The power of comment is often underestimated by start-ups. It allows businesses to gain national exposure, while also appearing to be an expert in their chosen industry. The business travel website Joesentme.com illustrated the use of this marketing medium in a recent New York Times article on the battle to implement Wi-Fi internet access on domestic airlines.
Featured in On the Road - The Race to Provide Wi-Fi at 30,000 Feet, the online provider of business travel advice has been created by the journalist Joe Brancatelli, who now makes his living as a consultant to various US and international publications.
Commenting on the challenges that flight providers face in their desire to charge customers for internet access, the publisher suggested that there is "zero-proof" that frequent flyers would be willing to pay for this service.
Described as the home page for business travellers, Mr Brancatelli's site was created in response to the September 11th attacks on New York and contains news, features and advice from some of the industry's experts. Using his personal experiences, the former editor of Frequent Flyer magazine advocates travel deals and destinations to his readers. After more than 30 years in the business, Brancatelli has logged countless, miles, drunk far too much bad coffee and wasted far too many hours in airline clubs to not pass on his advice.
Always ready to help news providers, Mr Brancatelli told the newspaper that the target market for this technology are the type of consumers who resist most to being "nickel-and-dimed" for necessary services.
The New York Times article also features quotes from a number of other industry sources, all eager to appear in a publication with a distribution in the hundreds of thousands. Orlando-based low-cost carrier AirTran is one of these smaller enterprises. The airline is highlighted for its recent announcement indicating that it will install Aircell's Gogo In-flight Internet service across its fleet this summer - the first domestic carrier to do so.
Robert Fornaro, chief executive of AirTran, explained that this product, much like broad online marketing campaigns, is "too important not to have".
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