Survey shows Delta lags behind on "brand respect"

[Kev3188]

The IAM got their arse handed to them during the UA F/A election, with corrupt leaders like Robert Korzuch at LL 2339N the FAs couldn't be happier seeing the IAM go.

Ironically, the "No Way" crowd tried to frame Korzuch as a "reformer" of the IAM, etc. Poiting out all of the irony there was kinda fun. Not exactly someone *anyone* would want to hitch their wagon to...

Will the they tap the former NWA unionistas from DTW and MSP and neglect the DL folks at ATL, JFK, SLC, etc? And historically at DL the unions have had trouble organizing at ATL and SLC, seems those areas of the system have a strong anti-union sentiment.

Josh

There's nothing "former" about any of the activists there. It's also false to assume there aren't labor activisits in ATL, NYC or SLC (or LAX, for that matter). All of those bases have a vibrant campaign going, and visibility occuring daily.

How will the IAM win over the FAs if the only FAs they currently represent are Expresjet-ASA and Open Skies (BA subsidiary)?

Don't forget Commutair. You sure you didn't get that talking point right off the company website?

...Maybe the better question is; what is the company doing to drive these card siginings, and why aren't they targeting the correct issues for remedy?

Kev keeps saying the drive has considerable momentum, but what has changed since November 2010 when AFA got defeated?

Lots. They asked for everyone to "give them a year." We gave them 3 (and counting). It's not working.

If anything many of the staunch union FAs have retired/left and others have seen the sunny side of non-union workplace

...Or the dark side of At-Will employment, subjective management decisions, etc...

If things are as Kev portrays them the IAM may have a chance but in the past they have stumbled on the past DL drives by using ineffective organizing techniques.

I like what I see this time around w/r/t the F/A campaign.

I'm sure there will be a vocal and organized grassroots opposition group just like No Way AFA and Keep Delta My Delta.

No Way is alive and well, and as toxic as ever.

 

[737823]

Thanks for the reply Kev. Forgive me if you posted about this before but have Joanne Smith or Sandy Gordon spoken about or sent literature regarding this "grassroots" drive? Have they even formally acknowledged that it is underway?

Josh

 

[robbedagain]

kev.. what exactly is delta doing to "repair the brand" given that their lagging behind..... at us they brought back mr pibb too bad they have not brought dr pepper

 

[Kev3188]

Thanks for the reply Kev. Forgive me if you posted about this before but have Joanne Smith or Sandy Gordon spoken about or sent literature regarding this "grassroots" drive? Have they even formally acknowledged that it is underway?

Josh

Yes & yes.

kev.. what exactly is delta doing to "repair the brand" given that their lagging behind..... at us they brought back mr pibb too bad they have not brought dr pepper

Aside from exhorting all of us to become "brand ambassadors?" Good question...

Dr. Pepper makes the world go 'round...

 

[737823]

kev.. what exactly is delta doing to "repair the brand" given that their lagging behind..... at us they brought back mr pibb too bad they have not brought dr pepper

Aside from exhorting all of us to become "brand ambassadors?" Good question...

From the POV of a Delta Medallion FF I have to disagree. Compared to even a few years ago it seems the company is making a concerted effort through a variety of channels-ads in Bloomberg Businessweek, ads in the WSJ, commercials on CNBC, social media penetration-it seems they are pulling out all stops to promote the brand and new BusinessElite product. I receive emails CONSTANTLY from DL about promotions, fare sales, monthly SkyClub memberships the list goes on and on. Not so much in BOS but I know in NYC they sponsor many community events and even setup mockup of the terminal in Soho and invited Medallions for cocktails and lunch to see a virtual tour the new facility . I would agree with what you if we were talking three to four years back, but based on what I read and see they are making a conscious effort to promote the brand.

http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/real-estate/delta-opens-high-end-tech-haven-soho-article-1.1331596

Josh

 

[WorldTraveler]

robbed,
thanks for returning the discussion to the focus of the OP

Dr. Pepper makes the world go 'round...

in the parts of the world where you can buy it.... but you can't beat the real thing (r) in 200 countries around the world.

BTW, Dr. Pepper faced significant financial difficulties and tried to merge with Coca-Cola but that merger was blocked by the Federal Trade Commission. Timely reminder for the airline industry of today.

From the POV of a Delta Medallion FF I have to disagree. Compared to even a few years ago it seems the company is making a concerted effort through a variety of channels-ads in Bloomberg Businessweek, ads in the WSJ, commercials on CNBC, social media penetration-it seems they are pulling out all stops to promote the brand and new BusinessElite product. I receive emails CONSTANTLY from DL about promotions, fare sales, monthly SkyClub memberships the list goes on and on. Not so much in BOS but I know in NYC they sponsor many community events and even setup mockup of the terminal in Soho and invited Medallions for cocktails and lunch to see a virtual tour the new facility . I would agree with what you if we were talking three to four years back, but based on what I read and see they are making a conscious effort to promote the brand.

http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/real-estate/delta-opens-high-end-tech-haven-soho-article-1.1331596

Josh

If brand is putting the DL name where it has visibility, there is no doubt that DL has been incredibly aggressive not only in NYC but also in LA and in London and Tokyo and.... IN fact, DL's equity partnerships around the world - unique among US airlines - provide more opportunities to put DL's name in more places than perhaps any other airline has right now. DL's name will be on Virgin Atlantic's aircraft and throughout London.

and if "brand" means "a promise delivered" (as was mentioned in the video which Kev linked) then DL is hitting on a all cylinders.

 

[Kev3188]

Josh--

Wouldn't disagree with any of that...

When I answered Robbed, I was thinking of the internal push they're trying to make right now...

 

[700UW]

http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/09/02/2548341/labor-day-2-2/

 

[eolesen]

If brand is putting the DL name where it has visibility, there is no doubt that DL has been incredibly aggressive not only in NYC but also in LA and in London and Tokyo and.... IN fact, DL's equity partnerships around the world - unique among US airlines - provide more opportunities to put DL's name in more places than perhaps any other airline has right now. DL's name will be on Virgin Atlantic's aircraft and throughout London.

and if "brand" means "a promise delivered" (as was mentioned in the video which Kev linked) then DL is hitting on a all cylinders.

You still don't get it...

Branding is about being remembered and recognized by just the name or the logo.

DL might be hitting on all cylinders, and advertising everywhere they can, but if the overall experience is forgettable, then they've failed.

Ask ten people outside of Georgia what they think ofDelta, and half of them will mention faucets or shower heads.

 

[WorldTraveler]

You still don't get it...

Branding is about being remembered and recognized by just the name or the logo.

DL might be hitting on all cylinders, and advertising everywhere they can, but if the overall experience is forgettable, then they've failed.

Ask ten people outside of Georgia what they think ofDelta, and half of them will mention faucets or shower heads.

sorry but your bias is clearly obvious.

You suggested not many days ago that DL is remembered as an airline with hoop skirts... please show us where you come up with any evidence of that.

The simple fact is that DL is winning business and doing as well as they are - including handing out pay raises while other airlines are cutting pay - because DL offers a product that people want to buy.
You can try to avoid that reality but the simple reality is that DL IS DELIVERING a viable and desirable service NOW.
If they weren't, their financials and customer service metrics wouldn't be industry-leading.

 

[Kev3188]

You still don't get it...

Branding is about being remembered and recognized by just the name or the logo.

Thank you.

sorry but your bias is clearly obvious.

You suggested not many days ago that DL is remembered as an airline with hoop skirts... please show us where you come up with any evidence of that.

The simple fact is that DL is winning business and doing as well as they are - including handing out pay raises while other airlines are cutting pay - because DL offers a product that people want to buy.
You can try to avoid that reality but the simple reality is that DL IS DELIVERING a viable and desirable service NOW.
If they weren't, their financials and customer service metrics wouldn't be industry-leading.

Doesn't look like E disagreed with any of that.

Doesn't change the fact that his definition of "brand" is correct.

P.S. "Handing out pay raises?" get bent.. We earn every penny. if we didn't, the company's financials and customer service metrics wouldn't be industry-leading.

 

[WorldTraveler]

no, he has defined branding the way he wants in order to protect his established interests.

His concept of branding is flawed because it doesn't deliver on the results that are intended.

As much as he would like to believe (and you apparently are willing to follow along), branding exists to deliver profits and win customers for a company - not relish in some ancient history that no one who buys the product today cares about.

He loves to tell us about AA's great brand equity but fails to mention that AA is in BK, has lost revenue at a faster rate over the past 10 years than every other network airline, and now faces a merger in which AA's brand will essentially be replaced by a low cost carrier from Arizona. None of that is an endorsement of the AA that E wants you to believe still exists.

 

[FrugalFlyerv2.0]

You suggested not many days ago that DL is remembered as an airline with hoop skirts... please show us where you come up with any evidence of that.

In addition, I think he also may have said something about connecting in Atlanta being associated with the DL brand.
While DL does indeed run a fine operation and has a good network, DL + connecting in ATL go hand-in-hand.
As far as evidence, this is anectodal, and limited sample size, but if I fly to Europe from USA on DL and tell people that I'm flying DL, the comment/question is usually along the lines of "oh, you're then transfering in ATL to catch your flight home?"... ... ...
It is what it is.

(and just so you don't say I'm biased, AA as a brand is almost or relatively unknown in the parts of continental Europe that I usually travel to - that is outside of LHR).

 

[Kev3188]

no, he has defined branding the way he wants in order to protect his established interests.

His concept of branding is flawed because it doesn't deliver on the results that are intended.

As much as he would like to believe (and you apparently are willing to follow along), branding exists to deliver profits and win customers for a company - not relish in some ancient history that no one who buys the product today cares about.

He loves to tell us about AA's great brand equity but fails to mention that AA is in BK, has lost revenue at a faster rate over the past 10 years than every other network airline, and now faces a merger in which AA's brand will essentially be replaced by a low cost carrier from Arizona. None of that is an endorsement of the AA that E wants you to believe still exists.

Delightful.

Too bad almost NONE of it falls under the strict construct of what "brand" is.

Based on what he's writing, E's "concept of branding" simply follows the technical definition.

Are you really so hellbent on squabbling with him that you can't see that?

 

[WorldTraveler]

aren't you one to talk about squabbling?



I have heard the same comments about connecting in Atlanta from people in other countries but I have also heard people say in response to a statement about a person flying AA, “so were you late?”

Even though DL connects about 65K passengers/day in ATL, only 10K of DL’s about 40K international seats/day are to/from ATL so the chances are that an int’l passenger on DL WILL NOT connect in ATL.
It is equally true that the majority of AA flights are on-time and are consistently so, except during very few days per year.

Whether AA has a reputation for being late or DL has a reputation for connecting the world thru ATL - an extension of the same thinking that characterized DL for decades domestically – doesn’t define brand equity or brand reputation.

E has chosen to decide to redefine “branding” based on untested, biased perceptions that HE HAS and which do not necessarily have ANY correlation with the way branding is defined – or why it exists. THAT is why I am reacting to what E is saying.

And it all still misses the whole basis of the report that was the focus of the study which was cited by the OP. The study showed that DL has a significant disconnect between DL’s reputation and its brand awareness.
DL has incredibly strong brand awareness – which is completely opposite of E’s perception of DL as being unknown and stuck in the 19th century. DL is NOT perceived as having a reputation commensurate with its brand size - that is what the study says and it doesn’t say why.
E cannot choose to define brand reputation using terms and product attributes he wants to use.
Brand equity – which E touted is different from brand reputation which was measured. SO far as we know, there was no brand reputation score given for AA or any other airline in this study.

You and E can argue the way you want this article to read for whatever reasons you want but it doesn't change that you are reshaping the article and the entire concept of branding to say what you want.

E is as out of his league talking about branding as he was when he predicted that WN would inflict damage to DL in ATL and a dozen other reasons.