Web In Travel has recognised Kathleen Tan, group commercial head of AirAsia, as Marketer of the Year for her work in building a brand that's distinctly Asian, proud to be Asian and a champion of Asia.
The "Unplugged Plus" award, part of the annual WITovation awards, recognises an individual marketer or company which has made a substantial difference in the digital travel space in Asia Pacific. An editorial choice, the award was presented to Kathleen Tan at the annual WIT Conference in Singapore on October 17.
Kathleen and Siva Ganeshanandan, one of the judge, with the award Yeoh Siew Hoon, editor and founder of WIT (pictured below right), said, "We chose Kathleen because of the remarkable work she's done in building a distinctly Asian brand that's recognized not only throughout the region but globally and for her achievements in driving the commercial success of Asia's biggest low cost carrier.
"What's even more remarkable is that Kathleenhas done this as an underdog. She's a woman working in a man's world. She didn't come from travel. Her airline was dismissed as one that wouldn't work in Asia. She had to battle traditional mindsets, legacy systems and institutionalized structures.
"This takes courage, resolve and, of course, creativity."
In presenting the award at the annual WIT Conference on October 17, Yeoh said, "When I first met Kathleen several years ago, I was struck by the passion, courage and drive she exuded. I knew then this was someone to watch and follow, someone who would make a dent in the travel universe in Asia. That, she has done, and more.
"When Kathleen started in her job in 2004, her airline was doing daily sales of RM1 million. Today she drives commercial for six entities doing RM35-40 million of sales a day. Up to 95% of sales is done direct through the website and ancillaries form 18% of total revenues – it's a record other airlines look up to.
While other airlines were wondering what to do with social media, she blazed the trail. With 1.6 million Facebook fans and close to 500,000 million followers on Twitter, as well as presence on Instagram and the AirAsia blog, the brand has created its own media assets, which it uses to communicate and engage with customers.
She maintains an active personal presence herself, engaging with fans, sharing her own travel stories and experiences.
But it is in China where she's been a standout. In a market that's different and complex, she's become one of the most followed travel personalities on Weibo under the name of Chen Kai Ling. She personally posts and replies to messages, holds fan events in cities in China and has built up a fan base of 149,000. She uses the channel to advertise seat sales with high conversions.
The WITovation Awards, in its second year,recognize companies or individuals which have made a difference in a chosen field, either through a specific marketing campaign or an overall strategy, in the digital travel space in 2012.
Unplugged Plus is the only editorial choice in the awards programme. The other categories are Uber Social, Absolute Customer, True Specialist and Pure Mobile.
AirAsia won the "Customer Lover of the Year" award in last year's WITovation.
About Web in Travel Conference
Web in Travel Conference gathers the best minds and ideas from around the world annually to connect and create a collective consciousness around online travel to inspire new businesses and fortify existing ones. Formed in 2005 by editor and industry commentator, Yeoh Siew Hoon, the conference has since grown to comprise THack@WIT, an open travel hackathon, the WIT Bootcamp, and the WITovation Awards. This year, WIT2012 will be held from October 15-17 at the Marina Bay Sands, Singapore.www.webintravel.com 
