Like it or not, Southwest Airline’s revelation this week of the “SI One” airplane (one of their 747 fleet with a giant picture of swimsuit-clad Sports Illustrated model Bar Rafaeli) is a pretty entertaining and clever marketing initiative. It’s a perfect example of how the internet can give a really unique marketing initiative even more bang for its buck. Love it or hate it, *everyone* has an opinion on the plane, and they are flocking to the internet to post these opinions.
One fan posted the suggestion that Southwest build on its initiative by inking a deal with Victoria’s Secret for the rest of the fleet. Another, who was less impressed by the sight of a scantily clad women draped across the side of the plane, suggested instead that images of Michael Phelps and Venus or Serena Williams holding championship trophies would be a better choice. Others posts debated how to make the plane more “gender neutral” by perhaps putting Brad Pitt on the other side. The bottom line is that I don’t remember the last time so many people were talking about an airline with no mention of service issues, extra baggage fees, or the price of fuel.
You might argue that this was a risky move, but realistically, the risk of customers cancelling flight plans with Southwest because of it are extremely low. Instead, Southwest is getting a lot of attention, and frankly, a lot of interesting other marketing ideas from people online! I’ll be looking forward to seeing what their next move is!
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