EasyJet, BlaBlaCar, IHG, and Allianz all appear in our roundup of the stories making news and driving opinion on 23 October.
DISTRIBUTION
Today EasyJet, the UK's largest airline, unveiled a US website. Easyjet.com/us gives Americans a customised experience, enabling travellers to book their flights in dollars.
In September alone, 362,180 unique visitors in the US dropped by easyjet.com. About half of these visits were coming to the site directly (rather than through metasearch referrals), suggesting surprisingly strong brand recognition in the US. Perhaps they're all expats?
BlaBlaCar, Europe's long-distance car-sharing network, has launched in the Benelux, Poland, and Portugal, bringing its coverage to nine countries. "As of September 2012 BlaBlahCar had 2.4 million members and a new member signs up every 23.5 seconds," says the company.
DEVICES/MOBILE
Mobile is booming in the US. Reports the FT:
"Excluding time talking on the phone, US adults now spend an average of 82 minutes a day using mobile devices, about four times the 22 minutes people spent with their mobile devices in 2009, according to eMarketer, the research group."
International Hotels Group (IHG) says it generates more than £12 million a month in revenue from mobile bookings. Yesterday it launched its Priority Club Rewards iPad App to boost the revenue further. Says the company: "Corporate partners can now have their own customized IHG-branded app with their corporate ID embedded, so they can easily view and book negotiated rates."
Successful companies either give away handsets to sell content or giveaway content to sell handsets.
"None makes significant money from both content and hardware."
CAREER MOVES
This week, Allianz Global Assistance USA, a leader in travel and specialty insurance, hired Alan Josephs as Chief Marketing Officer. Josephs hails from Orbitz Worldwide, where he served as vp and GM of Orbitz’s Packaging and Attractions unit.
THANKS!
Tnooz hopes you will have a productive day. Feel free to e-mail us your tips and proposals for guest articles.
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