Case
Teaching Notes
Supplementary Resources
Abstract
Rob Griffin, senior vice president and U.S. director of search for Media Contacts, a communications consulting firm, is faced with the task of optimizing search engine marketing (SEM) for Air France. At the time of the case, SEM had become an advertising phenomenon, with North American advertisers spending $9.4 billion in the SEM channel, up 62% from 2005. Moving forward, Griffin wants to ensure that the team keeps its leading edge and delivers the results Air France requires for optimal Internet sales growth. The case centers upon Air France's and Media Contacts' efforts to find the ideal SEM campaign to provide an optimal amount of ticket sales in response to advertising dollars spent. This optimal search marketing campaign is based on choosing effective allocation of ad dollars across the various search engines, as well as selecting appropriate keywords and bid strategies for placement on the search result page for Internet users.
In determining the optimal strategy, the case presents background information on the airline industry as well as the Internet search options available at the time, including Google, Microsoft MSN, Yahoo!, and Kayak. Additionally, background information is provided on SEM and its associated costs and means of measuring the successfulness of each marketing effort. The case illustrates how one must first determine the key performance indicators for the project to guide analysis and enable comparison of various SEM campaigns. Cost per click and probability to produce a sale differ among publishers. Therefore, using a portfolio application model's quadrant positions can be used to determine optimal publisher strategies. Additionally, pivot tables help illustrate campaigns and strategies that have historically been most successful in meeting Air France's target Internet sales. Multiple recommendations on how Media Contacts can assist Air France in improving its SEM strategy can be derived from the data provided.
This case was prepared for inclusion in SAGE Business Cases primarily as a basis for classroom discussion or self-study, and is not meant to illustrate either effective or ineffective management styles. Nothing herein shall be deemed to be an endorsement of any kind. This case is for scholarly, educational, or personal use only within your university, and cannot be forwarded outside the university or used for other commercial purposes.
2023 Sage Publications, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Resources
Further material in relation to the below Exhibits is also available in an Excel spreadsheet.
Exhibit 1: Scheduled Passenger Revenue by Destination
Source: World Air Transport Statistics (WATS). WATS provides statistics from more than 350 airlines, including low-cost carriers. This represents a complete statistical picture of the airline industry in 2006.
Exhibit 2
| Scheduled International Passengers Carried in 2006 (World) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Rank | Airline | No. of Passengers |
| 1 | Ryanair | 40,532,000 |
| 2 | Lufthansa | 38,236,000 |
| 3 | Air France | 30,417,000 |
| 4 | British Airways | 29,498,000 |
| 5 | KLM | 22,322,000 |
| 6 | Easyjet | 21,917,000 |
| 7 | American Airlines | 21,228,000 |
| 8 | Singapore Airlines | 18,022,000 |
| 9 | Emirates | 16,748,000 |
| 10 | Cathay Pacific Airways | 16,667,000 |
| Scheduled Passengers Carried in 2006 (World) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Rank | Airline | No. of Passengers |
| 1 | American Airlines | 99,835,000 |
| 2 | Southwest Airlines | 96,277,000 |
| 3 | Delta Airlines | 73,584,000 |
| 4 | United Airlines | 69,265,000 |
| 5 | Northwest Airlines | 55,925,000 |
| 6 | Lufthansa | 51,213,000 |
| 7 | Air France | 49,411,000 |
| 8 | All Nippon Airways | 49,266,000 |
| 9 | Japan Airlines | 48,911,000 |
| 10 | China Southern Airlines | 48,512,000 |
Source: World Air Transport Statistics (WATS). WATS provides statistics from more than 350 airlines, including low-cost carriers. This represents a complete statistical picture of the airline industry in 2006.
Exhibit 3
Source: International Air Transport Association (IATA). IATA, an international trade body created more than sixty years ago by a group of airlines, represented some 250 airlines comprising 94 percent of the international scheduled air traffic.
Exhibit 4: Frequent Business Travelers' Use of Online Tools, 2002 and 2004 1
| 2002 | 2004 | |
| Total sample of frequent business travelers: | 312 | 304 |
| Number of respondents that: | ||
| Print boarding pass before airport arrival | 30 | 77 |
| Check in online | 22 | 76 |
| Receive mobile or PDA alerts | 30 | 44 |
| Use in-flight Internet access | 7 | 7 |
Source: JupiterResearch
Exhibit 5: U.S. Broadband Household Projections, 2000–2010 2
Note: Mintel estimates are based on deployment data of all high-speed Internet access technologies, including cable service, DSL, and both fixed and mobile wireless connections.
Exhibit 7: Microsoft Excel Pivot Table Overview 4
Excel PivotTable reports provide the ability to organize, summarize, and analyze data by viewing it in different ways. Views can be created that offer comparisons, reveal patterns and relationships, and analyze trends.
Use the PivotTable Wizard, located in the Data menu, to create PivotTable reports. PivotTable reports are interactive; the table is “pivoted”—that is, its row and column headers are rotated to show data in different ways and to show different summaries of the data.
To create a PivotTable report layout, click a cell in the data to be used to create the report. On the Data menu, click PivotTable Report.
Excel determines the data to include in the report based on the cell selection. By default, it creates a layout for the report on a new tab and includes the column headings as buttons on the PivotTable toolbar.
PivotTable reports are created by dragging heading buttons to different areas of the layout. The layout changes appearance as fields are dropped into it. Once the results are seen, simply drag the headings outside the layout area and try a different arrangement.
Click on Field Settings to change the mathematic operator on the data.
Drag other heading buttons onto the table to drill into the data. Consult Microsoft Excel Help for more detailed information.
Notes and References
1. Mintel International Group Ltd., “Internet Travel Booking—U.S.—September 2005.”
2. Ibid.
3. See spreadsheet accompanying this case for the complete data set.
4. From Microsoft Excel Help, Overview: PivotTable Reports. Search for PivotTable reports in Excel for the most current tutorial.
This case was prepared for inclusion in SAGE Business Cases primarily as a basis for classroom discussion or self-study, and is not meant to illustrate either effective or ineffective management styles. Nothing herein shall be deemed to be an endorsement of any kind. This case is for scholarly, educational, or personal use only within your university, and cannot be forwarded outside the university or used for other commercial purposes.
2023 Sage Publications, Inc. All Rights Reserved
