Virgin and the big difference a messenger makes

This week, I flew on Virgin America. It was UNBELIEVABLE. A cool, space age-looking interior. A power plug for your laptop under your seat, in economy. Internet access on board. Your own TV on the seat with live television and loads of movies. Hungry? You just tap on the seatback screen and order whatever you want, whenever you want. The flight attendant brings it right to your seat. All for less than $300 for a roundtrip flight from DC to San Francisco.

So let me ask you something, are you going to think about flying Virgin America next time you fly?

Let me ask you something else: have you seen any ad lately that got you as interested in the airline as I did?

I’ve spent a lot of time in my speeches lately talking about how important the messenger is in marketing.

Sometimes, the messenger IS the marketing.

If a company or organization is the messenger promoting themselves, that’s one thing.

If your friend or neighbor professes love for that company or organization, that’s quite another.

Now is the best time in the world to get people other than your employees to talk about you. It works way better. For prompting action of any kind.

And it’s free. I didn’t get a dime from Virgin America to say how much I like them, on this blog or when I was emailing friends on board (saying how great it was to be able to work and communicate at 35,000 feet.)

Being extraordinary gets people to talk about you, so treat your audience like Virgin Airlines passengers. Those valentines (the people who love you) will do you the great favor of proclaiming their affection far and wide.

Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 02/13 at 04:46 PM

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Comments

I just flew Virgin America roundtrip from SFO to DC this past weekend, for the Iron Chef challenge (<a >check it out</a> and vote for the winner at NTC 2009!). I was impressed with the boutique-style interior and a lot of the perks on the way to DC. But they still don’t have much legroom, and the Internet and several other promoted features were not working on either of my flights, and on the ride back the media player had all kinds of problems - even though I’d paid out of my own pocket for an upgrade so I wouldn’t have my knees pressed against the seat in front of me. So my honeymoon period lasted about two legs of a roundtrip flight.

This tells me something - both you and I said great things about Virgin America, but for me the experience was soured on my second flight. When you’ve committed to treating your constituents well as part of your overall marketing plan, you have to be realistic about what you can do, and then really commit and follow through on the promises you make to them, to make sure you don’t shortchange yourself in the long run.

For the record, I haven’t contacted Virgin America yet about the problems I experienced - perhaps I’ll email them and see what their response is like… that’s the real test! =)

Posted by Erin Johansen Hurwitt on 02/13 at 06:21 PM

Katya, I seem to hear the same theme over and over and over again. Sometimes I wonder whether we are just “drinking the same kool-aid” or it’s a sign of needed change in marketing. Sometimes the words are slightly different…Being Extraordinay, Be Remarkable, Purple Cow, Encore Effect, Buzz Marketing, WOMM…you get the idea. I think the evidence is been heard and the our audience, customer, clients, tribe have made a decision. In today’s environment, marketing success and the dollars you want to recieve from that success, can only be achieved by doing your business Differently, Spectacularly, and more Personally. And most of the time on a Faster timeline. But notice, it is not always Cheaper. But it is always more Valuable.

Posted by David Moore on 02/13 at 08:37 PM

Well said, David. Eloquent.
Erin, an interesting test will be if Virgin America is out there listening. Let me know if you email them. I think you should - to see if they can keep up the extraordinary experience.

Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 02/14 at 11:17 AM

Hey Katya, Did you my recent post on the Virgin America contest they had for nonprofits here in Boston?

It was an interesting experience! Check it out at my blog, http://www.selfishgiving.com.

Joe

Posted by Joe on 02/14 at 09:18 PM

Joe, thanks for calling attention to that program - didn’t know about it!

Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 02/15 at 12:02 PM

Hey Katya, I did email them on Friday just to see what would happen. I’m really curious to see what - if anything - they do.

Posted by Erin Johansen Hurwitt on 02/16 at 08:19 PM

Wow. Virgin launched one of the most disgustingly sexist ad campaigns I’ve seen in years. You’d think they were selling American beer:

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/video/126654/virgin:_25_years_of_treating_women_like_meat/

There’s some irony at work here…

Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 02/17 at 10:40 AM

I am so happy I found your blog. It’s a place where I can “relax”, learn something new or reconfirm that what I am doing is ON TARGET and I’m not just making this stuff up! I’m the only marketing person on staff at our very small, yet powerful non-profit. All we want to do is impact people who need us, make a difference for those in the future, and convince people we’re worthy of a few dollar donation. Ok, I’m done ranting. Thank you andI can’t wait to keep up my validation, I mean learning.

Posted by Rebecca Flick on 02/19 at 01:30 PM

The Virgin billboard around here shows a woman blow drying her hair using one of those seat electrical outlets. Yeah, that’s what I want happening next to me on a flight!

Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 03/17 at 07:38 PM