Aviasales communication strategy

1. Introduction
2. Communication Channels
3. Theoretical Framework
4. Analysis
5. Conclusion and Recommendations
6. Literature and Image Sources

Aviasales is a meta-search platform for airline tickets that has gained popularity in Russia, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia. The company does not primarily sell tickets itself; instead, it compares offers from airlines and travel agencies, helping users find suitable options and complete their bookings through partner providers.

Aviasales positions itself as a simple and user-friendly service with honest communication. It stands out from other companies through the use of memes and Internet culture, informal communication and a sense of humor. This creates the image of a travel-savvy friend who helps find profitable ticket options without ulterior motives. The main characteristics are simplicity, honesty, saving money and time, as well as an understandable digital service for travelers.

The target audience consists of travelers aged 18 to 45 who are active digital service users. Key segments include young travelers, families, and business professionals who prioritize speed, convenience, and transparency. While the brand’s informal and humorous tone particularly resonates with younger, socially active audiences, its primary goal is to provide a user-friendly and honest experience for all travelers.

Aviasales positions itself as a digital companion rather than a formal service, prioritizing entertainment and emotional connection over traditional sales pitches. This brand-friend identity relies on a provocative, humorous tone of voice that often touches on controversial topics to maximize public reach.

The PR strategy is based on situational marketing, where the team reacts to global news and social trends within hours to generate viral memes. By leaning into polarized opinions and conflict, the brand creates visibility that keeps it at the center of public discourse. This communication is tailored across various platforms, including Telegram, VK, Viber, Одноклассники, TikTok and Yandex Dzen. The brand dominates the digital field through active influencer marketing on YouTube, choosing macro-bloggers based on audience engagement and consistency rather than limiting themselves to the content related to travelling.

They also use mass commenting on trending videos to increase organic reach and strengthen their image as a brand that understands internet culture. This integrated approach helps the company to remain the default mental association for travel even for users who fly infrequently.

This analysis uses two theories from the course, the Dialogic Theory (Chapter 7.6) and the Elaboration Likelihood Model (Chapter 4.2).

The Elaboration Likelihood Model, created by Richard Petty and John Cacioppo, explains how messages affect audience attitudes. Information can be processed either centrally or peripherally. The central route appears in moments of interest in the topic and careful evaluation of arguments, which leads to more lasting changes in their attitude. The peripheral path uses weak audience engagement and relies on simple signals, such as authority, emotionality, and popularity. After that, the attitude changes are usually weaker and less stable.

Dialogic Theory, developed by Pearson, Kent, and Taylor, is based on companies building effective relationships with audiences based on honest and open communication. The theory speaks about the importance of dialogue, where organizations listen to their users and involve them in trusting and mutual dialogues. This is often reflected in interactive features, useful and transparent information, and user-friendly platforms.

The communication strategy of Aviasales centers on removing corporate distance to treat the user as an equal partner. This mutuality is directly driven by the brand’s informal and humorous tone. Analysing Aviasales’ communication with users, we can consider the effective operation of dialogic theory in practice.

According to the theory, the dialogic loop requires that a digital interface allows the public to reach an organization and receive efficient feedback. Aviasales achieves this by combining its interaction channels from support forms on the main website with social media platforms. Users regularly send customer support queries straight into the comment sections of promotional posts. The company actively embraces this behavior: representatives step into the public comments to resolve the issue or verify that the request is being processed. This immediate reaction reassures anxious people that their inquiry has been heard and will be solved. Furthermore, their official VKontakte (VK) community page displays a live metric: «Response time — 1 minute,» providing proof that communication is handled without agonizing delays.

The efficiency of the dialogic loop relies on a team structure. Aviasales operates a no-moderation policy for its content creators, a fact confirmed by their Head of Content Marketing in an interview: «We treat our employees as adults: they can make decisions and take responsibility themselves. They know how to write» [7]. While this openness leaves the brand exposed to PR missteps when their edgy humor is misread, it produces authentic communication that feels human. When negative or cynical feedback arrives, the company responds with humor instead of a formal corporate statement.

This informal approach is supported by the principle of intuitiveness, ensuring the interface aligns with user logic and emotional expectations. Aviasales replaces conventional corporate UX text with casual, conversational phrases.

The principle of information usefulness requires that communication offer real value rather than focusing entirely on commercial promotion. In addition to basic ticket booking, the company provides an ecosystem of useful travel services.

This register remains consistent across different touchpoints. Offline, it appears in ambient advertising placed in unexpected locations like airport restrooms —a format that sidesteps standard advertising fatigue by initiating contact in mundane, private settings. Online, the same energy is maintained through social media bios: their official Instagram description reads, «Guys, come up with what should be written here yourselves,» passing creative agency directly to the audience and reducing institutional distance.

The Elaboration Likelihood Model by Petty and Cacioppo explains exactly how persuasion works through two different routes, and Aviasales uses both routes effectively.

Most people do not want to deeply analyze every flight search service. Since users scroll through content rapidly, Aviasales relies on the peripheral route of processing to capture their attention. The company’s content is made to be instantly likable: witty, humorous posts, bright visuals, playful tone and relatable situations. Rather than analyzing the actual arguments, users respond to emotional triggers and take quick action. Aviasales constantly uses proven peripheral shortcuts: scarcity («only a few tickets left at this price»), social proof (showing where everyone is flying right now), and strong liking through their friendly, non-corporate personality.

This creates quick trust and drives large numbers of people to the site without deep analysis. It works because in situations with low motivation the peripheral route becomes the main way to influence fast decisions.

At the same time, when a person is seriously planning a trip and the topic has high personal relevance, Aviasales effectively uses the Central Route. Here the company provides clear and logical arguments that motivated users can thoroughly evaluate. Their honest positioning stands out: «We don’t sell tickets — we just help find the cheapest ones. Totally free.» This transparency, together with convenient filters and real price comparisons, encourages objective elaboration and leads to strong, lasting attitude change. The user moves beyond simply liking the brand and becomes confident that Aviasales is a reliable choice.

Aviasales manages to balance both routes well. The peripheral route attracts the attention of casual users through humor, likable tone, scarcity messages and social proof. When users become more involved, the central route helps convert that interest into loyalty through solid, factual arguments. As Darya Smirnova, Head of Content Marketing at Aviasales, explained: «Aviasales is your friend who jokes, but knows some useful things.» It is clear that the team carefully studies how their communication works. This approach allows Aviasales to understand when their audience needs light emotional content and when they are looking for concrete facts — and to deliver the right thing at the right time. This shows how effectively the company uses the Elaboration Likelihood Model.

Evaluated through dialogic theory, Aviasales communicates effectively with its audience by maintaining two-way interaction, keeping a consistent tone across channels, and embedding empathy directly into the interface rather than limiting it to customer service. The no-moderation policy, conversational micro-copy, and offline presence in unexpected spaces all successfully reduce institutional distance, making the strategy highly effective within its current positioning.

However, this communication targets a younger audience of 18-to-30-year-olds. Traveling families, where decision-makers are older, receive little attention despite being a substantial, financially active segment. Parents face distinct pressures that younger travelers do not: syncing itineraries for different ages, planning around fixed school holidays, and finding universally satisfying destinations. Current app features and content do not address these concerns.

To capture this audience, Aviasales could introduce targeted updates. Publishing dedicated family logistics articles in the PSZHR Journal (Журнал ПСЖР) would provide informational value. In the app, an interactive quiz matching specific family member ages to hassle-free destinations would solve a major planning friction point. Additionally, a built-in family calendar tracking school holiday dates would simplify scheduling. Finally, a capsule clothing collaboration with Gloria Jeans centered on family travel would anchor the brand’s offline presence in a relevant tangible context for parents.

Speaking of the Elaboration Likelihood Model, one promising way for Aviasales to strengthen engagement even further is to turn their existing «Flight Statistics» into a personal challenge system. Right now users already see how much money they saved and how many cities they’ve visited. But this information mostly sits passively.

Aviasales could turn it into an active gamification system — for example, challenges like «Save 50,000 RUB in a year», «Visit 10 new cities», or «Find a ticket cheaper than average in 5 searches». Each completed challenge could unlock a badge, a small discount, or access to exclusive deals.

This fits the Elaboration Likelihood Model well. It creates an additional peripheral route for users who have low motivation and are not ready for deep analysis. Simple challenges and small rewards create a sense of liking and achievement. This gently draws people in without requiring much mental effort. Over time, this can increase their involvement and gradually move some users toward the central route.

Overall, Aviasales already balances both routes of the Elaboration Likelihood Model quite well. To grow further, the company should continue creating the fun and light content that currently attracts casual users through the peripheral route. At the same time, adding a simple ongoing gamification system based on users’ flight statistics and personal challenges would be a logical next step.

This approach feels very natural for the brand and could noticeably improve user retention while turning occasional visitors into more loyal customers.