Delta vs. Southwest
- Harley Killgo
- Dec 10, 2018
- 4 min read
In this first post we will look at two top brands in the airline industry, Delta and Southwest! Read on to see how these two brands both remain successful by differentiating their brands.
Delta Air Lines is a major United States airline, with its headquarters and largest hub at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport located in Atlanta, Georgia. Delta Air Lines serves more than 180 million customers each year. The mission statement behind the brand is “We—Delta's employees, customers, and community partners together form a force for positive local and global change, dedicated to bettering standards of living and the environment where we and our customers live and work.”In 2018, Delta was named to Fortune’s top 50 Most Admired Companies. The company was also named the most admired airline for the seventh time in eight years. How did the brand get here and become the most admired airline?
Brand Marketing
Seat assignment.
Brand is based off of what customer’s experience. Delta uses their 80,000 employees to connect with customers on a human level.
Aims to deliver memorable services and meaningful interactions at each point in a person’s travel experience.
Encourage employees to embody the values Delta represents.
Brand promise is to connect people all over the world to each other.
Core values are empathy, caring, and continual improvement.
Social/Digital Media Marketing
Delta shares a lot of their user’s content from across the world on their Instagram page. Users just have to use the hashtag #SkyMilesLife to allow Delta access to use their pictures. This allows for engagement with customers.
Brand has featured employees around larger events or topics trending on social media, such as Women’s History Month or Black History Month.
Post travel updates and information.
Post emotional videos to show the value of connection.
Mobile App
App available on iPhone and Android.
Having a mobile app for airlines has become key, it makes traveling easier.
You can book, access, and manage your flights from your phone.
There are different tabs like “Today” which gathers everything you need for your travel day, “Feed” gives you flight updates or gate change notifications, and you can even use airport maps to navigate through the airport to your gate.
You can check into your flight ahead of time and can access your boarding pass.
You can also pay for and track your checked bags.
Southwest Airlines Co. is a major United States airline headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The brand is known for being the world’s largest low-cost carrier. The hope of Southwest is to connect people to what's important in their lives through friendly, reliable, and low-cost air travel. The mission of Southwest Airlines “is dedication to the highest quality of customer service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and company spirit.” The company employees 58,000 individuals that provide customer service to 120 million passengers annually.
Brand Marketing
Doesn't charge for checked luggage.
No seat assignment.
Marketing campaign centered around emotional storytelling.
Every seat has a story. Brand interactive microsite, 175 stories. This site allows users to scroll over any of the 175 seats and a photo of a real passenger appears, along with a story and a video.
The stories serve to position the brand around a customer’s emotional moments and allow the brand to show their compassion and care for their passengers.
Stories are powerful and can create authentic emotional connections between the brand and its customers.
175 Stories gives a glimpse into what Southwest strives to do every day.
Southwest claims to be a brand with heart. They strive to be relatable, caring, and appeal to customer’s emotions by promoting brand intimacy.
Social/Digital Media Marketing
Currently the brand is doing a #12DaysofLOVE contest on their Instagram. It is a picture perfect holiday contest. The company will post a challenge that requires individuals to submit a fun photo or video for the holidays. The incentive is for an individual to win a $1,000 Southwest gift card.
Listening Center: customer service experts take time to listen to their customers on the company’s various social media channels. Allows the brand to listen to, engage with, and add to social conversation among customers.
Southwest blog. Tells the Southwest story via the Nuts About Southwest blog.
Mobile App
Book, check-in, change or cancel your flight.
Add early bird check-in.
Check your flight status, boarding position, and gate information.
Access mobile boarding pass on iPhone and Android.
Southwest and Delta are two of the top airlines and they both focus on connection between their brands and its customers. They differ in strategies that they implement to show this. One of the most powerful ways to brand your airline company is by making the process of traveling and flying simple and easy. Both brands have done this well through their apps! Personally, I have flown on both airlines and have enjoyed both. I prefer Delta, but I love the convenience and deals that come with Southwest.
I hope you’re enjoying this series. Continue on and take a look as I digest another set of top brands and how they’re succeeding!
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