An example from the front line
Stories of successful brand soldiers are all around us. Take, for example, Captain Denny Flanagan from United Airlines. Every single one of his flight segments is a buzz-worthy event that helps build the United Airlines brand, one passenger at a time.
Here's what he does (or has been known to do):
- He mingles with passengers in the gate area;
- He makes gate announcements himself, updating passengers about weather conditions and sets realistic expectations for delays;
- He uses his cellphone to call United Airlines operations to ask about connections for passengers;
- He passes out information cards to passengers with fun facts about the plane, signs two of them, and the owners will win a bottle of wine;
- He snaps pictures of pets in the cargo hold to show their owners that their pets are safely on board;
- He personally calls parents of unaccompanied children to give them updates;
- He writes notes to first-class passengers and elite frequent fliers on the back of his business cards, addressing them by name and thanking them for their business.
And the list goes on. Flanagan recently told The Wall Street Journal: "I just treat everyone like it's the first flight they've ever flown. The customer deserves a good travel experience."
Air travel itself has a brand problem, and United Airlines has its share of problems as well, but here's one employee trying to make a difference.
What's more impressive is that Captain Flanagan is doing this on his own. Imagine what would happen if United Airlines helped motivate and mobilize more pilots and flight crews to do similar, buzz-worthy things on flights to improve the brand?