Using humour and playfulness

The employees of Southwest airlines are given freedom to have fun with their customers. This often takes form in communicating important messages in humorous ways. Safety information is often presented in a song.

On one particular flight, the passengers experienced a rough landing. The flight attendant came on the speakers and apologized for the hard touch down. “I checked with the captain and he said it wasn’t his fault. I checked with the copilot and it wasn’t his fault, so we are going to determine that is was the asphalt.”

Since airline customers often experience discomforting situations like weather delays and security requirements, some humour can turn challenges into fun adventures. Southwest Airlines build their brand by using humour and playfulnes.

In 2007, Southwest Airlines was the airline with most passengers.

Standing in line for something good

I just came back from a skiingweekend in Switzerland, France & Italy. 3 days, 3 countries. Yesterday we waited in line for 45 minutes to catch the gondola to the top of Les Grands Montets (3 300 m), close to Chamonix. It was worth it. The sunny view towards Mont Blanc was great and skiing down the slopes was fantastic.



Photo: Mont Blanc, 4 810 m

Making people stand in line for something can be one way to build a brand. It signals attractivity. If so many people want to stand in line for this product or service, then so will I. Don´t go to restaurants that have no customers. Go to the crowded places - if you have the time and patience to wait for your turn... The crowded places usually have the best offers.



Photo: Exclusive trail

Some brands may be exclusive for a few clients through pricing or other attributes. Then many people may be interested, but they don´t have the assets to do the shopping.

So what I am saying is actually that there are different ways of building lines for a brand. One is through obvious lack of range, which makes people wait for their turn. The other is through thresholds which make it hard for some people to become clients although they may want to.