Reynisson graduated from College of Staten Island in New York with a MS in Business Management before beginning at Keflavik Airport. Since, the airport has become known as the ‘Best Airport in Europe’ and continues to improve its global image by promoting its great services and facilities through successful marketing strategies.

IceNews went to catch up with Reynisson to ask him a few questions about Keflavik Airport’s (KEF) recent success:

IceNews: What kind of statistical effect has your marketing efforts had on the KEF‘s website?

Arnar: Average monthly visits to our website have increased dramatically over the past two years. In 2008 we received around 40.000 visitors and then for 2009 between 70-80.000. In comparison, for 2010 so far we have received 180.000 visits for both languages (English and Icelandic).

IceNews: How did the KEF nomination for ‘Best Online Marketing Campaign 2009’ arise?

Arnar: We received the nomination from SVEF for our Christmas brand campaign. The campaign basically involved making use of social media networking channels such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter in order to gain a rapport with passengers before they entered the airport. This built up customer communication by keeping them informed on KEF’s facilities, settings and services. This action plan also helped the KEF raise its score in the Airports Council International (ACI) passenger survey from 4.00 to 4.19 between 2008 – 2010.

IceNews: And the success from ACI’s passenger survey earnt KEF the title of ‘Best Airport in Europe’?

Arnar: That is correct, yes. The ACI’s survey is the world’s leading airport customer satisfaction standard, with around 130 airports taking part. It has of course created a lot of positive global attention for us as passengers described KEF as comforting, cosy and also indicating their gratification with the airport’s huge range of duty free stores.

IceNews: Has KEF’s duty free stores seen a positive response from this recent success then?

Arnar: Yes, the airport’s eighteen retailers have all seen a positive response from our recent success. After various duty free brand campaigns, including the Christmas brand campaign, spending per passenger has increased by 10.3 percent in our duty free stores.

IceNews: What other kind of positive effects has KEF experienced from this recent success?

Arnar: Well, according to the annual Capacent Gallup customer survey, the overall positive image of KEF has increased from 76 percent to 91 percent, and our average score has increased by 0.6 points across all areas.

IceNews: Apart from KEF’s facilities and services, what do you think it is that makes the airport stand out among others?

Arnar: I would say that due to KEF’s location, we have a great advantage over many other European airports in terms of transatlantic flights, connecting flights and stopovers. For instance, we have been referred to as the “Central Hub in the Atlantic” as Iceland is located perfectly between North America and Europe, connecting to the two continents. This also means that passengers travelling through have the option of stopover holidays, maybe just one or two nights where they can experience Iceland’s natural beauty and extraordinary landscape. Iceland’s capital city, Reykjavik, is just a short drive away from the airport and so is the world renowned Blue Lagoon, so there is plenty to see if the surrounding area.

IceNews: Does KEF have anymore marketing campaigns planned for 2010?

Arnar: Yes, indeed. After the success of our online football competition at the beginning of June, we have decided to launch another huge online campaign at the end of this year. We will be offering another chance to win a trip to Iceland, so it definitely pays for people to follow us on our social media channels.

For further information about Keflavik International Airport’s services, facilities and online campaigns, visit www.kefairport.is/English or follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

“This online competition was entirely focused on the Icelandic market so the amount of participants made it a complete success,” explained Arnar Reynisson, Marketing Manager at Keflavik Airport. “The number of participants totalled an amazing 5226, which for a country of 300,000, is quite an impressive number. In comparison, if the same competition had been held in the U.S. this figure would of been around 5.2 million.”

The football competition involved participants predicting the outcome for each game with correct results being awarded a pre-set amount of points in relation to the odds. The participant who then achieved the highest number of points won the game. Prizes were awarded to participants and also to fans of Keflavik Airport on Facebook.

Reynisson added, “Throughout the competition we have used our social media channels, such as Facebook and Twitter and the results we received there have been far better than we could of ever expected. 35,729 invites were sent in direct ad format on Facebook users walls, this would have been 35.7 million if directed at the U.S. market. We now have thousands of fans and friends following us.”

For further information regarding Keflavik Airport visit www.kefairport.is/English or join them on Facebook and Twitter.

Participants who predict the correct results are given a certain number of points in relation to the odds on each game, then the participant who achieves the highest number of points wins the game. Each day of the competition, prizes are awarded to participants with the highest points and also to fans of Keflavik International Airport on Facebook.

However, with the World Cup final coming up this Sunday and the competition drawing to a close, IceNews went to catch up with the Marketing Manager at Keflavik Airport, Arnar Reynisson to see how everything played out.

IceNews: What were the main goals of KEF when starting this competition?

Arnar: Our mission was to create a game that everyone could play with easy rules and exciting prizes, whilst at the same time communicating with participants about goods and services offered by Keflavik Airport.

IceNews: Have you managed to achieve what you set out to do?

Arnar: Yes, very much so. Through the competition we have been able to promote the airport and its duty free area by using our social media channels, such as Facebook and Twitter. The results have been far better than we could of ever expected. We now have thousands of fans and friends following us, which allows us to become more one-on-one and personally reach each customer with tailored messages.

IceNews: What kind of feedback have you received from participants?

Arnar: Our fans have been really enjoying this communication and it’s great to see how this has increased awareness and influenced our image in a positive way. Also, when we compared our two Facebook groups, World Cup participants vs. non participants, our participants came out on top with around 15 percent more people in the group.

IceNews: How does this competition compare to previous KEF campaigns?

Arnar: Well, other initiatives implemented by us have reached our target market and received awards but the results and attention that this competition has received compared to previous campaigns are much higher. I believe this just represents the ongoing ambitious and creative work that we have been doing here at Keflavik Airport.

IceNews: Does KEF have anymore exciting competitions or events planned for 2010?

Arnar: Yes, indeed. We will be in fact be launching another huge online campaign later this year. We will be offering another chance to win a trip to Iceland, so it definitely pays to follow us on our social media channels.

For further information about Keflavik International Airport’s events and competitions, visit www.kefairport.is/English or follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

Members of staff from the airport flew over to Sanya to attend the ceremony hosted by the ACI in order to receive the award and discuss the future of the aviation industry.

Keflavik airport was named as the ‘best airport in Europe’, according to a passenger survey conducted about airport quality and service. The airport achieved high marks in passenger satisfaction due to its friendly staff, warm atmosphere and easy accessibility of connecting flights. Partakers in the survey also stated how grateful they were with the extensive airport facilities, including restaurants, coffee bars, information services and quick baggage delivery.

“It was a real pleasure for me attending this well organised award ceremony hosted by ACI. Receiving this prestige award is an unbelievable honor for Keflavik International Airport, especially during these strange times we’re going through back in Iceland with the bank recession and the Eyjafjallajokull volcanic eruption,” explained Arnar Reynisson, Marketing Manager at Keflavik International Airport.

The Airports Council International (ACI) is the association of the world’s airports, created in 1991 boasting 575 members operating 1633 airports in 179 countries and territories.

For more information on the airport’s success visit www.kefairport.com

The airport utilised media networking channels Twitter, Facebook and YouTube in order to socialise with passengers before they entered the airport. The campaign was vital in making customers aware of how focused Keflavik International Airport is on providing excellent service and in gaining customer interest and trust.

The marketing team at Keflavik knew it was important to communicate with passengers, and to keep them informed on airport’s environment and facilities, such as its duty free shopping area. This strategy helped the airport to raise its score in the Airports Council International passenger survey between 2008 and 2009 by 0.14 points.

“We’ve had a huge success in terms of marketing communication and passengers’ endowment for the last two years. Late 2008 we decided to increase the focus on the foreign passenger because the recession has made the Icelandic Krona more favourable in exchange, allowing them to enjoy our excellent shopping area…We also offer these transatlantic airlines good and quick service and their passengers can enjoy their short stay at the best airport in Europe,” explained Keflavik International Airport’s marketing manager Arnar Reynisson.

Keflavik International Airport was crowned the best airport in Europe in the recent Airports Service Quality survey, conducted by the ACI. The airport scored highly in passenger satisfaction, due to its welcoming atmosphere, simplicity of connecting flights, friendly staff and vast duty free shopping area.

More information about Keflavik International Airport, its facilities, and how to join its social media network can be found at www.kefairport.is/english/