- Southwest Airlines is addressing its decision to introduce assigned and premium seating, policies it long eschewed, in a new ad campaign, per details shared with Marketing Dive.
- The effort, “Are You Sitting Down?,” shows consumers thrown into matches of crazed elation after a public announcement from Southwest that assigned seating is coming. A spot cheekily concludes with a bar patron stating, “I can’t consider no person’s ever considered this before.”
- Southwest desires to attract travelers who were potentially delay by the carrier’s previous first-come, first-served approach to seating while shoring up loyalty with existing fans. It’s a difficult needle to string, as Southwest built up a cult following in part on account of its atypical approach in comparison with rivals.
Implementing assigned seating is a giant pivot for Southwest as a brand, but a new ad campaign argues that it’s not value losing one’s mind over in the grand scheme of things. Tongue-in-cheek ads show people reacting with over-the-top excitement on the prospect of the policy change, smashing watermelons in grocery stores and leaping over office desks while chanting, “Assigned seating!”
A humorous touch could help Southwest persuade consumers who, by and enormous, are dissatisfied with the travel industry Delivering on the passenger experience front is some of the essential ways for carriers to win loyalty: 81% of consumers who’ve what they view as an ideal experience state they may “definitely” fly with the identical airline again, a figure that drops to 4% amongst those that rate their experience as poor, in accordance with J.D. Power.
The marketing push, which is running across TV, online video and social media, lands because the summer travel season kicks off in earnest, though fewer consumers are pursuing vacation plans on account of rising costs. GSD&M, Southwest’s longtime creative agency, developed “Are You Sitting Down?”
Southwest argues that some people have at all times been delay by its open approach to seating, which has been around for over half a century. That includes existing customers who find the method stressful (about 80% desire assigned seating, per research shared by the brand). But there’s also no denying that many loyalists are drawn to Southwest due to its quirks in a category where many carriers operate in mostly the identical fashion.
“I don’t worry about customer defection, I don’t worry about execution of the initiatives, I don’t worry in regards to the consumer not understanding them, because they’re industry-standard,” said Southwest CEO Bob Jordan of the policy changes at an industry conference last month. Jordan argued that Southwest shouldn’t be doing anything “crazy” or “unique,” which should lower the chance factor.
The exact timing of the rollout for assigned seating continues to be not set, though Southwest has indicated it should begin offering the choice for booking in the yr’s second half, with initial flights with assigned seating starting early next yr. Responses to the announcement amongst Southwest fliers have been mixed, as to be expected in overhauling a signature policy.
In addition to the seating switch up, Southwest recently began charging more fees on checked bags and adjusting a few of its rewards systems. The brand in a March announcement said the tweaks are meant to “deepen and reward loyalty between Southwest and its most engaged Customers.” These shifts follow a period of lagging financial performance from Southwest and as tariffs are expected by executives to further impact travel demand.
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