United’s Flyer Friendly Campaign Reinvents Brand Experience

(Image: Via United “Safety is Global” video)

When traveling back home to California from Washington, D.C. this past holiday season, I braced myself for the terrible customer service to which I’d become accustomed on United Airlines. Cranky staff and constant delays due to maintenance problems, crowded gates and other seemingly avoidable snafus had become an expected part of my experience — and yet the lure of frequent flyer miles kept me coming back. After four terrible flights in a row getting to and from Hawaii in October, my boyfriend had even started referring to the company as “Boonited Airlines.” I told him it was the perfect name and that he — not me — should work in branding.

Turns out maybe someone was listening: United’s new “Flyer Friendly” campaign is a testament to the power of rebranding, and how one creative concept can truly transform a customer’s brand experience. I noticed a difference before I was even aware of the campaign: Pulling up to complete mayhem at Dulles Airport two days before Christmas, I gritted my teeth for anticipated insanity at the United counter, only to have the complete opposite experience. The line moved quickly. The agents were friendly, smiling and helpful – despite the chaos around them and the 6:30 a.m. hour.

Onboard, the pleasant service continued. Who were these United flight attendants and what had they done to the grumpy crews on my last 20 flights?! Then I saw United’s new “Safety is global” video. It’s mostly the usual stuff – comply with lighted signs, keep your seat belt fastened — but uses more humor than I remember in the past and ends with a hearty “thank you” to passengers. The finishing touch? A new take on the “fly the friendly skies” tagline: “flyer friendly,” with a smile logo etched out of two destination pinpoints. This “friendly” motif is carried out in a variety of ways throughout variations of the campaign: “the forecast is friendly,” “faraway friendly,” “[insert destination here] friendly.”

Although I just noticed it, United announced the release of this campaign in September 2013, describing it as a modern interpretation of the familiar tagline reflecting customer feedback about the idea of  “user-friendly” encompassing “service, technology and product enhancements.” The United hub team writes that this new brand campaign is the biggest in more than 10 years, and I love how it’s paying off: This isn’t just an ad exec’s spin on a commercial tagline; it’s also a new vision and mission that the company seems to have embraced at every level.

Were my flights delayed this time? Some of them. We even had to taxi back to the gate and wait for more than an hour for the maintenance crew in one instance — but the friendly service made it a wholly tolerable experience. And the free round of drinks they offered the entire cabin as compensation? I didn’t even order one, but I sure did appreciate the friendly gesture.