Tag Archives: Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines recently posted a video that’s supposed to give us a look behind the scenes of a day at Dallas’ Love Field.

Okay, that’s fine, but here’s the thing… so what? Why as an audience member should I care?

I feel like this is the classic example of a video where someone simply said, “Wouldn’t it be cool if we gave people a behind-the-scenes look at what goes on in a typical day at the airport?”

I love the sentiment, but as a marketer and audience member I demand more. “Wouldn’t it be cool” isn’t a reason to go through the time and expense of producing a video. This video does give us a behind-the-scenes look, but how does it benefit me as a traveler? It doesn’t.

If you want to stretch it, I suppose you could say it demonstrates how hard Southwest team members are working for the customer… but that’s a real stretch.

Whenever you’re working on a video, keep asking yourself… why should the audience care? If you don’t have an answer that’s going to ultimately further your brand… you need to refocus.

–Tony Gnau

Courtesy: Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines posted a really cool story yesterday on its blog. It’s about a customer who tweeted during a flight about a terrific flight attendant. They promised to always fly Southwest if the airline would do something nice for the woman.

By the time the plane was on the ground, Southwest officials were at the gate waiting for the flight attendant with a present from a local bakery.

GREAT story! Things like this aren’t going to pop up all the time, so businesses need to have their antenna up to spot them. As much as I like the blog post, this had the potential to be a GREAT video.

Now, Southwest’s people had to think fast on their feet to do what they did.  Unless they had a veteran video producer on hand, shooting a good video might have been too much for them to handle here.  The lesson for PR and marketing teams is to be on the lookout for these opportunities. They might not always deal with such a quick turnaround.

Using a quality storyteller to creating a video in situations like this would be a great way to connect with an audience… making them feel like they were part of something special.

–Tony Gnau

Southwest Airlines posts a decent amount of videos to YouTube, and it does a good job of using social media to distribute them. Some of the videos are hits, some are misses, but this one is a home run.

They follow musical artist Mat Kearney onto a flight where he performs a mini-concert for the passengers (watch the video). I love it! It puts a smile on your face, and puts Southwest in a good light.

Why don’t more companies do things like this? Okay, not everyone is going to be able to get a major recording star to serenade their customers, but PR and marketing pros need to start thinking this way for their clients. What are some of the fun things they do as a company… whether it’s cool perks for clients or ways they perk-up their company culture.

These are great video opportunities. Video doesn’t have to be about hitting someone over the head with a marketing message. Creating videos that put a smile on someone’s face make for an incredible sales tool. More companies should try it.

–Tony Gnau

VIDEO: Mat Kearney, Concert at 35,000-feet

Okay, I typically hate critiquing other videos, but this one represents a terrific cautionary tale.

A Southwest Airlines video about the company taking part in Meals On Wheels popped-up last week on my Facebook wall. I love that Southwest participates in giving back to the community. I love that they want to share it with us in a video. The execution… not so good.

First, the Facebook text above the video read…

A sea of blue t-shirts made up of 500 Southwest Airlines Employees just wrapped up delivering more than 1,800 meals in this year’s Meals On Wheels Association of America blitz to serve Dallas families.

Then you click on the video and the first on-screen graphic reads, “June 8, 2010.” Read the Facebook text again. They “just wrapped up”… “this year’s Meals On Wheels.”

The next on-screen graphic reads, “400 Southwest Employees.” Back to the Facebook text, “500 Southwest Airlines Employees.”

Seriously? If you’re going to show us last year’s video, just tell us it’s last year’s video. Don’t use the text to make it sound like it’s from this year.

Next, the sound bite they chose is extremely confusing. Who is the speaker addressing? I assume it’s the Southwest employees making the deliveries.

Also, the on-screen title threw me off. It reads, “Brit Carpenter, President & CEO Visiting Nurse Association,” but he’s standing in front of Southwest banner. By the time I looked at him, the banner, and then the on-screen title, the title was already coming down. All I caught was President & CEO.

I assumed he was the Southwest Airlines president, but then what he said in the sound bite didn’t make sense. I had to re-watch the sound bite a few times before I figured out he leads the Visiting Nurse Association, which I imagine is associated with Meals On Wheels, but that isn’t explained later.

Why do I point this out? It’s a great example of why business leaders need to hire storytellers. I can only imagine that this video was put together by someone at Southwest who has technical expertise, but not a storytelling background.

If you’re going to create a video and share it with the world, make sure you’re telling a story that people will understand. The video will only help your organization if the audience walks away feeling good about your company… not confused.

–Tony Gnau

VIDEO: Southwest Airlines and Meals On Wheels

Southwest Airlines clearly understands social media. I found their latest YouTube video when it popped up in my Facebook feed… only to watch and leave unfulfilled. A shame because they missed a real opportunity to educate their customers, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

Rangers Trading Place is about some members of the Texas Rangers baseball team trying out different Southwest jobs at Dallas Love Field. As a producer, this has all sorts of great storytelling options.

The only problem… they really didn’t tell much of a story. I mean, you get the gist of what’s going on, but there’s no real storytelling technique here. The result as an audience member is leaving the video apathetic. Some baseball players scanned some tickets. Big deal. How does this impact me as a traveler? It doesn’t.

Or does it? Here’s one quick idea. Really feature the Southwest employees teaching the players their jobs. Make sure the employees emphasize why they do things certain ways and how that benefits travelers.

Apply just a little storytelling technique like this and you have an entirely different experience for the audience.

Having the technical ability to put together a video isn’t enough. Businesses need real storytelling to make their videos relevant so the audience has the opportunity to connect with what they’re watching.

–Tony Gnau

VIDEO: Rangers Trading Places