virgin america - a real contender

Influx Insights — 2007-06-29T18:47:03Z

Last time we covered Virgin America here on Influx we were unsure if the company would be approved to do business here in the US. The forces to be presented a slew of roadblocks, and understandably so, Virgin will introduce something new that poses a big threat to the low-priced airline business. Yesterday they were given the official go ahead from DOE and will begin coast to coast flights this summer. They will enter the US market with a fresh, new image that will directly challenge Jet Blue and leave Southwest somewhere in-between rundown and a real hassle.The Virgin America brand brings a sexy new experience to the airline industry. At a time when carriers are taking away pillows and meals and charging their customers for these "luxury" items, Virgin will be stepping in with pimped out planes. They will provide customers with a new experience that will be the envy of every flier stuck with an A, B or C boarding pass. Southwest is scared and they're bracing for the impact by implementing a conservative strategy they hope will reduce their risk. If Virgin America can deliver the basics and then step it up a notch with their entertainment systems, comfortable seats and mood lighting they'll be offering something that makes other airlines look like the poor mans way to fly.

Jet Blue entered the market in 1999 and has been providing a better national flying experience at great prices. They offered certain perks like a TV at every seat, $25 change fees, less flights requiring connections and great customer service. In fact Jet Blue built its brand image around being customer friendly in an industry comprised of difficult to deal with people. This past winter, however, we saw Jet Blue stumble as they struggled to maintain the image it had built after the much reported on ice storm incident. This raised some eyebrows at the investment to build brands when they are so easily shaken. Some argue that Jet Blue's brand image may not recover; either way it is a timely advantage for Virgin.

Virgin is surely using its sexy brand image as an advantage and is upping the ante by making onboard cutting edge technology available to all of its passengers. They will provide movies on demand, modifiable music playlists, in-seat messaging and QWERTY touch-screen consoles w/ games. Their communications systems will also be state of the art - offering a LAN & WIFI system allowing passengers to have in cabin chats, request food and beverages and create on board chat rooms. Assuming pricing is comparable, these amenities will be a huge draw that will leave other airlines wishing they hadn't slept around.

Posted by ken fisher

should japanese brands talk up their nationality?

Influx Insights — 2007-06-07T18:13:02Z

Anderson Analytics recently conducted an interesting study to understand if US college students (1,000 sample) knew the country of origin of certain brands and rank the best countries of origin for specific categories.

Students want their cellphones, MP3 players, stereo systems and cars to be Japanese and their computers, clothing and chocolate to be American. They would also like their watches to be Swiss.

The problem is that they appear to have no idea the country of origin for the world’s leading brands:

58% thought Samsung was Japanese, not Korean

53% thought Nokia was Japanese, not Finnish

49% thought Adidas was American, not German

Clearly, for certain brands, it pays to stay quiet, but perhaps now is the time for the Japanese brands to come out of their shell and to take pride in their nationality.

That was BBDO's plan when it won the Mitsubishi account in 2005.

"The advertising recognizes the influence of Japanese pop culture on American popular culture. It embraces Mitsubishi's hip, cool Japanese roots, which is reflected in the music, design, structure and animation of the campaign. From the syncopated beat of Kodo drums to the distinctly current spin of the Mitsubishi logo, the advertising boldly speaks to consumers, asking 'why satisfy when you can thrill?'"

Dave Lubars-BBDO

Influx Insights Tag Feed: brand

virgin america - a real contender

should japanese brands talk up their nationality?