United Airlines has launched a new media network, the first in the airline industry, aimed at targetting content-specific ads to flyers. But the practical side effect, already in effect, is obligatory ads (and a lot of them) before screening any content, which is a very customer-unfriendly change.
As United Airlines Launches Kinective Media Network To Generate Revenue For MileagePlus, Passengers Now Forced To Watch Ads Before Any Content
United’s new venture is called Kinective Media and is billed as the first airline media network that “uses insights from travel behaviors to connect customers to personalized, real-time advertising, content, experiences and offers from leading brands.”
- The new technology platform allows marketers to scale their reach across a wide range of channels including United’s mobile app and inflight entertainment screens
- United claims its MileagePlus members will receive additional value through more personalized and real-time offers and experiences that drive even greater loyalty
Here’s how Richard Nunn, CEO of United MileagePlus (whom I hold in very low regard for his dramatic devaluation of MileagePlus redemption pricing during his short tenure), describes the new endeavor:
“We’ve built a first-of-its-kind, real-time, adtech-enabled traveler media network where brands have already started connecting to premium audiences at an unmatched scale. Unlike some commerce media platforms, United gives brands across a wide range of industries the ability to reach engaged customers throughout the entire marketing funnel – from brand consideration to conversion – in a way that’s highly personalized and relevant, and we’re already seeing impressive results. There has been a huge strategic shift within this high growth sector in the past five years where advertisers and brands have come together to determine how best to connect with consumers in a way that’s valuable, effective and personalized.”
My translation: blah, blah, blah…we are going to force you to watch ads.
And that’s really the practical result of this rejiggering of the system. Even before this announcement, I was preparing a post on a new problem onboard: you can no longer “skip” the ads before watching a movie or TV show. In the past, you could just fast-forward through them but not any longer: you are stuck watching them now with no ability to skip.
And instead of three ads, there are now five…Yes, five ads every time you open a new program.
United has to pay for its new screens somehow…and this is it.
I think the new system stinks, full stop. My answer is that I am not going to bother with it unless beyond the in-flight map, unless I’m on a long flight with absolutely nothing better to do. Please spare me from another Marriott ad…
CEO Scott Kirby talks a good talk about creating a premium product onboard, but there’s nothing premium about forcing passengers to watch five ads before they can access content.
I don’t want it. Nobody wants it.
Too bad, so sad, though, right?
It’s coming. It’s here on some aircraft. And it’s here to stay. It’s a lucrative deal and money talks.
So while I am griping about it here, perhaps a bit too much, I consider the matter closed and simply a new downside to the United flying experience. I’ll survive and it won’t change my travel patterns, so United has already won.
Now to be fair, the “mandatory ads” would likely have happened anyway and may not be directly related to Kinective Media. But it is reasonable to draw the connection because advertisers will pay a premium for a captive audience versus ads that you can instantly fast-forward through.
CONCLUSION
United has introduced Kinective Media, a new ad network that will take your personal info and, without sharing any details, nevertheless “process it” to offer custom-tailored ad content. If the new IFE system is any indication, you will not be able to skip through it (though maybe United will start offering a “Premium” subscription like YouTube…).
Clearly, I’m not excited about this change or about anything Nunn has done during his time at MileagePlus, but I also understand that “business is business” and United will do all it can to squeeze every penny out of every revenue source.
This is why I carry an iPad on every long distance flight and turn off the screen immediately after sitting down.
yep.. good move. I do the same.
Hmmm, and this is why I was more in favor of the AA byod program over the in seat entertainment. Imagine that, the old monetize something that costs them money……
While I don’t like the increased ads, given a choice… I’ll take having the screens (albeit with ads) over what they had before: only streaming entertainment.
Best way to avoid this crap is to detach your life from tech and “entertainment” as much as possible. Both are nothing but a combination of cesspool and billboard. When we revise our vacuous quest for convenient non-stop entertainment at our fingertips, we can reclaim humanity from sales and marketing propaganda artists and think for ourselves again. But I don’t see that happening anytime soon. There’s too much money to be had
@wac … Exactly so . Not only sales and marketing propaganda , but all other types of insanity are harmful as propaganda . When they watch media , they have ‘open minds’ and garbage is being shoveled inside .
It is even worse to consider what is happening to children with stupid ‘gender ideology’ being shoveled inside .
The issue is that they are not personalized, and they are not connected. They really were smart, they would be offering immersive based advertising experiences, ones that were specifically geared to the destination and were incentive based (tying engagement to loyalty or real time rewards such as free internet or a snack box) or beneficial to the traveler (tapping to learn more and be brought to sponsored influencer content or personalized based on flying behavior – think Amazon and ads built to your purchasing behavior). United is sitting on a treasure trove of a first party data and can really have done something better than just pre-roll, non skippable, advertising. Heck Netflix offers ‘pause’ based ads and people love those as it’s not in the way of experience. Then again, when is United cared about experience?
If I finally select a movie to watch, I read for a while then then the movie finally starts watch it. I also bring a portable DVD player attached to my laptop so I can watch what I want without ads if I want. It takes forever these days once a the safety video starts with a lot of other junk before you access entertainment anyways.
If every person on every UA flight requests, as often as possible, a copy of their involuntarily collected data, including how it was “shared” and with whom, then demands it be deleted according to whichever privacy protection law is applicable, then they might turn Richard Nunn’s “marketing funnel” around and stick it where it has the most impact.
Once the EU and Max Schrem’s noyb (None Of Your Business) advocacy group get wind of this, there’ll probably be some financial repercussions for UA.
Richard Nunn (translated): “Every other company is abusing your personal information for profit, so we’re going to hop on this dystopian gravy train, too.”
“Blah, blah, blah…we are going to force you to watch ads.” Exactly. This clown hits all the corporate bullshit bingo words. No one buys his slick talking.
Yeah the company should try to maximize profits. But this crap is getting to be too much. Everywhere you turn UA is trying to shake a few more shekels from your pocket. Another annoyance making the travel experience more tedious. This is the first time in many years I may not make 1K. I’m tired of being devalued as a customer.
As mentioned in previous comments, assuming that this really is tailored to the behaviour of individual consumers, I don’t see how it could comply with EU privacy rules, and I am not sure that they can get away with a disclaimer. In any case, I only ever watch the moving map, so probably won’t be affected by that rubbish spreading to other airlines.
GDPR is a limit placed on PI. If United has your approval, GDPR doesn’t apply. People don’t read the carriage of service, you think they read the privacy policy?? Ha.
In this instance, United is launching a “personalized” experience. This could mean a host of targeting options, the easiest and most broad is contextual. Just tossing up an ad based on your destination. Some ski lodge in Vail during the winter on first class screens, etc.
What people are missing is that United is already doing this with your data. Have the app? Have the credit card? United, knows where you live, where you work, your purchase behavior, your travel habits and way more. Your phone connect to the internet? Have a smart TV? United knows your IP address, has your email address and knows your physical address. Whether you or Joe or Tommy or Mary watch the ad is not relevant, United is already monetizing, legally, your data. Fun right? …my favorite part is with a concentric analysis, United knows all your family members and figured out all their information as well. Plug your phone into a car, got you. List goes on.
This is just a play for additional scale as it ties all their screens while building an off “site” component. It’s like an online retailer using your data to target you outside of their on site ecosystem. Smart play, gives scale and access to large dollars…just a stupid rollout.
I only have one airline app- that of the airline on which I have my main status, and only because their website can be quite frustrating. I am not about to start downloading bits of software each time I book a ticket on another *A member (let alone for the couple of times per year that I fly Skyteam or the even more occasional journey on a LCC). Equally, I don’t have any US credit cards, and my European ones don’t seem to do much personalised targeting (Amex occasionally do some lame offers for gymwear, I walk a lot but haven’t seen the inside of a gym in years). I agree that someone who’s immersed in the FFP universe of a specific airline will have voluntarily given them more than enough data to enable customisation of adverts etc, but I don’t think it would be that straightforward for them to [legally] capture information about other flyers at a level of granularity that would bring them commercial benefit.
Some good points, but personal privacy is a layered thing. You have to adjust privacy settings in all accounts, including credit card issuer marketing/sharing preferences, and across all devices you use. You should opt out of targeting marketing/data exploitation wherever possible, if your privacy is important to you. (And it should be.)
Next will be 15 minutes of the Home Shopping Channel….
“This broach is just fab , and we only have 15,000 left, and they are going quick, so better call now…..”
Once again Kirby show the the ULCC DNA still runs strong in him. What makes this worse is that these highly selective ads are supposedly going to remain anonymous. Anyone here buy that? Anyone? Somebody in the back? I thought not. But Kirby will remove this after a while, or more specifically charge you money to opt out because that’s what soulless bean counters do.
Maybe this will cause American to add back seat back screens. They could show ads all of the time.
They are developing the media company into a form of CTV network (connected TV) like YoutubeTV. They know your seat number, which means that can link the seat to your UA profile where they have your address, phone numbers and emails. This allows them to find you in a US consumer database and then give advertisers access to a group of flyers on each flight based on their exact demographics and beyond. That way, JP Morgan doesn’t waste advertising dollars on people with no money and Sherry’s Berries doesn’t waste money on folks who are single. You get the idea. Those kinds of ads are very targeted and therefore expensive, and UA will certainly sell advertisers hard on the fact that the audience is captive and has no choice but to watch the ads.
So, as per previous comments, one will only be subjected to this if they are a member of the UA FFP. I suppose that, if they’re happy to accept regular no-notice devaluations of their mileage balances, they wouldn’t be the type of person who is bothered about the airline selling their data to advertisers.
No ad is effective without audio. Just get used to not putting on your headphone for the first five minutes. Will this prevent seat swapping since the targeted ad will reach the wrong passenger? That would be one good benefit.
I haven’t used any airline entertainment system for a long time. Btw, Qantas has had this ad offer for a long time, nothing “first” about it
It’s getting pretty bad, isn’t it. Everywhere you go there are Ads for this and that, shopping, etc. It’s bad enough that we have to watch their quirky safety video.
“I don’t want it. Nobody wants it.”
But…their customer feedback and research suggests otherwise!