Strategies for Qantas Airlines: Building a Positive Public Perception

This report examines the communication challenges faced by Qantas Airlines, focusing on the negative public perception stemming from a social media contest gone wrong. It analyzes the airline's need to rebuild trust, reconnect with its workforce, and repair the customer experience. The report identifies three key factors for organizations using social media for public relations, emphasizing the importance of understanding the social media landscape, promoting responsible use, and providing comprehensive training. A communication plan template is then used to devise a course of action for Qantas management, detailing timing, target audience, key messages, and desired outcomes. The report emphasizes the need for a proactive approach to social media communication to protect the airline's reputation. References from academic journals and books support the analysis, providing insights into crisis communication, corporate reputation, and social media strategies.

Management Communication 1
Management Communication
Name:
Course:
Professor:
University:
Date:

Management Communication 2
Management Communication
Nicknamed “The Flying Kangaroo,” Qantas Airlines was started in Australia on the 16th
of November, 1920. It is the largest carrier in the country and the second oldest worldwide. The
company operates a fleet size of 132 which serves 41 diverse destinations across the globe.
Qantas Airlines holds a 65% majority shares in the Australian Domestic Market and at the same
time, carries closely to 20% of travelers within and out of the country (Shaffner, Mills & Helms,
2017).
2010 to 2011 proved to be challenging because the brand faced significant. A few
touched on engine failures and accusations of racial prejudice from the company employees, but
the most significant humiliation involved the backlash witnessed on social media. The company
organized a twitter contest where participants were to receive fifty pairs of first-rate Qantas
nightwear and a luxury service kit. Unluckily, instead of the contest achieving its goal, the public
hijacked the Twitter hashtag Qantas Luxury and utilized it as an opportunity to attack the airline
(Coombs, 2014). The masses expressed negative views regarding the company on social media.
What Future Actions can Qantas take to build a Positive Public Perception of the Brand?
Be Prepared to Provide Justification for Your Recommended Actions.
Advertising alone is not enough to overcome some of the challenges the company faced.
(Burke, 2016). There are three future actions that the brand can embark on to build a positive
social perception;
Rebuilding Trust
The eroded trust affected the emotional and economic elements of the carrier company.
Trusted airlines that are exceptionally competitive have committed and repeat clients who not
only recommend them to relatives and friends but exhibit a willingness to pay high flying rates.

Management Communication 3
The high premiums are due to long-term investments and commitments that cannot be rebuilt in
a single day. Qantas will have to come up with strategies that will not only benefit the company
but will enable them to regain and retain some of the clients they lost.
Reconnecting With the Workforce
After the scandal broke out, many employees felt disgruntled and deceived. From the call
center operators, pilots and the cabin crews, there was some pride in having an association with
the airline, which was manifested to the public. However, with time this feeling diminished.
Reconnecting with the employees can be achieved through different strategies like demonstrating
a committed and inspired leadership. Simultaneously, the company can communicate to its
employees a sense of vision, mission and provide them with the resources needed to deliver on
company goals (Pickavance, 2014).
Repair The Lost Client’s Experience.
The business can align their operations with the emotions they are trying to restore. The
management should reassess what the customer experience means for them, what makes it
unique and use its workforce to ensure every customer experience is different. Sequentially, the
management should read, listen, view, see and click to learn more about the customers.
Identify Three Important Factors for an Organization to Consider when Using Social
Media, Such As Twitter, for Contest or Other Public Relations Initiatives. Use 3-5
Secondary Sources to Support your Analysis
Social media has levelled the playing field for many businesses, and Qantas is no
exception. However, there are certain elements that organizations ought to consider when using
social media for public-relations activities or contests like in the case of Qantas Airlines. (Scott,
2015). For starters, it is important that organizations understand what is happening in the social

Management Communication 4
media space. Businesses need to first comprehend where clients are and where they go to learn
about the company’s services, their destination sites and what they prefer because it becomes
easy to deal with adversities (Dawson, 2017).
Second, businesses should encourage both their employees and the public to embrace the
responsible use of social media use. The social tools are a crucial source of communication
between businesses and clients, and with each other (Bharati, Zhang & Chaudhury, 2015).
The third element is training. The complex business use of social media requires
comprehensive training for it to be successful. Some form of preparation should be available to
employees, including the convenient tools and how best to use them to accomplish corporate
goals.
Using the Communication Plan Template in the Case (See Exhibit TN-1), Devise a Course
of Action for Olivia Wirth to Recommend to Qantas Management.
DRAFT MEMO
Date:
To: Qantas Management
From: (Name)
Re: The Next course of Action for Qantas Airlines
The appropriate course of action plan in this case involve eight items; timing, audience,
key message, sender, medium, rate, material and desired outcome.
Timing
The business should target between December and January because it is the peak season
when most travelers book their flights (Semenza et al., 2014). Simultaneously, this period brings
many customers which are profitable for the business.

Management Communication 5
Target Audience
Both followers and non-followers of Qantas Airlines and any other person out there who enjoys
aviation and likes to fly around can be targeted by the company.
Sender
Qantas should make use of its social media handles, twitter, Instagram and Facebook to
broadcast its messages to the masses. Even though there was a backlash targeting the company
from many people, they still offer a market for the company and they can be reached easily
through social media platforms.
The Integral Message
At this point, the company executives must rethink strategy regarding the message they
want to send out there. The information broadcasted at this point should be intended to repair the
broken association between clients and the carrier. In this regard, it should be an apologetic
message. Furthermore, it ought to reassure customers that the company is looking into their
concerns.
Desired Outcome
At this point, there should be no negative comments because the intention is to have a
favorable outcome. Remarks that trigger previous negative experiences should be reserved for
social media postings.
Medium
All the channels of communication will be used. The official and un-official avenues can
be used for the competitions, even in the future.

Management Communication 6
Materials
The carrier should forget about all previous contests and social activities and concentrate
in the future by starting afresh. The past is gone, and the business must move on. The best way to
move forward is to focus on the potential and not continue to think about what went wrong.
Frequency
The frequency depends on many factors; for instance, every holiday should have a social
posting. Simultaneously, the company should consider reaching out to customers and offer them
a chance to win an incentive.
Social media communication that is poorly managed can damage a company’s reputation
and erode stakeholders, employee and customer confidence. It is, therefore, means that
organizations ought to put in place a mechanism to monitor customer feedback and comments
appropriately.

Management Communication 7
References
Bharati, P., Zhang, W. & Chaudhury, A., 2015. Better Knowledge with Social Media? Exploring
the Roles of Social Capital and Organizational Knowledge Management. Journal of
Knowledge Management, 19(3), Pp.456-475.
Burke, R.J., 2016. Corporate Reputations: Development, Maintenance, Change and Repair.
In Corporate Reputation (Pp. 19-59). Rutledge.
Coombs, W.T., 2014. State Of Crisis Communication: Evidence and the Bleeding
Edge. Research Journal of the Institute for Public Relations, 1(1), Pp.1-12.
Dawson, V.R., 2017. Organizing, Organizations, And the Role of Social Media
Conversations. Transformative Practice and Research in Organizational
Communication, P.62.
Pickavance, N., 2014. The Reconnected Leader: An Executive’s Guide to Creating Responsible,
Purposeful and Valuable Organizations. Kegan Page Publishers.
Scott, D.M., 2015. The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use Social Media, Online
Video, Mobile Applications, Blogs, News Releases, and Viral Marketing to Reach Buyers
Directly. John Wiley & Sons.
Semenza, J.C., Sudre, B., Miniota, J., Rossi, M., Hu, W., Kossowsky, D., Suk, J.E., Van Bortel,
W. &Khan, K., 2014. International Dispersal of Dengue through Air Travel: Importation
Risk for Europe. Plops Neglected Tropical Diseases, 8(12), P.E3278.
Shaffner, E., Mills, A.J. & Helms Mills, J.C., 2017. Reading Qantas History: Discourses of
Intersectionality and the Early Years of Qantas. In Insights and Research on the Study of
Gender and Inter-sectionality in International Airline Cultures (Pp. 445-469). Emerald
Publishing Limited.