Disney’s Planes: spectacular pre-screening on board of a KLM plane

Branding is an important part to a companies success, and can provide several advantages. In my opinion, the marketing ploy of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines pairing with Disney provides advantages to KLM by building on their brand. However, I do not see the same brand improvement apply to Disney, only an increase in awareness of their new movie, “Planes.” The concept of creating an in-flight entertainment with full effects drives many aspects of KLM’s brand in positive directions. First and for most this conglomeration between KLM and Disney is a perfect example of how brand association can add certain emotions and personality to a company. I feel by associating Disney, a company directed toward family orientated fun and entertainment, with KLM has embedded this same genuine emotion within KLM’s brand. Furthermore, KLM’s association with Disney has also created the personality characteristic of being a kid friendly brand, a quality competitors do not appear to possess. In reflection, this brand association impacts a couple branding advantages. It slightly reduces competitive pressure because it differentiates itself from competitors, and it increases its value by adding new assets to its brand. Aside from brand association, it also increases KLM’s brand awareness in the eyes of youth by directing the ploy towards them. This increase in awareness to youths may not seem to be of any value but due to children having an increasingly larger input on parents decision making, it does add value to their overall awareness. This increase may result in a new considerations or creating an easier decision making process for consumers (adults with families) when deciding which airline to fly on. I see this attempt by KLM to focus on highlighting their brand in a new light as a positive marketing tactic, that will add to their success.