Airline Seeks New, Reinvigorated Image
Fresh out of bankruptcy,
Delta Air Lines is wasting little time in its attempt to reconnect
with passengers, seeking to attract the support of undecided
travelers while holding onto its faithful diehards.
If that sounds eerily like a political campaign, you wouldn't be
wrong. The New York Times reports Delta hired the New York
marketing firm of Shepardson Stern & Kaminsky last year -- the
same firm Senator Barack Obama recently hired to advise his
presidential campaign on nontraditional ways to reach young
voters.
While each... er, campaign... seeks to achieve a different goal,
the challenges presented to S.S.& K. are similar: to convince
interested parties each of its clients offers something different
from the same old establishment.
It's tough to say which goal will be more difficult for the firm
to achieve. Obama -- a youthful Senator from Illinois -- has been
riding high on the support of a voter bloc convinced he presents
the best chance for Democrats to regain the White House in 2008.
Delta, on the other hand, has been mired in bankruptcy for the past
20 months.
To convince flyers Delta offers something different, the
Atlanta, GA-based carrier has unveiled a new livery, sporting a
stylized Delta "widget" on the tails of its planes. (Delta notes it
is the 19th "Brand Change" in the airline's 78-year
history.)
The airline also kicked off a new advertising campaign Delta
hopes will connect with viewers in much the same way past campaigns
convinced viewers Delta "loved to fly, and it showed."
"Nowhere is it written an airline lives forever," an announcer
intones in the campaign's inaugural commercial. "Even some of the
great ones have come and gone. We can ignore your needs and face
the same fate, or we can change."
Delta's marketing vice-president, Tim Mapes, likens Delta's
image problem with "a political candidate who was great at one
point and lost the way," but has "found a footing again, from the
inside out."
"We only win as an airline to the extent we win you over as a
customer," Mapes adds. "We do not want to set up expectations that
are false." Later spots will focus on revamped inflight
entertainment systems, and better food.
Mapes adds S.S.&K.'s political roots will aid Delta in its
efforts to convey a new, more vibrant image, citing the agency's
"nimbleness and agility."
S.S.& K. partner Lenny Stern says Delta's situation is
similar to a political incumbent, presenting themselves as offering
"not politics as usual."
"The most effective incumbents are those who never forget they
have to conduct themselves as insurgents," he added. "That's what
keeps politicians on top" -- as well as marketers.
"By being honest about what's at stake for Delta," Sterns adds,
"customers will believe more that Delta is honest about
changing."