This is the most exciting marketing campaign for an airline company that I have ever seen. The tagline “only in America” does, however, apply.
Firstly, there is great innovation in marketing for airlines because of a) their massive marketing budget and b) massive flying things offer great opportunities for imaginative marketing strategies. This advertising campaign was flagged up by a sociolinguist, and is a great (and very British) example of how to advertise an airline:
I like a good queue, so this doesn’t really persuade me too much. But the campaign of the American company Southwest airline just might. They articulate on their website that,
“Here at Southwest, we like to do things a bit differently than “the other guys”.”
As usual, the loudest voice in the marketing campaign is that of Youtube, just check out this flight attendant!
“We know you’re ready to get to new places /
Open up the bins put away your suitcases. /
Carry on items go under the seat /
In front of you so none of you have things by your feet”
AMAZING. But what is even better about this marketing campaign is that it needs no budget. It needs happy, confident employees and it needs social media. When one person captures something exciting, they can share it with the world, and if it is as extraordinary as someone rapping the safety talk on an airplane then the world is going to want to know!
Doing something different on each flight and offering customers exciting experiences to witness (however small and seemingly inconsequential) is a fantastic way to make individuals sit up and listen. This is my favourite idea of the CEO of Southwest Airline, Herb Kelleher. His previous ideas of free bottles of alcohol with each ticket and hostesses in hotpants definitely fail on the political correctness front! But the nature of the endeavour- to do something attention grabbing that his customers themselves will publicise- has remained the same.
MJR 