take on United Airlines’ new media initiative

I’m curious to see how this evolves, though I have a few initial thoughts. First of all, the new CEO of United MileagePlus was appointed around a year ago. Interestingly, he had no experience with loyalty, but instead his background was in “advertising technology, digital media and data expertise, building and scaling businesses globally, and leading media technology groups spanning the world.”

With United launching a new media network, I think we can all see that this has been part of United’s vision for some time. Meanwhile it seems like United isn’t actually doing much to improve MileagePlus, and instead, is devaluing miles. Heck, the press release even suggests that “MileagePlus members will receive additional value through more personalized and real-time offers and experiences that drive even greater loyalty.” I guess that’s how United is trying to “enhance” MileagePlus nowadays!

Now, I suspect the launch of this media company will certainly increase the numbers of ads across United’s app and seat back screens. Ultimately that’s not unreasonable, because United is investing a lot in these things, so it’s fair for the airline to try to recoup some of that through marketing opportunities.

Lastly, I’m not sure if this is actually supposed to be some huge deal that United thinks will make a material difference to its bottom line, or just something minor? Virtually all airlines have third party marketing through their various channels, from their websites, to their apps, to their entertainment systems.

Best I can tell, the only way this differs from what’s already out there is that the ads will be targeted more closely based on anonymized data. Is that really going to make such a difference to advertisers? I mean, airlines want to pitch credit cards to basically everyone, no? And when you’re advertising things as broad as IHG Hotels & Resorts, there’s not really much targeting required. I guess we’ll see…

Bottom line

United Airlines is launching a media network, named Kinective Media by United Airlines. While airlines already do a lot of marketing to their customers from third parties, what makes this unique is how United will be targeting these ads more closely, for a more tailored experience. I’m curious to see how lucrative this proves to be for the airline…

What do you make of the Kinective Media by United Airlines concept?