There is plenty to commiserate about the current state of affairs with commercial airline travel and few carriers have been able to cut through the noise of dissent and realistically maintain their profit margins without compromising quality. Virgin Airlines has managed to make a considerable impact on travelers with its cheeky advertising and sexy cabin lighting schemes.
But for far longer than Virgin, it’s Southwest Airlines which has consistently earned high marks for best in class service at a competitive price.
When global design firm Lippincott was called on to update the brand assets and identity system, it quite literally, cut to the heart of the matter.
“From our first design criteria presentation we made a very clear statement to our core team and then to senior management, that the issue for Southwest was one of uncovering the true Southwest, not about creating a new Southwest.”
That’s Rodney Abbot, senior partner of design at Lippincott, who spoke with us about how he and his team met the design challenge. “We stated from day one that the symbol for Southwest was the heart.”
Until then, Southwest had utilized two separate logos: the “Winged Heart” and the “Take-Off” logo (a plane in flight over the name, ‘Southwest.’) The Lippincott drilled down deep into Southwest’s core competencies to bring further weight to their choice of a heart logo. And while adding a heart to much of anything might seem hackneyed, Abbot more than begs to differ.
“A core ingredient of that character is a ‘fun LUV-ing attitude’, something that customers have come to expect from Southwest,” explains Abbot. “The challenge as the brand matures is showing customers and potential customers that the business is also a really buttoned-up operation. That fact hasn’t always cut through, so while the new identity maintains a playful, humorous tone, it does so in a very deliberate and thoughtful way.”
Lippincott’s strategy included giving Southwest a fresh coat of paint, in the same signature color palette but even more saturated and richer. From the planes to the check-in gates to the cocktail napkins, color plays a key role in the brand’s new bold visual identity.
“After all, a vibrant experience is what customers expect from Southwest. So we deepened the blue and saturated the red and yellow. We also added silver stripes to separate the colors, accentuating the heightened contrast between them, and introducing a more refined note to the identity system.”
To the casual consumer, one might ask if a major rebrand translates into higher airfares? After all, who’s going to cover the cost of all those buckets of paint?
“The rollout of the identity is being integrated into the existing timelines for repainting planes and upgrading airports,” assures Abbot. “That said, any brand needs to always ask the question: are we true to who we are, and are we connecting with people in a way that’s relevant and fresh?
We second that wholeheartedly (sorry, that pun just snuck in), simply because any brand worth its salt should always be forecasting the cost of future upgrades to their brand experience.
We’re happy to see that Southwest is flying its true colors and can think of quite a few more carriers who could use the same help. Hello, US Airways?
It was in the early 1990’s that urban sociologist Ray Oldenberg identified the growing need for “a third place,” a destination roughly between home and work that offers both a sense of community and a respite from the hubbub of our daily lives.
Oldenberg argued that increasingly, bars, coffee shops, and even barber shops have become the new town square – especially in cities where many town squares and public parks are increasingly unappealing places to hang out (and good luck getting a bench.)
“The character of a third place is determined most of all by its regular clientele and is marked by a playful mood, which contrasts with people’s more serious involvement in other spheres,” writes Oldenberg. “Though a radically different kind of setting for a home, the third place is remarkably similar to a good home.”
Starbucks didn’t waste anytime co-opting this idea of a “third place” which is why their coffee shops seem more about people squatting and using their restroom than savoring a somewhat mediocre cup of coffee.
Sponsored spaces with soft seating have begun popping up everywhere, from shopping malls (many of which have removed much of their public seating) to sidewalks and parking lots. With such perks as free Wi-Fi, phone charging stations, and even free drinks, its no wonder the idea has taken hold.
You wouldn’t think a city like New York would take to the idea since they are already well-stocked when it comes to nicely maintained public spaces, but Southwest Airlines saw an opportunity to enhance what was already there. Their “Southwest Porch” in the city’s popular Bryant Park is helping promote the airline’s new service to LaGuardia Airport while rallying their existing Southwest fans.
Designed by Civic Entertainment Group, the look is very, well, Americana front porch: quaint Adirondack chairs, yellow cushions, and wooden loggias trimmed with hanging plants. It’s a surprising sight for the urban dweller and one that gives a sense of premium value to the brand while informally beckoning them to “come hang out with us.” Of course free Wi-Fi and a place to eat a sandwich without being bothered by vagrants or pigeons (or both) are an added bonus.
“We were looking for a creative way to let people know about our new service and to take the opportunity to refresh the brand in one of the biggest media markets in the country,” says Linda Rutherford, the airline’s VP of communications (in an interview with BizBash, an online magazine about event planning.) “Buying advertising in this town is typically expensive, so with a relatively modest budget, we wanted to make the money work harder for us.”
The F&B portion is supported by a ‘Witchcraft sandwich kiosk that was already in that corner of the park. The “porch” concept’s success includes playing host to private events, doubling its marketing value.
In the meantime, with prime retail real estate at a premium, it’s likely we’ll see more of these temporary spaces popping up, offering an alternative to long-term leases with minimal build out, low overhead, and an iconic and unexpected location for a brand to make its mark.