Before we dive into Aaron Rodgers, let me preface this post with a little rant. There are few things more over-rated in sports than a comeback. I’m not talking about the inspirational comeback a player has from injury. I’m referring to a team coming back from a large deficit in a game to win at the last moment. I mean, what’s fun to watch about an overly lopsided first half, then an inversely lopsided second half?

The travel industry recovery is going to be a long, difficult road. Airlines, hotels, travel agents and many other in the industry need to find new ways to gain insights and capture value in an environment that has likely changed forever. There are many facets in which airlines can do this, but one is the continued emphasis on data to to gain a competitive advantage. Airlines use data in many aspects of their operations, including pricing, analyzing customer feedback, identify marketing strategies and scheduling airplane maintenance, just to name a few.

I mentioned in another post about the importance of airlines connecting with passengers. A major aspect of that is the method of communication leveraged by the firm. Social media has become the main medium of companies to engage with consumers. With the rise of social media, comes open source data to analyze interactions. Luckily, Twitter has a plethora of data available to its followers. Twitter Analytics is great for companies to analyze the reach and the effectiveness of their tweets.

I’ve always joked if I were to open up a restaurant or bar, I wouldn’t focus so much on the menu but on the walls. More specifically, the exterior walls. I’d put up a huge, inviting mural on one of the walls and that would be all the marketing I’d need. I would rely on people seeking out the mural to post pictures in front of the iconic artwork, ultimately promoting my restaurant whether they ate there or not.