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When British Airways launched the latest version of its mobile app allowing passengers to 'check in on the go', it turned to content syndication and personalised recommendations to ensure the news was seen by the right people. Britain's largest airline and digital marketing agency bigmouthmedia approached leading 'content discovery platform' Outbrain to drive the pay-per-click campaign, in the hope of attracting business travellers and technology savvy customers.

Andrew Girdwood, head of strategy at bigmouthmedia, explains: 'British Airways is an intelligent advertiser. Many advertisers are not willing to try something new. They want to see if it's successful before they consider it but BA have made it clear that they want to hear good ideas. They don't rest on their laurels. If they can see that there's a genuine benefit and it is brand friendly, they are willing to give it a go.'

Outbrain's technology works by placing a variety of related stories and videos alongside articles on leading publisher sites, ensuring readers are offered additional content that is likely to be of interest. Publishers which currently host Outbrain's related content include sites such as New York Times Media Group, USA Today, Express Newspapers, Future Publishing, as well as numerous blogs.

In addition, publishers and brands can pay to have their own articles syndicated on other sites. It is the combination of recommended content with the pay-per-click model that creates a unique opportunity for brands to raise awareness of their activities.

A different approach

The release of BA's updated iPhone app, as well as the launch of BlackBerry and Android versions, provided the perfect opportunity to test drive a different marketing model. With a large potential online audience and a growing mobile community, the airline wanted to reach out to all those who might be interested in their new services.

The app enables customers to manage bookings, access flight information and check in on the go. But by far the most talked about feature is the mobile boarding pass, which generates a QR code on the customer's phone when they check in to selected flights. This is then presented at airport security in place of the usual printed pass, saving time and ensuring customers can check in online without the need for a printer.

British Airways first reached out to bloggers and traditional news outlets to ensure positive reviews of the app were posted online. Articles appeared in the Daily Mail and on carefully targeted websites such as Mobile Industry Review, TheNextWeb, and travel guide Jaunted (which was part of Condé Nast Digital).

In order to amplify traditional PR efforts, nine reviews and articles about the app were then chosen to be syndicated through Outbrain's publishing network. During the six week campaign, Outbrain placed these articles and reviews, as well as links to content on BA's own site, at the bottom of related articles on sites such as the Daily Telegraph, CNN and Boston.com.

'The launch of an app is incredibly important to get right,' explains Girdwood. 'If a launch goes well, the app will then appear on the 'most popular' chart [in the app store]. If you don't manage the launch well, your app sits there and only people who are looking for it will find it.'

BA and bigmouthmedia favoured content syndication because, says Girdwood, it doesn't annoy the site owner or the user and it adds value. On the news sites in question, the content appears as part of a 'lovely social widget', says Girdwood. 'It doesn't feel like it destroys the proposition.'

Related content can be viewed more favourably by users than advertisements - even those tailored to their personal interests - leading to high click through rates and generating genuine interest in the marketer's content.

To date, the drive in traffic towards BA-related content has resulted in more than 250,000 app downloads while more than 30,000 BA mobile boarding passes have been used by globetrotting passengers.

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