In 2009, United Airlines happened to break a guitar. Next thing you know, I was launching a marketing consultancy focused on the aviation industry. Thanks, United.

(It was this viral video that made airlines realize they had to come up with a social media strategy quickly, which I found myself well-positioned to help with.)

Recognizing a market gap in the fast-emerging social media landscape, I launched AIRticulate. For about two years, I consulted for several airlines, guiding social media strategy before everyone followed KLM’s lead and built dedicated in-house teams. 

Consulting paid the bills, but I also became a regular in the aviation conference speaking circuit, with opportunities to speak at conferences run by IATA, Airbus, Amadeus, and ICCA. You can see a few examples here:

 

 

I also partnered with Shashank at Simpliflying to produce an industry whitepaper, called (clever, but cringe) Getting Over Airrogance: How Airlines Can Live Up to the New Realities of Customer Engagement in the Age of Social Media.

You can see the Estonian AirScore example in my portfolio as an example of client work from AIRticulate.