JetBlue Unveils Unique Branding Plan
NEW YORK, NY, March 31, 2006 JetBlue Airways has unveiled the launch of their brand communications program titled "Sincerely, JetBlue" designed to provide customers a forum in which to tell their personal JetBlue stories.
JetBlue customers believe they helped build the company. And JetBlue isn't disagreeing. Created by marketing partner JWT New York, the program uses multiple media channels to facilitate the collection and distribution of these stories to the broader community.
The communications will span all potential corporate needs, from retail advertising to new market launches to crewmember communications. "In an industry swimming in negativity, we found that once you invited someone to speak about JetBlue, you literally couldn't get them to stop talking positively about the brand," said Rosemarie Ryan, President, JWT New York. "It was this almost infectious energy that sparked the fundamental idea of the campaign: JetBlue is not just a "Value" airline; it's an airline that offers value, service and style, and we had an inordinate amount of material to leverage right in front of us."
The "Sincerely, JetBlue" program is all about holding a megaphone up to the people in the already existing JetBlue community, allowing them to share their experiences with an ever-growing customer base. This multimedia platform features a custom- built "story booth" which will travel around the county to eight markets, beginning in New York this April.
Customers will be able to enter the booth (a multimedia interactive experience) and record their "story" about JetBlue. Each story will then be re-purposed in different forms of media including web casts and television commercials.
TV and web broadcasts will be created from the customer stories using animation edited into the footage. Stories include a customer recounting how a JetBlue crewmember ran off a plane to retrieve a customer's new iPod accidentally left in a rental car, and met the customer the next day in a different city to personally deliver the device.
"We believe HOW people find out about JetBlue is as important as WHAT they learn about the brand," said Ty Montague, Co-President and Chief Creative Officer, JWT New York. "Allowing true fans of the brand to share their experience with one another is the best way to tell the story of JetBlue."
JetBlue will also use non-traditional tactics when launching in a new market. The company plans on unveiling a series of "acts" to demonstrate how JetBlue is a different kind of airline. For example, JetBlue's launch of Richmond, VA on March 31, 2006 was celebrated by offering free movie admission and JetBlue snacks at a popular local theater to showcase the company's free in-flight entertainment and snack offerings.
"We know that word of mouth has always rivaled advertising in how people learn about JetBlue," said Andrea Spiegel, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, JetBlue Airways. "We believe this campaign is the perfect way to marry these two powerful channels and is an effective way to support our major growth plans in existing and new markets."
The program will soon extend on to JetBlue flights. Customers will find branded JetBlue postcards in their seat pockets and in highly trafficked areas where they can write a note and send it in to JetBlue. JetBlue will then integrate these cards into other areas of the campaign.
Radio spots for the program were developed organically as a result of JWT's initial research calls made to the airline's 800 number during the pitch. "We were struck by the inherent sincerity of the JetBlue customer service staff," stated Montague. "Our actual recordings of calls to customer service as regular consumers with real questions, demonstrated a gold mine of good will, creativity, patience and humor completely out of character for the industry. We simply put the megaphone up to those conversations."
Additionally, JetBlue launched a new retail look and feel, which was inspired by the already distinctive style of their airline fleet. Print and on-line feature signature JetBlue brand fonts and tailfin patterns and will use iconic illustrations of different cities along with current pricing info as part of the creative formula.
Each message is a personal invitation to JetBlue consumers, starting with a tailored-to-market greeting, for example, "Dear New York," and ending with "Sincerely, JetBlue." The company is also creating unique partnerships with a number of different on-line, off-line and non traditional media outlets to showcase the retail work in new, exciting ways via an unusual placement and buying strategy.
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