Digital Marketing skills for Air Malta’s Head of Marketing. Meet Daniel.

Air Malta’s Head of Marketing Daniel Balzan knew that for our national airline to keep strong momentum after the COVID-19 pandemic, he would need to equip himself with the digital marketing skills to be able to elevate this brand’s online campaigns, communicate more effectively with prospective clients and maximise their ROI. He enrolled for the Professional Diploma in Digital Marketing course and shares his experience.

As Head of Marketing of Malta’s national airline Air Malta, why was it important to equip yourself with digital marketing skills?
Along the years the aviation business model and approach has changed. Nowadays many customers are opting to purchase tickets online furthermore, we are faced with low-cost carriers whose sales strategy is entirely online. Traditional marketing is no longer in the spotlight and this is why it was important for me to gain digital marketing skills to be able to keep up with market trends and create strategies to keep in the game and compete with the other airlines.
Why have digital marketing skills become crucial for brands in the travel & tourism industry to have?

Digital marketing has brought a whole new market to the business. Travellers of all ages spend time on social media channels and are inspired to dream, plan and eventually book their next holiday. With strong digital marketing skills, you can analyse unique insights & motivate your prospective clients with great content. Digital marketing has become the new benchmark for any successful campaign, and if one is not involved in this, the business will not grow and on a personal level your career won’t either.

How have your new skills helped your performance at work?
By far, digital marketing skills have helped our brand identify better our type of customers and understand their purchasing powers and market trends.  My new skills have brought a lot of new opportunities which have helped us grow and maximize ROI.
What part of the study experience did you find to be the most effective?
In my case, the module which was most effective for me was email marketing. As an airline, we send a multitude of emails ranging from ticket confirmation emails to regular mailshots. This topic helped me to improve the quality of mailshots that we send and make them more effective. The content provided additionally in the course was fantastic, the lecturer was very hands-on and gave solid real-life examples which helped us to understand more the power of digital marketing.
How are you keeping up with digital marketing trends?
I always keep myself updated with the latest trends by dedicating some time every day to read on new technologies. Likewise, I can integrate these new approaches into our marketing mix.
What’s next for you in your learning/career journey?
One cannot say what opportunities might arise in the future however I can say that I am very happy to form part of the Air Malta team and will continue to keep learning and applying new skills to help the brand thrive.
Daniel Balzan continues to drive the Air Malta team to create engaging campaigns which will bring the results required to ensure that the travel & tourism industry thrive again. We are sure that Online Live learning is in this alumni’s future and we look forward to being by his side as his career journey progresses.

 


The content provided in the course was fantastic! The lecturer gave solid real-world examples which helped us to understand more the power of what we were learning

DANIEL BALZANHead of Marketing