so how come Dave Siegel & Ben Baldanza don''t market US??

trvlr64

Veteran
Aug 20, 2002
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FLL
www.usaviation.com
American Airlines turns to customers to sell its fares
By CYNTHIA WILSON
Post-Dispatch
03/02/2003 10:15 PM
For months American Airlines has been trying to convince travelers, without much success, that its airfares are competitive with low-fare carriers such as Southwest Airlines and AirTran Airways.
Now the world''s largest carrier is turning to customers who recently flew the airline to help deliver the message.
The airline, based in Fort Worth, Texas, will launch a three-month advertising campaign today that features real travelers bragging about the low fares they paid to fly American and the benefits that came with their
purchase.
American representatives spent three days in January asking randomly selected customers at their hub in Chicago what they paid to fly the airline and if the customers believe they got a good deal, said Rob Britton , director of advertising for American Airlines.
Of the 400 customers interviewed, 30 agreed to appear in television, radio and print ads, Britton said.
In the 30-second television spots that will make their debut in St. Louis and Chicago, customers yell out their names and the one-way fare ( they paid for tickets to places like New York, San Diego, Phoenix and Kansas City.
In two other spots, the passengers also talk about getting frequent-flier miles they can redeem toward travel to Paris and Hawaii, and that they had more room to stretch their legs during the flight. The commercials end with a spokesman saying, Next time, get a great, low fare and a lot more airline.
The campaign''s theme extends to newspaper ads and radio spots that include tips on how travelers can find low fares on the airline.
American is launching the ads in Chicago and St. Louis because the airline has a hub in both cities. The ads will begin March 31, in New York City, Los Angeles and on select national cable channels.
Last summer, American launched a newspaper and radio ad campaign to tell travelers that they could get more bang for their buck flying its international network. But American''s research shows consumers
continue to believe it costs more to fly the airline, Britton said.
The mindset is costing American, which lost $3.5 billion last year, revenue to discount carriers who now compete with American on 82 percent of its flights in the U.S., Britton said.
Britton acknowledged that the perception of American''s pricing is partly driven by the higher fares passengers pay if they buy a ticket within 24 hours of their trip. But, he said, full-fare tickets, as they are called, account for less than 10 percent of American''s revenue.
The growth of the low-cost carriers over the last 10 years has crowded out the idea that incumbent carriers are not price competitive, Britton said. We really need to continue to chip away at the misconception in the
marketplace that we do not offer low fares.
As speculation continues that American could join rivals United Airlines and US Airways Inc. in bankruptcy, Britton wouldn''t say how much American is investing in the campaign. But he called the investment substantial.
In addition to television, radio and newspaper ads, American will run ads on billboards, mass transit trains and bus panels, Britton said.
We have a business objective ... to make more progress convincing the marketplace that we are price competitive, Britton said.
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Why isn''t the management using TV and magazine ads to promote U and now the codeshare with UA more?? Unless you live on the airline like I do, most PAX don''t even know what is happening with your company. Other than the bimonthly threats to liquidate you. Tell your BOSSES to start promoting this fine airline.
 
trvlr64,

I waited for a few days to see if anyone could respond to this. I don't believe US Airways has any clue on how to market itself.

You may have just heard we are no longer the "Official Airline of Universal Studios Orlando". Why are we letting these things slip through our fingers?

Maybe if we figure out what we are, it might be easier. We don't seem to fit into any niche other than a regional carrier with some nice routes to Europe and the Islands. We can hardly call ourselves a "full service carrier" these days.

Frankly, I think we need to clean out the marketing department altogether. What have they done but make one bad move after another? They've angered the largest group of our frequent fliers with their antics, only to have to back track a bit to save a little face at the cost of losing heaven only knows how much good will. Good will does translate into bucks.
 
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On 3/6/2003 11:02:36 AM Dea Certe wrote:

You may have just heard we are no longer the "Official Airline of Universal Studios Orlando". Why are we letting these things slip through our fingers?

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Big deal. I guess the contract finally 'offically' expired.

When was the last time you saw any cross-promotion for the Universal/US Airways alliance? No Ads, no ticket jacket stuffers/printed promotions, no nothing.

Since Vivendi bought Universal, there has been nothing. When was the last time you saw a TV ad for Universal Studios and/or Theme Parks?

If we were paying them, this is money well saved.

Dino
 
[blockquote]
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On 3/6/2003 11:02:36 AM Dea Certe wrote:

trvlr64,

I waited for a few days to see if anyone could respond to this. I don't believe US Airways has any clue on how to market itself.

You may have just heard we are no longer the "Official Airline of Universal Studios Orlando". Why are we letting these things slip through our fingers?

Maybe if we figure out what we are, it might be easier. We don't seem to fit into any niche other than a regional carrier with some nice routes to Europe and the Islands. We can hardly call ourselves a "full service carrier" these days.

Frankly, I think we need to clean out the marketing department altogether. What have they done but make one bad move after another? They've angered the largest group of our frequent fliers with their antics, only to have to back track a bit to save a little face at the cost of losing heaven only knows how much good will. Good will does translate into bucks.


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[/blockquote]

Dea,

You are..absolutely right.
 
Dea,

I think you're right. I would love to have Ben's job for 1 year. I love marketing and could do a hell of a better job than him. But again he is responsible for the COCKROACHES. So maybe he is using his marketing smarts?? NAH!! He's still (deleted by moderator).

Whaledriver...they should have taken that $35 million and used it for advertising instead of giving it to the 3 Stooges. Yes it takes money to make money. But the more U remains silent on promoting itself the more people are going to think you are dead. I had a coworker today ask me if U was still flying.
 
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On 3/6/2003 3:53:06 PM dinosaur wrote:

Since Vivendi bought Universal, there has been nothing. When was the last time you saw a TV ad for Universal Studios and/or Theme Parks?

If we were paying them, this is money well saved.

Dino

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[/blockquote]
I saw 2 TV ads for Universal studios today.
 
When CO was in bankrupcy, they unvieled a new livery, "look and feel', and advertising. We have a smart, instantly recognizable, classy "look" that is easy to expand on. Wheres our slogan? Wheres our advertising? I'm tired of people saying USAir instead of US Airways. Im tired of people saying "USAir flies to Europe? You guys fly to the Carribbean? I had no idea." Everyone in the whole country knows about JetBlue and their darm TVs despite the fact that they only fly to about ten places. No one knows much about us, unless youre from North Carolina or Pennsylvania. Were the airline thats just kind of there, the generic airline with the dreadful pallbearer uniforms. They need to get out there and let our presence be known, publicize the codeshare, etc. Past efforts have been too little and not very good. (The Destination: Home thing was boring) The little advertising we do have currently consists of black billboards with white writing on them. Not exactly eye-catching, and the whole Tired.of.stops.on.the.way.to.Seattle? thing must be funny to whoever thought of it, but not to anyone else. Havent we won awards for Envoy Class, gotten record DOT ratings? Why doesnt the public know this? People think of USAir and they think of F28s and ice cream sandwiches. Wouldnt it be nice if people thought of safe, friendly, efficient service on clean modern aircraft, like we all provide day in day out? I think the basis of our advertising should be what U has going for it: its employees.

***
But, I guess if these were good ideas I'd be getting $35 million instead of an unemployment check.