JetBlue’s PR Strategy Puts it all Together

Roses are red.
Violets are blue.
I'll be home by Thursday,
But not on jetBlue. – submission to a JetBlue poetry contest on Dadlabs.com

 
I met David Neeleman, CEO of jetBlue, a few years ago on a flight from New York City to California. Neeleman was handing out potato chips and other snacks, chatting with passengers and listening to their comments and ideas. Whether this was a gimmick or he actually used the advice was irrelevant – what mattered is that one could never imagine the CEO of American Airlines, United, Delta or any other major carrier doing the same thing. And certainly not in coach.

This “quirkiness” was part of jetBlue’s masterful strategy to be the “anti-airline,” the only carrier about whom, when the flight attendant thanked you for choosing their company, your first reaction was not to throw up but to say you’re welcome. jetBlue’s core wasn’t in-flight TV or leather seats, but customer service that didn’t belie the phrase. And it all started with a CEO whose business was about the sky, yet’s whose approach was down to earth.

So I wasn’t surprised at how Neeleman handled his airline’s recent crisis. A wicked winter storm, combined with operational miscalculations, caused a week canceled flights, lost baggage and passengers jet blue in the face with anger (though thanks to jetBlue’s track record, most regular passengers forgave their favorite airline for its transgressions – that’s the power of “branding” in action.)

Neeleman stepped up and did the right thing – he acknowledged fault, he told the truth, he provided compensation. Most importantly, he said he was sorry. And he meant it.

He also used multiple platforms to get his message out – from traditional newspapers to direct mail, to the Web and YouTube. And this, in my opinion, is jetBlue’s contribution to communications history.

The young airline told a real story in ways that were relevant to how modern audiences consume information. New media was used as a strategy, not as a tactic or something extra for the kids – and in fact, jetBlue proved that the line between new and traditional media is, if not gone, is fading fast.

The company made some waves by using “social media” technologies like YouTube to speak directly to consumers, but just posting a video on YouTube doesn’t automatically give you a “get out of PR jail free” card. Nor was this simply another example of Marshall McLuhan being full of crap when he said “the medium is the message.” This was about the power of story and the ability – in fact, the necessity – of good storytelling to be medium agnostic.

jetBlue is to be applauded for using today's full range of communications channels. The airline didn't do it to be more “transparent,” but because these are the channels that have become very much the normal, everyday, routine ways to communicate. And again, without a good story to tell or without the honesty and willingness to accept responsibility, the effort would have failed no matter how many videos  Neeleman posted.

Neeleman and jetBlue should feel horrible about what happened to their thousands of customers – but they have nothing to be ashamed of.