I Love British Airways . . . Still

I spend a great portion of my days lately writing business plans for companies from fledgling start-ups to new divisions of major companies. And, in so doing, I think a lot about brand positioning and differentiation. Why chose this company and not its competitors? I take on the role of the decision makers, influencers and end users across the various markets and ask myself, “What’s in it for me?” Sometimes the answer is fairly simple; other times, it takes sustained concentration and I still have difficulty.

I also think a lot about brand loyalty. After someone becomes a customer, what would encourage them to buy repeatedly? Or, more importantly, never buy again from their competitors? Or, best case, tell their friends about the brand? In my life, there are few brands I’m loyal to. I pretty consistently eat Lean Cuisine for lunch but not always. I get bored. I love my Jetta so much that we bought a Passat wagon a few years ago. But, until Chrysler hired my militant friend, Bob Nardelli, I was considering looking at the Jeep Liberty next. No deal now. And, let’s face it, although I buy them a lot, I’m rarely talking about Tampax at dinner parties. Well, at least not until the plates have been cleared.

We have one client who targets their customers’ children with fun, educational events to get them involved in their company at a young age so that when later in life these kids are successful, they will hopefully equate a portion of their achievement to this brand, utilize its services and tell their other accomplished friends to do the same. The jury is out for another 10–20 years regarding the ultimate success of this program; however, it does promote goodwill with the parents today.

This got me thinking about one of the most fun, brand experiences I had as a child. I was given a hardcover flight-log from BOAC (now British Airways) on my first trip to London. From that flight on, for years until it became embarrassing, I had all of the pilots on my flights sign their autographs and log how many miles I had flown on the given day/route. I loved it. I was often asked if I wanted to go up into the cockpit and meet the pilots but was usually too shy to do so. However, with this book came two other things: 1) a bronze pin of a plane that I cherished and 2) the promise of an interview with the company when I was old enough to become a flight attendant (a.k.a. hostess, stewardess). And, yes, the thought of becoming a flight attendant was pretty darned exciting to me back then.

Although I never took them up on it, I did think about my childhood experience when I flew British Airways last summer. The individual responsible for that campaign circa 1974 was, I’m guessing, long gone from the company. I wondered: if I asked, would BA honor my request for an interview? Probably (although I’m sure they would have gotten a bigger laugh out of it). But, in reality, did it entice me to fly BA 30+ years later? No, my frequent flyer miles did. It did, however, predispose me to think positive thoughts about the airline which, in this day and age, is a difficult feat.

So my hats off to British Airways for creating a sustainable brand experience for one little girl to share with her clients 30+ years later.