Every airline has a success story of its own, and there may be no better storyteller than a marketing analysis tool, such as the four Ps marketing mix. The analysis instrument reveals Emirates as successful due to its uniquely diverse product, low prices, a vast geography of service, and a wise strategy of brand promotion. Recent years have remained crowded with positive developmental events and the coming years bid fare to be productive, as Emirates looks set to expand its operation. The overall point is that Emirates Airline is a top-league air carrier with well-thought-out, nay, well-working strategies as regards the product, prices, the place of operation, and promotion that bode well for the brand.
Company Profile
The state-of-the-art fleet of the air company stands at 230 aircraft covering in excess of 150 destinations in over 80 countries, and counting. More than 1.500 flights depart Dubai on a weekly basis. At the center of the executive hierarchy of Emirates is His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum acting as Chairman and Chief Executive of the Emirates Airline & Group. There are other notable management figures including, but not limited to President Emirates Airline Tim Clark, President Group Services & dnata of the Emirates Group Gary Chapman, and Executive Vice President Human Resources of the Emirates Group Abdulaziz Al Ali. Emirates. As follows from the mission statement, Emirates undertakes to provide life-changing surgeries, food supplies to charities, and critical medical aid to far-flung regions, to support the Philippines-based Virlanie Foundation, and to engage in other humanistic initiatives (Emirates n.pag.).
As for notable recent developments, Emirates introduced doubly daily A380 services to New York JFK and Paris Charles de Gaulle airports in 2013. In 2014, Emirates became the first-ever airline to have offered a scheduled A380 service at London Gatwick. However, this is not all there is to developments associated with Emirates in 2014. Football legends of the present and the past Cristiano Ronaldo and Pele starred in the global campaign initiated by Emirates for linking sport fans across the globe. The company enhanced its social media presence by getting an official Twitter channel working. The year 2014 saw the brand named the “Most Valuable Airline Brand” in the world. What also happened in the same year was that Emirates launched flights to Boston (Emirates n.pag.).
Marketing Mix
Neil Borden classified the four Ps of Jerome McCarthy, such as place, promotion, price, and product as marketing mix (Dogra 80). As far as the product component goes, a large report would hardly hold all that the company has to offer. Emirates has a wide range of seat variations ranging from flatbed seats to private suites to additional space throughout the cabins. Entertainment options seem countless. Thus, for example, passengers can enjoy ice TV Live watching their favorite teams playing or getting themselves updated on the latest world news. On ice Digital Widescreen, Emirates has films with closed captions and audio description for those with visual or hearing impairments. There are upwards of 2.500 channels of TV shows, movies, games, and music, on demand, and in various languages. Emirates offers data roaming, mobile phone, and Wi-Fi services for passengers to stay connected with colleagues, family, and friends on the ground. While flying, customers can post a blog, email, and call whomever they please. So customer-oriented is the brand that it even allows passengers-to-be to pre-select wines they will be drinking while in flight, with champagne, Bordeaux, or even Grand Cru for the taking. Passengers will be able to taste regionally inspired food. Emirates Official Store, duty free collection, and chauffeur drive ordering are among other attention-worthy unique product offerings (Emirates n.pag.).
With respect to pricing, Emirates is apt to compete in this regard. The per-seat-kilometer costs are very low, which provides the brand with a powerful competitive edge (Jammoul 3). Labor costs may be a factor allowing the company to keep product prices low. Jammoul (3) reveals that the per-employee cost at Emirates is 60% lower than that of Lufthansa or Air France. The price strategy of Emirates corresponds with what Hurd, Barcelona, and Meldrum (181) define as penetration pricing aimed at drawing customers with the low price. The price being low, consumers stand to gain in terms of perceived value or the difference between financial sacrifices and obtained benefits.
When it comes to such mix aspect as place, the company is operating around the world, with 150 destinations on 6 different continents available. The Middle East, Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, and the Americas are the regions covered. The website describes Emirates as offering trips to Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and the UK (Emirates n.pag.). The diversification of destinations is a great marketing strategy in its own right, as Emirates’ versatility makes the brand near-irreplaceable especially in combination with quality and price. Such presence increases exposure to the company product in myriads of airports around the world. The word-of-mouth advertising owing to the multi-continental presence of the brand and its clientele spreads the word of the brand to all 6 continents and potential consumer base there better than advertising does.
However, besides these, the brand has specific promotional approaches. Emirates issues two inflight magazines, such as Portfolio and Open Skies, and makes use of TV advertising, both being instrumental in delivering the brand message. Emirates set to work on popularizing the brand in 1987. Since then, it has sponsored football, rugby, tennis, motorsports, horseracing, golf, cricket, Australian Rules Football, arts, and culture. Arsenal FC, AC Milan, S.L. Benfica, Paris Saint-Germain, Hamburger SV, Real Madrid C.F., and Olympiacos FC are the professional soccer clubs the brand has struck sponsorship deals with (Emirates n.pag.). Not only do sportsmen wear the kit with the brand inscription the TV and live audience sees, but also team owners sell T-shirts with the Emirates logo to the fans of football and other sports all over the world, which makes for a greater brand exposure.
Conclusions
Thus, the analysis of the marketing mix components allows concluding that an affordable price policy, geography expansion, and promotional strategies seem to contribute to the greater penetration of the brand in the international consumer market. The product, in itself, is very diverse, with multiple services offered to passengers. The company enjoys a variety of competitive advantages. Wisely, in their promotional sponsorship activities, Emirates marketers target mass and elite sports in their attempt to communicate the brand message to different consumer groups who may enjoy their flight experience, whether in the first or economy class. The year 2014 was very eventful, and the coming years may be expected to be as crowded with positive developments given that Emirates continues implementing its efficient marketing strategic approaches.
Works Cited
Dogra, B. Rural Marketing. Tata McGraw-Hill Education, 2010. Web. 27 July 2016.
Emirates. The Emirates Group, 2016. Web. 27 July 2016.
Jammoul, Ahmad. The Strategic Diagnosis: Emirates Airlines. Nice, France: University of Nice Sophia, n.d. Web. 27 July 2016.
Hurd, A.R., Barcelona, R.J., and Meldrum, J.T. Leisure Services Management. Human Kinetics, 2008. Web. 27 July 2016.
