The impact of digital marketing on brand loyalty of young airline passengers

In today's digital era, digital marketing strategies are increasingly being leveraged by airline companies to connect with and retain customers, especially among young customers representing a large and influential segment of the airline market. Understanding how digital marketing influences the customer-brand relationship is crucial for airlines aiming to foster loyalty and sustain competitive advantage. This study aims to investigate how digital marketing affects young travelers' brand loyalty, specifically targeting Millennials and Gen Z individuals between the ages of 18 and 35. Within this demography, the study investigates the impact of social media marketing, e-mail marketing, and search engine marketing on the customer-brand relationship. It also explores how brand trust acts as a bridge between brand loyalty and digital marketing activities. The study adopts a descriptive correlational design with the quantitive method. Thus, a questionnaire was prepared using a 5-point Likert scale. 250 responses were gathered from individuals who actively utilize the internet and travel by air transports/airlines departing from Istanbul and Sabiha Gökçen Airports. Moreover, the collected data was analyzed using SPSS. The results revealed that social media, email, and search engine marketing positively affect the customer-brand relationship among young airline passengers. Furthermore, young passengers' engagement and experiences through digital marketing significantly enhance brand trust, which, in turn, positively impacts brand loyalty. These results underscore the critical role of strategic digital marketing in fostering strong customer-brand relationships and loyalty among young airline passengers. This research delivers beneficial information for airline companies that aims to engage the younger demographic more effectively, offering practical implications for enhancing brand loyalty in the highly competitive airline industry. Keywords: Digital marketing, social media, e-mail, search engine, brand loyalty, young passengers.