Fall

Brand Management - Lufthansa

Tongji University Shanghai

2014

Table of Contents
1. Overview ............................................................................................................................ 3
a) Passenger Transportation ............................................................................................. 3
b) Logistics .......................................................................................................................... 4
c) MRO-Services ................................................................................................................ 4
d) Catering .......................................................................................................................... 4
e) IT Service ........................................................................................................................ 4
2. Brand history ..................................................................................................................... 5
3. Brand positioning .............................................................................................................. 6
a) Points of Parity............................................................................................................... 6
b) Points of Difference ....................................................................................................... 7
c) Brand positioning........................................................................................................... 7
d) Who are the main competitors? ................................................................................... 9
e) How the brand is similar with these competitors? ..................................................... 9
f) Market Segmentation..................................................................................................... 9
2. Brand Elements ............................................................................................................... 11
a) Brand Name and Logo ................................................................................................ 11
b) Characters .................................................................................................................... 12
c) Slogans .......................................................................................................................... 12
d) Jingles ........................................................................................................................... 13
3. Current brand communication and content ................................................................. 13
a) Promotion of the new Premium Economy Class ...................................................... 13
4. Brand extension ............................................................................................................... 14
a) Nonstop you .................................................................................................................. 14
b) Muppets ........................................................................................................................ 16
5. Brand strategy ................................................................................................................. 17
a) Brand Hierarchy Levels .............................................................................................. 17
b) Brand Roles .................................................................................................................. 17
c) Brand-product matrix ................................................................................................. 18
6. Conclusion and advice .................................................................................................... 19
7. References ........................................................................................................................ 20

1. Overview
Deutsche Lufthansa is a globally operating aviation company that comprises of approximately
400 companies as well as subsidiaries. Founded in the year 1953 it is currently employing
around 120.000 people all over the world. Lufthansa's registered office and corporate
headquarters are located in Cologne. Frankfurt Airport is Lufthansas primary traffic hub, the
majority of Lufthansas employees (Pilots, ground staff and flight attendants are based there),
even though the LAC (Lufthansa Aviation Center) is located there. Frankfurt is followed by
the secondary hub Munich Airport and then Dsseldorf Airport, where the subsidiary
Germanwings is based. Lufthansa is also one of the five founding members of the Star
Alliance, the world's largest airline alliance, formed in 1997. It consists of five business
segments, which encompass the areas of passenger transportation, airfreight and airline
services: Passenger Airline Group, Logistics, MRO, Catering and IT Services. All of the
business segments occupy a leading position in their sectors and in some cases are the global
market leaders.
a) Passenger Transportation
The Passenger Transportation business segment is the core business activity of Deutsche
Lufthansa. It operates a network of scheduled flights that carry passengers from one
destination to another. The airlines belonging to Lufthansa are considered among the best in
the world. It operates a fleet of more than 650 aircrafts with over 200 destinations in around
85 countries.

This segment includes Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Air Dolomiti, Lufthansa CityLine, SWISS
and the Eurowings group, including Germanwings and the other brands which are displayed
in the picture above.
The destinations in Europe, America and also the Asia/Pacific region belonging to their major
sales market. The customer base of Lufthansa can be split up in 3 sections which accounting
for more than 2/3 of the total companys revenue.

Corporate customers

Travel agency chains

Private costumers
b) Logistics

Deutsche Lufthansas wholly-owned subsidiary Lufthansa Cargo AG is in charge of airfreight

and the marketing of air cargo capacities. It serves airfreight product segments, from td.Pro
the standard segment, to express like td.Flash and some specialized segments. The range of
Lufthansa Cargo covers over 500 destinations. Lufthansa corporates in his network with 120
business partners and over 1000 freight forwarders and original dispatchers.

Microsoft-Konto 10/30/14 1:22 PM

Comment [1]: satzbau
Microsoft-Konto 10/30/14 1:23 PM
Comment [2]: all 3 sind td.Pro, td.Flash &
specialized ?

c) MRO-Services
The MRO (Maintenance, Repair, Overhaul) is the Lufthansa Technik service which is among
the worlds leading providers of maintenance repair and overhaul services for commercial
airlines. Lufthansa Technik is divided into six division, from Overhaul, Engines, Components,
Maintenance, Landing Gear and Completion. The group operates through 27 MRO
destinations while serving more than 600 companies are located worldwide and with
maintenance centers in Frankfurt, Munich and Berlin.

Microsoft-Konto 10/30/14 1:25 PM

Comment [3]: unklar

d) Catering
With the LSG Service Holding AG (Brand Name: LSG Sky Chefs) Lufthansa is also offering
catering services and integrated in-flight solutions. It is the worlds largest provider of this
kind of catering, serving nearly 300 international airlines including all major international
airports.

Microsoft-Konto 10/30/14 1:26 PM

Comment [4]: eher additional oder ?

e) IT Service
The companys Information Technology (IT) services segment provides IT services through
the Lufthansa Systems group. for the airline and aviation sectors. From Airline Management
Solutions, Passenger Airline Solutions, Airline Operations Solutions, Industry Solutions and

Microsoft-Konto 10/30/14 1:27 PM

Comment [5]: satzbau

Infrastructure Services for airlines as well as other companies to run services in their
infrastructure. It serves nearly 180 regular customers principally in the aviation industry,
logistics service providers, banks and financial service providers, industrial companies and
public transport operators. Currently, it has operations in Germany and some other foreign
countries.
Lastly, Deutsche Lufthansa classifies its geographic segments into six regions namely:

Europe including Germany,

North America

Asia/Pacific

Middle East

Central and South America and Africa

Microsoft-Konto 10/30/14 1:28 PM

Comment [6]: Gehrt das auch zu IT
services ?

2. Brand history
If you take a deep look into the history of Lufthansa you can trace it back to 1926 when
Deutsche Luft Hansa A.G. was founded in Berlin. It was renamed into Deutsche Lufthansa in
1933 and became Germanys flag carrier until 1945, when all services were suspended
following the defeat of Germany in the Second World War. During the Post-War Era
Germany put great efforts into create a new national airline. At this point in time the
Aktiengesellschaft fr Luftverkehrsbedarf (Luftag) was founded on the 6. January 1953 in
Cologne. So far West Germany hadnt have sovereignty over its own airspace so there was an
uncertainty when the new airline could become operational. In the beginning of August 1954

Microsoft-Konto 10/30/14 1:30 PM

Comment [7]: if

Luftag finally purchased the name and logo from Deutsche Lufthansa to continuing the old
tradition of the German flag carrier. Shortly after the acquisition, Lufthansa got approval to
start scheduled domestic flights in West Germany. Linking the German airports Hamburg,
Dsseldorf, Frankfurt, Cologne and Munich, soon followed by international flights. In 1987
Lufthansa, together with Air France, Iberia, and Scandinavian Airlines, founded Amadeus, an
IT company (also known as a GDS) that would enable travel agencies to sell the founders and
other airlines' products from a single system. In 1988 Lufthansa gained a new corporate
identity, so their fleet, cabins, city offices and airport lounges got redesigned. The now
biggest and worlds first multilateral airline alliance Star Alliance was founded on May 18,
1997 by Lufthansa, Air Canada, Scandinavian Airlines, Thai Airways, and United Airlines. In
the following years, Lufthansa acquired SWISS in 2005, Brussels Airlines, and Austrian
Airlines in 2009.

3. Brand positioning
In this paper, I will only concentrate on the main brand Lufthansa which is connected to the
airline as itself. Other business segments, which are belonging to the Deutsche Lufthansa AG
as well, will not be touched in this paper. Lufthansa is positioned as a premium airline in the
market. They are charging higher prices for their quality product then their competitors. High
Quality is associated with the brand Lufthansa it links the message better to it, that is why
Lufthansa can differentiate themselves from their competitors.

Microsoft-Konto 10/30/14 1:32 PM

Comment [8]: which

a) Points of Parity
The Points of Parity of Lufthansa are those associations or particular attribute or Lufthansa
that can attract the customer easily. Lufthansa as a brand has a reputation as a high quality
airline, as well as a good reputation for excellent service. Furthermore safety is one of the
most important concerns of Lufthansa. This Point of Parity is enhanced also from the history
and background of the airline, based in Germany, so here comes the association with the good
reputation that products Made in Germany earned in the last century. Good service is also
associated with Lufthansa as a brand. Its a symbol for a premium airline which offers and
personal individual service for all their flight guest, starting at economy to the first class.

Microsoft-Konto 10/30/14 1:32 PM

Comment [9]: Paritt soll in dem
zusammenhagn etwas wie gleichbleibende
merkmale / Werte bedeuten ?
Microsoft-Konto 10/30/14 1:41 PM
Comment [10]: !
Microsoft-Konto 10/30/14 1:41 PM
Comment [11]: Soll das die bedeutung von
paritt darstellen?
Microsoft-Konto 10/30/14 1:33 PM
Comment [12]: Satzbau

Another aspect that customer implies with the brand is the feeling for holiday, exploring

Microsoft-Konto 10/30/14 1:34 PM

Comment [13]: satzbau

another place in the world and having a great time. A journey that means flying from one

Microsoft-Konto 10/30/14 1:35 PM

Comment [14]: Konkrete Merkmale

destination to another is still something very special even for a lot of people in Germany.
Arriving at the airport and getting on a plane is really exciting. Lufthansa could manage it

over their long tradition to associate this feeling to their own brand. Hereby also the elements
and feelings of having a reunion, business meetings, holidays and going to a special event are
contributing to the value of the brand. These intense feelings and emotions of excitement and
joy are essential for it.

Microsoft-Konto 10/30/14 1:37 PM

Comment [15]: Top

b) Points of Difference
Points of Difference are attributes that people and customers strongly associate with
Lufthansa itself. In that case people strongly evaluate and positively believe that they couldnt
find any of these attributes at a competitive airline. If it comes to Lufthansa and their Points of
Difference, people are linking an exclusive imagery, premium price, premium individual

Microsoft-Konto 10/30/14 1:43 PM

Comment [16]: Welche konkret ?

service, innovation, history of the brand, made in Germany (an airline people can trust) and
the strongly industry leadership to them.
c) Brand positioning
Positioning means finding the proper locations in minds of a group of consumers or market
segment, so that they think about a product or service in the right or desired way to maximize
potential benefit to the firm. Positioning requires determining a frame of reference and the
ideal points of parity and points of difference by using the brand associations.
The German Lufthansa AG is one of the most successful airlines in the world. Looking at the
development over the last 15 to 20 years, showing the development of "state enterprise" to the
early 90s in an international aviation group, Lufthansa significant changes, but also medium
and large crises "experienced" has. Lufthansa introduced and faces such challenges and is
again

rich

success.

The

"Product Lufthansa" triggers

but the external observer,
other emotions - check it
out: Think of Lufthansa ...
and what do you see? Clouds, airplanes. And that's
what makes the attraction of
a brand: Luft Hansa is not
only

an

air

transport

undertaking, but "Lufthansa"

triggers

dreams

and

Microsoft-Konto 10/30/14 1:44 PM

Comment [17]: Vielleicht noc hein paar
groe airlines im verlgeich ? wie united, air
France, KLM..

emotions. Because flying is still for many special, Lufthansa can offer in the form of
Corporate Culture and Identity, tradition, values and images. Furthermore Lufthansa is
focusing with his main brand on business clients, which are using Lufthansa as travel platform
to get from one meeting to another. Lufthansa is offering high-class individual transportation
service to their customers. This service can be divided into several parts. First there is the
main part of transportation. The company is offering the clients a transportation from one
place to another destination via aircraft. But this is the same service that other similar airlines
offer their clients as well. The differentiation between Lufthansa as a high-class premium
airline and their competing airlines is the 360 package with focus on serving the client. From
the check in till landing at the airport it is providing an irreproachable customer service in the
air as well on the ground with several lounges for business and first class passengers.
Additionally some service aspects as, foldable chairs, the latest newspapers, blankets, pillows,
entertainment system and of course inclusive food and drinks belonging to the high class
service of Lufthansa compared to the budget airlines.
Another important point while focusing on the brand positioning of Lufthansa is the
Partnership with FC Bayern Mnchen AG. Lufthansa is the one and only mobility Sponsor of
the soccer club. Flying the players and staff to all games around Europe. This sponsorship is
really important, both German brands are highly successful in their area of operation. They
symbolize the success story of companies Made in Germany. Increasing the brand
awareness through linking both brands in the home and international market. Lufthansa is
using special planes to carry even the fans to Champions League games. So if Bayern Munich
is winning the Champions League it will increases Lufthansas brand awareness as well.
Additionally both companies are producing several TV spots together to increase the wellknown connection between these brands.
But Bayern Munich is not the football club Lufthansa is working together with. The German
national football team is also sponsored by the company.

Microsoft-Konto 10/30/14 1:46 PM

Comment [18]: Konkret : gibt es z.b. free
drinks im vergleich zu anderen ? was ist
besonders ?

d) Who are the main competitors?

The European airlines like Air France-KLM and IAG, as well as US carriers such as Delta
Airlines and American Airlines are Lufthansas main competitors in intercontinental traffic.
But however the upcoming and fast growing airlines from the Gulf region like Etihad
Airways, Qatar Airways and Emirates are moving into the center of the competitive focus of
Lufthansa. When only taking the European traffic into account, the main competitors of
Lufthansa are Easy jet as well as Air Berlin.
e) How the brand is similar with these competitors?
Lufthansa and their main competitors offering nearly the same kind of service while
transporting them from one destination to another on. In today's aviation market, it is no great
differentiation between the different airlines. Each competitor differentiates only in detail
from each other if it comes to special individual services, age and equipment of the plane
fleet. Service offerings before and after start and landing as well as some other aspects as
food, drinks and so on.
f) Market Segmentation
In the following I will take a closer look on the customer segmentation strategy of the German
Lufthansa air carrier, which with 514 airplanes and 193.000 passengers per day is one of the
largest European airlines. When analyzing Lufthansas consumer segmentation it becomes
obvious that Lufthansa isnt one homogenous company and brand but a large multinational
corporation which owns multiple brands and smaller airlines. In general these different brands
can be allocated to three different consumer segments. The first segment is the budget
segment. In this segment, which was already explained in the section above, Lufthansa
concentrates all its low cost carriers like Germanwings and holdings of Jetblue Airways. The
second segment, which is the largest and most important one, is the segment of normal
travelers, which travel economy class, business class or first class. In this segment Lufthansa
concentrates its core brand Lufthansa Passenger Airlines, Swissair or Austrian Airways. The
third general segment is the private jet segment, in which Lufthansa offers premium
customers the special service of a private jet. In this paragraph I will concentrate on the
segmentation strategy of Lufthansas core brand Lufthansa Passenger Airlines and show the
four customer segments Lufthansa has identified.
Lufthansa divides their customers into three different groups according to their respective
customer equity level. With equity level Lufthansa means the past value of a customer based

on the value the customer created by flying or consuming Lufthansa services and the expected
future value a customer is most likely going to contribute. Lufthansa divides this segment into
three classes M1, M2 and M3 at which M1 is the lowest equity level and M3 is the highest
level. Lufthansa rewards customers with a high equity level by inviting them into special
frequent traveler programs and tries to encourage travelers with a low equity level by offering
attractive flights to motivate them to use Lufthansa more.
As mentioned above, Lufthansa rewards customers with a high equity level by inviting them
into frequent traveler programs. Lufthansas frequent traveler program Miles & More is made
up of three different levels which can be reached by flying miles with Lufthansa airplanes.
The lowest level is the Base level which has no privileges or special services but simply
enables customers to participate in this program and to collect miles in order to advance to the
next traveler level. The second level is the Frequent Traveler Level (FTL). These travelers are
awarded with a higher waiting list priority, free baggage allowance and access to Lufthansas
business lounges. The third level is the Senator level which already provides the traveler with
many comforts such as even higher waiting list priority, and other status symbols. The last
and highest level after the status segmentation of M1-3 is the HON-Circle, in which very few
frequent travelers are gathered and provided with the best service and comfort possible. This
includes private lounges at the airport, a luxury shuttle service from the gate to the airplane

Microsoft-Konto 10/30/14 1:50 PM

Comment [19]: Ist da sein 4. Level oder
gehrt das zum 3. ? kontraktionr zum
vorherigen satz

and a private hotline only for HON members.

The individual reason of traveling is another segment that is used by Lufthansa to develop
products and prices which meet their customers needs. Lufthansa splits this segment in
business travelers and vacation travelers and thus use the same approach which was
introduced by me in the beginning. Each customer groups have to be targeted differently and
have to be offered different services in order to satisfy their needs. Giving an example,
Lufthansa is introducing its FlyNet program right now, which offers Wi-Fi access during the
flights and by doing so enabling business travelers to work with the internet during the flight.

10

Microsoft-Konto 10/30/14 1:51 PM

Comment [20]: 4 ausschreiben oder
besser im letzten paragraph o

2. Brand Elements
a) Brand Name and Logo

Deutsche Luft Hansa AG 1927

Deutsche Lufthansa AG 1927

Deutsche Lufthansa AG 1964 till today

The German Lufthansa AG, based in Cologne, is one of the largest global corporations in the
civil aviation industry and combines several interesting features in their logo. The Lufthansa
was founded in 1926 and is today one of the best known brands in the field of aviation. Otto
Firle, graphic designer and architect of the DLR (German Luft-Reederei) designed in 1918 the
first logo of Deutsche Lufthansa today. It was an ascending bird more specifically the bird
should symbolize an ascending crane. The first appearance of the Lufthansa logo was during
the existence of Deutsche Luft-Reederei (DLR) in 1919. The crane mark was adopted later by

Microsoft-Konto 10/30/14 1:55 PM

Comment [21]: Redundant

Microsoft-Konto 10/30/14 1:55 PM

Comment [22]: satzbau

Deutsche Luft Hansa in 1926 and furthermore became finally the corporate identity of
Lufthansa. Today its one of the worlds most famous and instantly recognizable logos in the
field of aviation.
The Logo as itself is consisting of three different colors; blue, yellow and white. The meaning
of these colors symbolizes modernism, excellence and commitment in the service. Even
though the combination embodies peace, safety, optimism, trustworthiness and a sense of
responsibility of the company to the customer. Another important point in the design of the
Lufthansa logo is the use of one of the most used famous typefaces in the world. The
Helvetica is an often-used classic font that is based in the group of linear sans serif typeface
with neo-classical characters. For this reason it is very easy to recognize and identify the
Lufthansa logo among other brands, because brands like BMW, Deutsche Bahn and Toyota

11

Microsoft-Konto 10/30/14 1:56 PM

Comment [23]: s

Microsoft-Konto 10/30/14 1:56 PM

Comment [24]: ?

are using the same font style. Over the years the logo of Lufthansa has undergone a few
overhauls. In 1955 the introduced the first redesign, the company changed the name from the
blue and yellow sign of DEUTSCHE LUFT HANSA to LUFTHANSA and switched the
colors. Now the blue crane emblem appeared on a yellow parabola. So far the last change
happened in 1967 that is still representing the official Lufthansa logo. The airline changed the
letters to Lufthansa and used a new font Helvetica. Even though, this time the crane was
positioned inside a small circle against a yellow background.
Really untypically is the fact, that the last change of the logo is quite a while ago. People
already recognize the actual logo since a while. Maybe another small change could turn into a
higher brand awareness, because people always are interested in changes and

Microsoft-Konto 10/30/14 1:58 PM

Comment [26]: lesefluss

b) Characters
Lu and Cosmo representing Lufthansas character for the younger generation. Both of them
like to travel around the world to visit new places. They are comic versions of crane animals;
means there is a link to
the Lufthansa logo. So
Lufthansa is increasing
their brand awareness
already in the child
age. Furthermore Lu
and

Cosmo

are

walking around as a mascot in some lounges for families for example the Kinderland at the
airport in Munich.
c) Slogans
Lufthansas current slogan is Nonstop you, with this slogan the airline is promising their
guest that we take nonstop care of you all the time, when you are flying with us and was
officially launched at the ITB Berlin in
2012. It was release to repositioning the
brand Lufthansa, from now on there is no
longer talk about what is Lufthansa doing,
for their passenger but for whom they are
doing. "Nonstop you" on the one hand
describes

the

known

leading

role

of

12

Microsoft-Konto 10/30/14 1:57 PM

Comment [25]: which

Lufthansa in the business travel segment, which is backed by a dense route network,
comfortable lounges, personalized services and many innovations. In addition, the new
campaign speaks more clearly than before to the private traveler. The focus is on the
passengers and their experiences, wishes and dreams that are linked with flying Lufthansa.
d) Jingles
Whether in the air or on the ground: If you're traveling with Lufthansa, you are going to
experience the brand with all senses, no matter where you are. The sound of the corporate
identity therefore was produced by MetaDesign that travelers from all over the world will
experience starting at their first contact with Lufthansa. The brand touches the customer at all
different levels, from the Internet to booking a flight and even at the airport, the audio motif
appears again and again in many places. Another brand song is the Symphony of Angels
that welcomes travelers during boarding with this very special sound all over the world.
Furthermore in the Lufthansa terminal at JFK Airport New York the typical sound of the
brand Another Perfect Day is present as well. This line of Lufthansa jingles is on the spot
everywhere even at trade fairs, exhibition, TV commercials, radio advertising and even on the
phone when customers are calling Lufthansa. These audio portfolio makes Lufthansa as a
brand emotional easily recognizable everywhere.

3. Current brand communication and content

a) Promotion of the new Premium Economy Class
So far, there is a two-class society on many flights. In the front you can find those seated
persons who are on a business trip and behind the rest. Lufthansa now started to reallocate
those seats through a breakthrough with another class of travel. Starting this December,
passengers can experience more space, comfort with the normal service of the cattle class.
Lufthansa is advertising it with the most important part of it the TV spot which is called
Recorder. In the social web, the airline promoted the Premium Economy Class under the
heading #premium time.

13

It occurs on the British musician Duncan Townsend. He familiarizes himself in the clip with
the benefits of Premium Economy Class. The sound snippets that collects the artist on his
journey of discovery, finally found the song "Rebel Yell" 80s icon Billy Idol. The Briton then
texted: "More, more, more ..." - a fitting motto. Detail, the Lufthansa offer before on a
microsite. Here demonstrate some of the protagonists each additional services. This can also
be found on posters, ads and banners again. "For those who want more," is the message of
Lufthansa to their potential customers. It should describe their experiences in the network
among other artists and celebrities. There celebrated the Spot "Recorder" also preliminary
premiere.

4. Brand extension
Mentioned below there are two highly successful strategies of advertisement that Lufthansa
used to promote its brand for different customer segments. First it was the add campaign
Nonstop you which was released in 2009 to promote the changing image of Lufthansa to a
more. Hereby the passenger as individual was in the focus. Furthermore Lufthansa was
aiming to a more family friendly image with the Muppets campaign in the beginning of 2014.
a) Nonstop you
Lufthansa launched 2009 a new ad campaign which has the slogan Nonstop you. It was
released in print motifs, TV as well in the radio. The focus of this campaign was to show the
experience from a passenger perspective, the very personal wishes, stories and events that are

14

ongoing behind every flight. Lufthansa tries to show and authentic situations, the real image
what happening while traveling with Lufthansa. With for example individual combinations of
Pictures and some headings like Buchung, Landung, Brandung (Booking, Landing, Surf).
Important if it comes to the headings is that the 3 words rhyme themselves. This effect
delivers a fluent approach to the reader.
In the new campaign moving image will be an essential element in the media mix. In the TV
spots, but also in the print motifs, it goes to the very personal wishes, stories and events from
the perspective of passengers who stand behind every flight and make a flight with Lufthansa
a special overall experience. This is also reflected in the imagery: The motifs are authentic
and of course, the situations are true to life. The two used in the headings or triad, such as
"booking. Landing. Surf "always refers to a passenger experience that is created by the travel
with Lufthansa. The newly developed layout waived a strict stage and therefore opens up for
the picture. The short, concise headlines provide a high recognition and a stringent national
and international brand presence.

15

b) Muppets
After working in the movie "Planes" in 2012 the cooperation between Lufthansa and the
Disney Corporation goes into a second round. Together, the partners apply the German
theatrical release of the movie "Muppets Most Wanted". Under the motto "Join the Muppets
Lufthansa promoted the Disney movie with a broad online and offline campaign. By focusing
on their brand values and therefore the enriching travel experience, Lufthansa wanted to
present itself with the help of Kermit & Co. as a family friendly airline. Therefore the focus
on this campaign was mostly on family with children because of a specific logic. Usually it is
the children who see a title and say: Mom, Dad, I really want to go into this film. In this case,
it is rather the older generation that has grown up with the topic and says to the young: Come
on, let's look at it together. These approach was used
The Muppets brand superimposed or not outshine the Lufthansa brand. Here fit two strong
brands to each other very well.

16

5. Brand strategy
When analyzing the brand strategy and architecture of Lufthansa I first have to notice that the
Lufthansa and their brands are categorized overall as an House of Brands, where most of the
brands are not linked together in at all like Swiss, Germanwings and so on together with
Lufthansa so they are acting like a Shadow Endorser. Even though for LSG Sky Chiefs
Lufthansa is not connected at all to the catering brand. But on the other side we also have the
Subbrands of Lufthansa like Lufthansa Cargo, Lufthansa City Line, Lufthansa Technik and so
on, which are linked to the Master Brand Driver Lufthansa.
a) Brand Hierarchy Levels
To split up the Brand Hierachy of the aviation industry of Lufthansa we have to differentiate
between the Corporate Brand (Lufthansa AG) which is separated into several airlines like
Swiss, Lufthansa, Germanwings and so on, followed by the individual flights of these brands
which is furthermore divided into the Modifier. Along with it we can divide this level of the
brand hierarchy into the different service classes that airlines offering. Economy-, Businessand First Class. If I analyze the branding strategy of Lufthansa it is clear that company is
focusing on the principle of simplicity that means not that many levels of hierarchy. At the
same time the relationship among all brands is very clear and plausible.

b) Brand Roles
Taking the Lufthansa cooperation into account it is not so easy to separate the brand roles in
the portfolio.

Flanker: Its usually a fighter brand to create stronger points of parity with the
competitors brand, so it can support the main brand of Lufthansa.

Cash Cow: This brand doesnt need a virtually marketing support and has a sufficient
number of customers. For the Lufthansa Corporation the Lufthansa City Line or
Lufthansa Cargo is one of these brands.

High-End Entry Level: Swiss and Lufthansa as premium airlines are contributing real
value for the Lufthansa AG in total.

Low-End Entry Level: On the other hand we have Jet Blue, which is using some of the
Lufthansa background resources to operate flights for a low level budget.

17

c) Brand-product matrix
Analyzing the Airline side of Lufthansa, the Brand-mix can be divided into two main groups.
Cheap prices with minimum service (Germanwings, JetBlue, Condor etc.) and the other side
where the individual premium service is in the focus by charging a higher price. These
different brands are supporting themselves in the airline market.
Economy

Premium

Business

Class

Economy Class

Class

Lufthansa

Germanwings

Swiss

Jet Blue

Austrian

First Class

Cargo

Airlines
Lufthansa

Cargo

If it comes to the low-end entry levels vs. high-end prestige ones, Germanwings as a low-end
brand is profiting from the ownership of Lufthansa in many ways. The real value of
Germanwings is improving by the image of Lufthansa through adding prestige to the brand.
Because Lufthansa is positioned as a high level brand it isnt influenced by the low-end brand
Germanwings at all. Furthermore it is kind of working as Flanker for Lufthansa to create
stronger points of parity with the competitors brands. Therefore Lufthansa as a flagship can
retain their positioning.

18

6. Conclusion and advice

As it turned out there are many niches for specializing on specific consumer segments.
However, big multinational air carriers have no other choice but to divide their passengers
into different segments and try to offer the right products and services according to the
segments particular needs. In fact the respective actions to attract customers are relatively
similar amongst the big air carriers. The segments identified by Lufthansa may not be
assignable to every other airline, but because of the different conditions on the local airline
markets. Still, all of them are using loyalty programs which in my point of view are an
important tool to create customer loyalty in all segments. Still, I am convinced that the
importance of this kind of segmentation on the airline industry market will continue to
increase in the future.
By trying to analyze the customers behavior in the future this segment shows three different
trends possible. The increaser will most likely use more Lufthansa products like flights or

Microsoft-Konto 10/30/14 2:50 PM

Comment [27]: Trying ?

services in the future. He does not need to be convinced to travel with Lufthansa anymore.
The right marketing strategy for this type of travelers would be to keep them informed about
special offers or products there are interested in but not trying to push them too much risking
to cause a rejection towards the company.
The dropper will reduce their amount of traveling in the future. These people need to be
convinced about the products and services offered in order to motivate them to fly more often
with Lufthansa. The last and most dangerous group for a brands reputation is the group of the
stopper. This group will not use Lufthansa products anymore which can happen because of
multiple reasons. These customers can do a great damage to a brands reputation by spreading
a bad word of mouth which is why they have to be dealt with very carefully.
Based on increasing costs in several segments, many airlines have to save money by closing
their additional services, even though customers still are expecting high class service. In my
point of view, the segmentation between price sensitive customers and price insensitive
customers like the global executives or more wealthy passengers will become more
important in the future. Airlines known for their high class service such as Singapore Airlines,
Qatar Airways, Lufthansa or Emirates will expand their range of products targeting the price
insensitive passengers, while low cost carriers such as the earlier mentioned Ryanair and
easyJet will gain more market share by continuing to offer services especially for the price
sensitive passengers.

19

Microsoft-Konto 10/30/14 2:04 PM

Comment [28]: Nimmt die nutzung von
Flugzeugen zu oder ab in den zb ketztn 20
jahren ? wie wird sich das entwickeln ?

7. References
All References were available at 30th of October 2014.

http://www.famouslogos.us/lufthansa-logo/

http://www.ukessays.com/essays/management/the-turnaround-of-lufthansa-airlinesanalysis-management-essay.php

http://www.metadesign.com/de/clients/lufthansa

http://famouslogos.net/lufthansa-logo/

http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-322-94637-9_3

http://www.lufthansagroup.com/fileadmin/downloads/en/policybrief/04_2014/epaper/epaper/LHG_Policybrief_2014-4.pdf

http://www.lufthansagroup.com/en/themen/service-is-our-tradition.html

http://www.lufthansagroup.com/en/press/media-library/press-kits.html

http://www.markentechnik-blog.de/markenpositionierung-leistung-lohntsich/1465#sthash.lOcZwIp5.dpbs

http://www.mediabuzz.com.sg/asian-emarketing/brand-n-ingameadvertising/2162points-of-difference-or-points-of-parity-how-to-position-your-brand-competitively

http://branduniq.com/2011/points-of-parity-versus-points-of-differentiation/

http://www.ibrams.com/files/9513/6361/8417/iBrams_Case_Lufthansa.pdf

http://newsroom.lufthansa.com/news/%E2%80%9Cnonstop-you%E2%80%9D%E2%80%93-lufthansa-launches-new-ad-campaign

http://download.springer.com/static/pdf/788/bok%253A978-3-8349-87440.pdf?auth66=1412725134_4ff50dd08c8494fa307541b8d15ef9e7&ext=.pdf

http://de.slideshare.net/pinko0o/lufthansa-case-study

http://www.onetoone.de/Kolle-Rebbe-positioniert-Lufthansa-neu-21580.html#

http://www.youblisher.com/p/505265-Vergleich-Emirates-Airlines-DeutscheLufthansa-AG/

http://www.lufthansagroup.com/de/presse/meldungen/view/archive/2012/march/08/art
icle/2093.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqnQSmdPUOA

http://www.wuv.de/kampagnen/kreation_des_tages/wie_die_lufthansa_den_bayern_sp
ielern_das_abseits_erklaert

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CV4U8JR4P7s

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http://www.google.de/imgres?imgurl=http://meetinx.de/files/2011/12/lufthansawerbung-mit-bayern-muenchen-590-1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://meetinx.de/lufthansawerbung-featuring-fc-bayernmuenchen/&h=300&w=590&tbnid=xhFL3WVLWGax4M:&zoom=1&tbnh=90&tbn
w=177&usg=__8Xf4Tuqjw0bADyyPgEEQH9Jp0EQ=&docid=w_PlYHE76tb9M&sa=X&ei=HO01VKumMcil8AWEvoKQBg&ved=0CDYQ9QEw
Aw&dur=762

https://dmai2.fluidreview.com/p/s/555722/

http://www.lufthansagroup.com/en/press/newsreleases/singleview/archive/2012/march/08/article/2093.html

http://www.handelsblatt.com/panorama/lifestyle/lufthansa-will-sich-als-edel-flugliniepositionieren-kleine-privatjets-und-grosser-service-seite-2/2480104-2.html

http://reports.lufthansa.com/2011/ar/combinedmanagementreport/businesssegmentperf
ormance/passengerairlinegroup/marketsandcompetition.html

http://investor-relations.lufthansagroup.com/fileadmin/downloads/en/financialreports/shareholder-info/LH-shareholder-info-2014-08-e.pdf

http://investor-relations.lufthansagroup.com/fileadmin/downloads/en/chartsspeeches/LH-the-way-forward-e-2014-07.pdf

http://www.gaoshan.de/university/tp/term_paper-lufthansa-cathay-thai.pdf

http://download.springer.com/static/pdf/54/bok%253A978-3-642-200809.pdf?auth66=1413172491_f57e0f7c87ffe89a6daf3f4b3fa59ba6&ext=.pdf

http://dev.ulb.ac.be/cours/alle/PDF/LUFTHANSAmarketsdirect080930.pdf

http://www.lufthansa.com/mediapool/pdf/09/media_964209.pdf

http://reports.lufthansa.com/2011/ar/combinedmanagementreport/businesssegmentperf
ormance/passengerairlinegroup/marketsandcompetition.html?cat=m

http://www.onetoone.de/Kolle-Rebbe-positioniert-Lufthansa-neu_21580Teil3.html

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lufthansa

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geschichte_der_Lufthansa

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/de/c/c4/Subunternehmen_und_Beteiligungen_d
es_Lufthansa-Konzerns.jpg

http://www.partnersandnapier.com/work/lufthansa-airlines

http://www.danpearlman.com/en/lufthansa-brand-movie/

21

http://www.austrianwings.info/2011/01/der-kranich-feiert-geburtstag-lufthansa-wird85/

http://www.logolook.de/2009/05/lufthansa-otto-firle-und-sein-kranich/

http://www.lufthansagroup.com/de/presse/meldungen/view/archive/2014/july/24/articl
e/3109.html

https://de.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090111073915AA7bWCs

http://www.printfriendly.com/print/?source=site&url=http://www.ukessays.com/essay
s/marketing/overview-and-market-analysis-for-lufthansa-airlines-marketing-essay.php

http://www.managementstudyguide.com/branding-strategies.htm

http://www.wuv.de/marketing/lufthansa_wirbt_fuer_aufgepeppte_holzklasse

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