Heres a test. First, read the
following descriptions, and then answer the question that follows:
A human figure has climbed to the end of a stairway to the sky and
is using a huge pencil to draw more stairs so he can climb higher.
A man is holding a briefcase and flying atop a giant swan. A boy is
watching his balloon float away in the sky. A son is dreaming of
his fathers business trip, in which his father slays a dragon.
Now quickly answer
this:
What does United
offer its customers?
Stumped?
Well, I cant blame
you. These are all images from Uniteds big and expensive
advertising campaign, which may score points creatively and win
some awards but which strikes me as a poor way to market an airline
with a business plan that relies on persuading consumers to pay
more for its product.
United executives
believe the airline doesnt have to cut its costs to the level of
airlines such as Southwest and JetBlue because it offers more and
can charge higher fares for it.
Thats a legitimate
strategy, if it works.
But if youre going to
persuade consumers its worth it to pay more to fly United, it
stands to reason that you need to do all you can to tell those
consumers what youre offering.
Perhaps United should
mention those transcontinental flights with extra amenities, three
classes of service and extra leg room in coach.
Or maybe it should
mention those regional jets United just reconfigured to include a
first class and additional leg room.
How about something
as simple and valuable as Uniteds vast global network?
No such luck with
this continuing ad campaign, which is getting more expensive by the
day. This one is artsy and touchy-feely with the theme, Its Time to
Fly.
It seems odd that
United feels compelled to continue to make this case, since U.S.
airlines filled nearly 80% of their seats last year -- the
highest-ever annual figure in the modern aviation era.
With United coming
out of bankruptcy on Feb. 1, the airline could have at least
tweaked its theme, changing it to, Its Time to Fly United. That
would emphasize the idea that now that people have returned to the
skies in droves, it is United they should be choosing.
United, however,
didnt change a thing, except how much time and money it was willing
to devote to continuing the same campaign.
United gave its ad
agency the time and budget to spend seven months creating more than
1,400 frames for the hand-crafted, stop-motion
animation.
This was the ad
featuring the boy dreaming about his dads business trip, and United
aired it for the first time during the Super Bowl to audiences in
Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco and
Washington.
Further, the ad will
appear nationally during the Winter Olympics and in select cinemas
in Uniteds five hub markets beginning in March.
Heres the result of
Uniteds commitment: I was sitting at a Super Bowl party, watching
this ad with some friends. Once the ad was over, I asked them what
it told them about United.
Um, that it can slay
a dragon? one ventured.
I had to explain to
them what the ad actually depicted (which I knew, in part, because
I had read Uniteds pre-Super Bowl press release a few days
before).
The next day, United
issued a press release touting its own ad.
Uniteds senior vice
president for marketing, Dennis Cary, said, Through relevant
advertising, we strive to strengthen our connection with our valued
customers and demonstrate Uniteds commitment to building lasting
relationships with them.
The Super Bowl ad,
the airline said, left an indelible impression on the hearts and
minds of business travelers across the country.
Yes, it did. That
impression was: Huh?