Singapore Air Show Online Coverage by the Numbers February 9, 2010
Posted by ludozone in Aerospace, Conference, International Business Development, Internet Marketing, Social Media, Twitter.Tags: Aerospace, Social Media, Twitter
trackback
Last week was the second Singapore Air Show since its split from Asian Aerospace, and judging by the attendance and exhibitors numbers, it remains the third largest Aerospace event in the world after Paris and Farnborough. As I have done during previous events, I was watching the coverage online to see how the physical show transformed into a global virtual show on the web.
Once again the main industry media players dedicated separate sections for the show on their website. Aviation International News, Aviation Week, and Flight Global, all had teams on the ground to file stories, take pictures and create videos. The online content was similar to that produced at the recent Dubai Air Show with some minor exceptions.
| AINonline | AviationWeek | Flight Global | |
| Online Stories | 132 | 27 | 80 |
| Blog Posts | 0 | 29 | 23 |
| Photos | 50 | 117 | 55 |
| Videos | 0 | 8 | 29 |
| Onsite Magazine | 3 days | 3 days | 3 days (online) |
AINonline added a photo section to its coverage which although basic, shows that they are trying to add more online content to their otherwise still very austere but practical website. They also used Twitter (@AINonline) more aggressively with 55 posts drawing more traffic to their site. Chad Trautvetter, their Online News Editor, said recently that he would like to continue to expand their web coverage and is looking to hopefully add more show resources in 2010.
AviationWeek produced a very small amount of video compared to what they had at the last Paris and Farnborough shows; however the clips were edited with high quality. “That was our intention”, commented Greg Hamilton, Publisher, Strategic Media: “Our website statistics tell us that fewer better produced videos attract the professional audience we serve and generates longer browse time. In fact, photos bring the largest amount of traffic from our commercial aviation and defense segment.” That explains the larger amount of photos posted this time around. Even though on the surface it appears that AviationWeek posted fewer stories than the others, Hamilton explains that “we funnel our content in priority to our paying audience on the AviationWeek Intelligence Network (AWIN) and other daily newsletters. This behind-the-scene process was greatly improved for this show and we have received good feedback from our customers.” AviationWeek uses editorial discretion in terms of what gets posted to the main site as to not overwhelm the audience. Standing outside looking in, the AviationWeek online coverage has not changed for a long time. Every time I open the website, I have visions of square pegs and round holes. The brand is fantastic and the content first class, but it just doesn’t seem to come together very well online. However, Hamilton emphasizes that the content is what their target audience of middle aged, mid to senior executives, wants. Preferably in a traditional easy to use format (e.g. print or email) allowing them to be reliably informed and make trustworthy decisions without having to sift through overwhelming amounts of “information clutter”. This probably explains AviationWeek’s lack of focus on platforms like Twitter which was once again disjointed in Singapore. “We are just not seeing a professional use of it in the industry yet”, said Hamilton.
Flight Global on the other hand is almost taking the opposite approach. They are banking on online coverage and are continuing to build on the foundation they rolled out in Paris and improved at Dubai. However, there were three new additions for this show. First of all, the coverage was available on the new Flight Global iPhone app. Although this app is very primitive by iPhone standards, it gave the user on the move access to the blogs, posts and tweets of the whole team at the show. Second, they released a desktop application a couple of weeks before the show, which meant that you could receive Singapore Air Show coverage right on your screen as it happened. Third, and the “piece de resistance”, was the roll-out of their new online daily magazine for the show. Available from the website and from the desktop application, this hip “webazine” contained videos, photos and links to all the content generated at the show. Although “light” on in-depth content, I loved the new format. If was fun, engaging and easy to read and I could follow links to dive deeper into content that interested me. Then again, I was probably the target audience for that sort of thing. All the Flight Global offerings were “pushed” on Twitter in various well coordinated channels generating several interesting discussion threads. I had two trains of thoughts when I reviewed Flight Global’s online coverage.
First, I looked at the technology. They have now an integrated platform that flows seamlessly between website, blog, community, iPhone app, desktop app, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, and FaceBook. They are publishing coordinated content on all these outposts trying to meet the audience where they “hang out” online. Michael Targett, Online and Digital Development Editor, explains: “as a publishing house we’ve been heavily investing in technology for the last two years or so. The vast majority of that technology has yet to even be released so we’re only beginning to flex our muscles as an agile modern digital publisher. Towards the end of this year, but much more in 2011, you will start to see even more offerings both in professional paid-for news and data tools as well as engaging free content.”
Second, I looked at the audience. Flight Global seem to embrace the future. They are capturing the essence of Aerospace coolness and are talking directly to the new generation of workers and managers at a time when A|D|S and AIA want to attract new talent to the industry. @FlightBlogger John Ostrower is the perfect incarnation of what I am talking about. He is not an Aerospace Engineer or an ex-industry executive. He is a young enthusiastic journalist that wants to share his passion with the world. It comes across in everything he does and it is contagious. It is true that some of the content he produces is hardly newsworthy and that trying to read everything that comes out of Flight Global can be overwhelming, but only so for a certain demographic slice of the industry.
So it seems that while AviationWeek focuses on serving their existing customer base while trying to find ways to attract the younger generation, Flight Global is moving full steam ahead to keep up with the new generation while trying not to alienate their existing audience. These two very different approaches are definitely worthy of a separate (and much longer) discussion.
However, Flight Global was not the only one going after the “new generation”. Respected Airline branding expert Shashank Nigam (@SimpliFlying) also made a push for Social Media at the Singapore Air Show. As you can see from this Top 20 list, he was the top contributor amongst the 1583 tweets posted by 315 unique accounts on the show’s #SIN10 stream.
| simpliflying | 125 | Flightglobal | 34 |
| williswee | 95 | Priscias | 32 |
| flightblogger | 62 | defenseflak | 30 |
| roadshownews | 56 | HON_KC | 24 |
| AINonline | 55 | Social_Media_RT | 24 |
| Sarah_chong | 51 | prattandwhitney | 23 |
| aviationweek | 47 | HON_Carrie | 22 |
| SivaG | 45 | apgphoto | 19 |
| avtips | 37 | ATWonline | 19 |
| RunwayGirl | 35 | alert5 | 18 |
As a regular contributor to CNN and CNBC, he essentially tried to carry the “social media torch” to the show hoping that everyone in the industry finally opens their eyes to its potential. Although met with criticism from some (make sure to read the comments), I think he should be commanded for its efforts and enthusiasm. I think of Shashank as a prophet converting one aerospace business at the time to the brave new ways of Social Media.
And many more need converting, that is for sure. To Hamilton’s earlier point, this was yet another show where the organizers were totally absent from the online and social media scene. Also, few companies participated online. Honeywell and Pratt & Whitney were very active, but where were the others? Fresh from winning a Webbie for best Use of Social Media, it was disappointing that Northrop Grumman fell silent. Hopefully SimpliFlying will have converted Bombardier and they will start showing up soon.
So all in all, another great performance by Flight Global online, but much disappointment in the rest of the media and industry compared to what this kind of event “could” be if these platforms were used to their full potential like in many other industries. I remain positive and enthusiastic as I see many signs that change is afoot in this domain.
Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)
Ludo Van Vooren, a 15 years veteran of the industry, blogs about eBusiness, Social Media, Internet Marketing, and International Business Development.
Social Media coverage started with the Dubai Air Show, but it was the Singapore Air Show when it came of age. The problem is that airlines and aerospace companies are not so sure how to deal with Social Media, they have problems getting their message over conventional media. So may be we are targeting the wrong people. Simpliflying and others shpuld start targeting PR and Markrting consultants and companies to win them over, who then will push the industry forward towards Social Media. Just a thought.
Hi Ludo,
thanks again for the depth of your review.
As you say – the iPhone app is very much in it’s first iteration. We’re currently developing a second version of the multimedia app (having gone back to the drawing board) incorporating our learning and feedback from the first effort. We hope to have this ready for the spring.
RE: “information clutter” – one could argue that a better designed and organised site with better search functionality wouldn’t suffer from the clutter effect, but would sort and steer visitors to as granular a level as possible.
Also i would just finally add that 90% of Flightglobal’s 1.1 million strong audience is made up of industry professionals who’s average age is in the mid 40s.
Kind regards,
m
Ludo — Your critique is much appreciated, as is your objectivity. Looking for a career in journalism? Mostly I appreciate that your reviews are beginning to turn an important corner by looking at digital media from both the eyes of the heavy social-media consumer — up and comers in the industry, enthusiasts and consumers — and importantly through the eyes of the industry professionals and decisionmakers who make the industry run every day. The latter group is vital of course, and from a practical standpoint the target of marketers using our sites to generate reach, connections and leads. The former is a long term investment we must all do a better job of serving now and in the future. All of this increases the challenge for your reviews, because quantity metrics like total traffic, number of Tweets, videos, stories and blogs cannot tell the story appropriately. Fortunately, you come from the industry and know the audience, so i look forward to what you find as you drill deeper. Keep it coming!
[...] now need to act swiftly to ensure that they don’t lose a lot of market share.”… read more Singapore Air Show Online Coverage by the Numbers 9 Feb’10 || Aerospace Business … However, Flight Global was not the only one going after [...]
[...] Lessons learned: Improvement is needed… …in the interaction portion of social media. Although it may be happening behind the scenes, there is not enough “conversation engagement” on the platforms. Soliciting public comments and reactions, polling, answering questions, and contributing to conversations started by others should be a major part of the social media strategy. Secondly, Northrop Grumman is inconsistent in its use of Social Media at tradeshows. Although I understand they cannot “tweet” from every event they participate in, they should do it from all the major ones. For example, they were all but silent during the recent Singapore Air Show. [...]
[...] Singapore Air Show Online Coverage by the Numbers 9 Feb’10 || Aerospace Business … However, Flight Global was not the only one going after the “new generation”. Respected Airline branding expert Shashank Nigam (@SimpliFlying) also made a push for Social Media at the Singapore Air Show. As you can see from this Top 20 list, he was the top contributor amongst the 1583 tweets posted by 315 unique accounts on the show’s #SIN10 stream. As a regular contributor to CNN and CNBC, he essentially tried to carry the “social media torch” to the show hoping that everyone in the industry finally opens their eyes to its potential. Although met with criticism from some (make sure to read the comments), I think he should be commanded for its efforts and enthusiasm. I think of Shashank as a prophet converting one aerospace business at the time to the brave new ways of Social Media… read more [...]
[...] was present at the show. However, it was strange to see a very different dynamic than at the recent Singapore or Dubai airshows. Unlike Aviation International News which put out a similar coverage than at the [...]
[...] (I sound like a broken record!). In fact, if you want a media review of this show, you can read my blog about the Singapore Air Show and change the name of the [...]
[...] media company venturing on the platform and they were rushing to get it ready in time for the Singapore Air Show. Last week, AINOnline released their own iPhone app which they have been working on for a few [...]
[...] and AviationWeek used the same website than at previous airshows (See Singapore review) with no significant new features. I am sure that loyal followers of these websites are comfortable [...]