How Malaysia Airlines Use Promotion

This project will be focusing in the analysis the use of promotion in a case study of Malaysia Airlines (MAS) by using advertising strategy.

‘Promotion has been defines as the coordination of all seller-initiated efforts to set up channels of information and persuasion in order to sell goods and services or promote an idea’ (Ray, 1982 cited in Belch, G.E. and Belch, M.A., 2004, p.16).

Kotler et al. (cited in Pickton and Broderick, 2001, p.456) states advertising as: ‘Any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods or services by an identified sponsor’. ‘Ultimately advertising is used to stimulate sales and increase profits, but of more operational value is a clear understanding of its communication objectives. Advertising can create awareness, stimulate trial, position products in consumers’ minds, correct misconceptions, remind and reinforce, and provide support for the salesforce’ (Jobber, 1998, p.329).

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‘Some of the functions that advertising can perform for airlines are obvious. Good advertising. For many advertising can help build an airline’s image and reputation. It can promote specific brands. It can also help in tactical selling by announcing the commencement of service on a new route, schedule changes or new fares’ (Shaw, 1990, p. 235).

‘Malaysia Airlines (MAS) is the national airline of Malaysia, offering air travel in the country. It is based at KL International Airport, while its secondary hub is located at Kota Kinabalu. In 1997, the air service operated the longest non-commercial, non-stop flight in the world, from Boeing Field in Seattle to Kuala Lumpur, passing Europe and Africa, breaking the Great Circle Distance without landing anywhere in the middle. It has the largest fleet size in South East Asia and is one of the four airlines in the world to have been awarded a 5-star rating by Skytrax’ (iloveindia.com, 2009). ‘Malaysia Airlines is recognised as one of Asia’s largest, flying more than 14 million passengers in 2009 to over 100 destinations across 6 continents. Its cabin crew has won the “World’s Best Cabin Staff” award for 2001-2004, 2007 and 2009 – the most for any airline. Other recognitions received in 2009 include Airline of The Year by Malaysia Airport Holding Bhd, 3rd in Top Performing Company by Aviation Week, No. 8th in Top Airlines Worldwide Category by Smart Travel Asia and the Top 10 airlines in the first Global Local Monitor on airline websites’ (LinkedIn Corporation, 2010).

‘The advertising medium plays a major role in Malaysia Airlines’ communication strategy but other media are also used such as press releases, the in-flight magazine Wings of Gold, familiarization tours of Malaysia Airlines’ facilities for travel agents, journalists and the general public, and so on’ (Zaid, 1994).

To have people in more understanding and recognising about Malaysia Airlines, promotion will be one of the effectiveness and useful strategy in marketing communication tools to reach target audiences. Promotion strategy may create awareness and persuade people to purchase the product or services it may create and improve their good image and reputation of the airline.

In this project will bringing up the promotional tool of Malaysia Airlines. The reason of selecting this case study initially due to interest and for future benefits thoughts this will be useful in hospitality and public relation industry. Thus, to penetrate deeply and further research in this case study may help up more in understanding about Malaysia Airlines and promotion strategy.

Aims

This research will be conducting the Malaysia Airlines (MAS) particular promotion by focusing in using this element: advertising and to analyse how effective Malaysia Airline advertising is.

Objectives

Literature reviews

Analyse the promotion of Malaysia Airlines is using: advertising

Analyse how effective is the promotion in relation of Malaysia Airlines

Suggestion and Recommendation of alternative promotion for Malaysia Airlines to improve the currently situation or condition

Methodology

Content Analysis

‘Content analysis is a widely used qualitative research technique. Rather than being a single method, current applications of content analysis show three distinct approaches: conventional, directed, or summative’ (Hsieh and Shannon, 2005).

‘The role of advertising visuals includes obtaining attention, creating impact, and stimulating interest from an indifferent audience through conveying a main selling point of products or brands’ (Moriarty, 1986 cited in An, 2003). ‘Advertising is part of the changing social, economic, and cultural environment, and its visuals might have been created in a way that could reflect those changes that people would want to adjust themselves to’ (Fox, 1975 cited in An, 2003).

This research method which is applying for the Malaysia Airlines to promote their airline with this specific analysis which are the advertising material to able to reach the target audiences, create awareness and attractiveness of the promotion advertising to stimulate audience interest, creativity of the promotion advertising, inspiration phases and captions describe the airlines via promotional advertising.

The information and data in the content is analysing in a tabular analyses form (Table) by using the promotional media advertising of Malaysia Airlines with adapting the occasion to discover the approximate or general ideas in the content of large amounts of material. The main key of the research in this content analysis is: ‘to analyse how effective is the promotion strategy of Malaysia Airlines uses in media advertising.

Semiotics-Analysing Representations

Semiotics is the analysis of signs and symbols which interpret or convey the meaning in the form of objects or signs. As Echtner (1999) claims, ‘he characterized a sign as the relationship between a signifier (word) and the signified (object/concept)’. ‘A sign as a dyadic, having two sides: the signifier and the signified, which were considered inseparable. The signifier being the material object and the signified being its associated mental concept (Saussure, 1966 cited in Combe, Crowther and Greenland, 2003, p.2).

‘Visual appeal always had a prominent place in advertising. The old saying is that a picture is worth a thousand words, so many advertisers usually try to visually communicate messages, rather than bog down the receiver in heavy’ text by An (2003). ‘Visual imagery is used to command attention, stimulate curiosity, demonstrate product features and benefits, establish a personality for a product, associate the product with certain symbols and lifestyles, and anchor the brand identity in the minds of the target audience’ (Moriarty, 1987 cited in An, 2003).

The study identify the signifier and signified by using semiotics propose to Malaysia Airlines (MAS) promotion advertising. The signifier applying for Malaysia Airlines will be their advertising, signified for the meaning and concept of their hospitality and service quality provided. Advertising via texts, sounds and visuals may send and receiving the messages to target audiences easily and people might absorbed and captured the meaning and images into their minds and influences their behaviour.