European airline Lufthansa went mobile after discovering that it lacks brand recognition and has high price-point perception among consumers.

Lufthansa partnered with Global Advertising Strategies to position the airline as a company that understands its culturally diverse customers and is an active and invested member of their individual communities. Lufthansa then rolled out ?We Fly Home,? a booking portal offering discounted fares to select countries.

?Global Advertising Strategies has been the multicultural agency of record for Lufthansa for the past 5 years,? said Shama Shirodkar, interactive media director at Global Advertising Strategies, New York. ?In this period, Global has been responsible to provide cultural insights into the multicultural markets which allowed Lufthansa to build a stronger bond within each market segment.

?This year, as an extension of the Lufthansa Flavors of India campaign within the South Asian market, Global recommended launching a mobile version of the Flavors of India site based on prior results which showed that a large number of South Asian access the Internet via their smartphones,? he said.

Global Advertising Strategies is an international marketing and advertising agency offering a diverse portfolio of services with an emphasis on cross-cultural and digital brand positioning.

Lufthansa is the largest European airline.

Market research
Through detailed and customized market research, Global determined that the markets driving Lufthansa?s revenue stream were Russia, Israel, Poland and Greece.

Each market had a unique subpage created for direct messaging and tracking.

Apart from the viral effect and already existing online ad campaign, Lufthansa also ran a banner ad campaign with some well-renowned South Asian vendors that provide the capability to reach users browsing South Asian sites on mobile.

Ads also appear on the South Asian applications available in the United States.

Results
Within three short months, WeFlyHome.com received more than 300,000 unique visitors and increases in overall ticket sales surpassed Lufthansa?s original target of 91 percent.

The mobile version of the microsite lets users share their favorite recipes and vote.

?Global acts as a strategic partner in reaching the South Asian market within the U.S.,? said David Cortes, account director at Global Advertising Strategies, New York.

?Our expertise is in understanding the culture nuances of this target in order to offer Lufthansa with effective marketing materials,? he said. ?In the instance of Flavors of India, we used food as a unifying factor for our South Asian target. 

?Although the country boasts more than 22 different languages, food remains a means to connect back to their country of origin. It is this connection home that Lufthansa wants to keep top of mind.?

Authenticity
Mobile lets Lufthansa speak to the South Asian market in an organic manner.

The goal of Lufthansa?s mobile initiative is to add authenticity by keeping the specific target in mind. 

Given Lufthansa?s multi-hub system and its focus on the high-end traveler, there is a clear requirement to drive long-haul traffic through its German hubs to a diverse group of destinations. 

Doing so requires an intelligent engagement of consumers who might not identify Lufthansa with, for example, long-haul travel from the United States to India. 

?Global Advertising Strategies, given its unique focus on both cross-cultural groups in the U.S. and the broader BRIC markets, is ideally positioned to deliver Lufthansa?s message,? said Jesse Williamson, vice president of finance and investor relations at Global Advertising Strategy, New York.

?Cross-cultural communication of this nature is Global?s hallmark, and the importance of a having such cross-cultural strategy is expected to grow over time as a consequence of continued globalization and market segmentation,? he said.

Final take
Giselle Tsirulnik is senior editor of Mobile Marketer