American Airlines announces new branding to its best customers first

Several very positive marketing and product related experiences with American Airlines suggest to me that the company is making great progress since the parent company - AMR Corporation - filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on November 29, 2011.

Telling your best customers first

Late last week I received an email from American Airlines with the subject line "Be The First To See Our New Look". The email said that they want their most loyal customers to be the first to see their new logo and the refreshed exterior of new planes. (I am a top elite-level frequent flyer and have more than 1.5 million air miles with American). The email said that in about two hours a new look would be revealed and it teased with a hashtag #newAmerican. Then, a few hours later, another email arrived with the new branding revealed together with a link to a video Becoming a new American.

I really liked this approach of letting their best customers in on the big reveal. Most large companies would announce such a change to the media first and let the new branding trickle down to customers that way. This is very smart marketing and customer service. The addition of the #newAmerican hashtag indicated to me that American is integrating with social media. Well done.

That particular day, I needed to research an upcoming trip and I noticed the AA.com website had been completely changed over to the new look. Also that day iTunes updated my American Airlines iPhone app with the new branding. Obviously, the team at American had thought through the rollout and had it timed perfectly (at least the parts that I experienced).

American was established in 1934 and the logo and branding had most recently changed in 1968, so it was a big deal to make this switch.

Improving the customer experience

On a recent Europe trip on American Airlines, I was intrigued by the gadget being used by Frank Eschmann, who called it his "Flight Attendant Customer Experience Tablet". Turns out Frank was beta testing it and was happy to explain to me how it works.

The tablet provides details on who is in what seat and includes their frequent flyer status, so Frank instantly knew that I was among American's best customers. Passengers' onward connections are listed so when there is a delay, the flight attendants know who might need extra attention to make tight connections or rebooking.

Flight attendants also use the tablet to record passenger meal selection, which pops up as a color code while the system simultaneously records how many of each meal remains available during ordering. The in-flight announcement scripts are in the tablet as are the entire safety manual for the plane. Each of these features make it easier for flight attendants to provide good service to passengers.

The gadget is delivered via Android on a Samsung Galaxy Note with AT&T running the data and Frank said that there's email and Web interfaces so he uses it in the airports too. The gadgets are still being tested but will roll out later this year.

As a passenger, I think the availability of the tablets will benefit me. Frank says he loves using it, so anytime my flight attendant is happy, I'm happy. And the more they know about me, the better.

American Airlines and the future

While new branding and product improvements like a gadget for flight attendants are relatively minor when it comes to the complexity of an airline, these several positive experiences suggest to me that American has a bright future as they emerge from their recent troubles.

Comments

[Laura Bergells]

Improving the airline customer experience seems tough. If you take away the logo and the name, I really can't tell one airline apart from the other.

The little tech gadget you describe is easy to copy. It won't be unique to one airline for very long.

I wonder how an airline might truly distinguish themselves on customer service in a way that's unique and memorable. Toughie.

[Rj_c]

I stopped flying american many years ago. At that moment I did not fly enough with just one airline given the economic constraints that where given to travel and our client locations which where mostly in the south where other Airlines usually had better rates.

I fly Jetblue first and any other Airline before American given the terrible experiences I have had. On another note i have always seen how they really take care of their most loyal customers and flyers which now will be taken to a new level with technology.

As I said in the tweet I am really wondering what else that tablet does and how it will create a deeper relationship with flight attendant and passenger.

[David Meerman Scott]

Laura - I do think they are trying which is why I wrote the post. I fly 150,000 or so miles a year and it is the little things that make a difference.

Hi Raul - I agree that American does take care of its high-mileage frequent travelers. All that I learned about the tablet I included in my post. But I'm sure there is a lot more.

[doug eymer]

Love the BIG and BOLD design.
I will fly AMERICAN just for their sense of aesthetics. – cool stuff. thanks!

::!:: Doug.

[David Meerman Scott]

If Doug likes it, it must be good design!

[Timwasher]

Well done, indeed. These small, personal connections can make a huge difference in affinity toward the brand. I tweeted about an actor friend who was in a @FedEx commercial, and was surprised and impressed when FedEx responded: http://bit.ly/ViDW4g Great way to humanize the brand and strengthen ties to the customer.

[David Meerman Scott]

Tim - that's a funny ad, he did crush it. And it gives me a good feeling about @FedEx too.

[Ira Gostin]

I agree David, I have felt like they are TRYING. Might not be there yet. And I don't know how to get past the huge numbers of middle-aged flight attendants that have seniority and attitude, but I have really felt like they are making an effort. Love the clean, bold new graphics.

[johnmoore (from Brand Autopsy)]

American has deep rooted issues that extend way beyond its visual identity as Ira points out. It’s one thing to redesign the logo and quite another to redesign a company’s culture. For American Airlines to become solvent (and to an extent, relevant) again, American will need to redesign more than its visual identity. A redesign of the American Airlines company culture is needed.

[David Meerman Scott]

Ira and John -

I'm with you on *some* of the flight attendants. But I've had some terrific experiences recently with pilots, flight attendants and counter staff. I'm not sure if it's me getting older and just enjoying people more or that AA employees know that their company may merge with another airline and their jobs are on the line, but I have had good experiences.

Frank (in the photo in this post) for example was someone I'd love to have a beer with. We chatted for about 20 minutes on that flight. The pilots on this tweet https://twitter.com/dmscott/status/248453352415981569 were also very friendly as another example.

I think goodness comes when you look for it and rudeness does too.

[Stephanie Clark]

Treating loyal customers is important in retaining and rewarding loyalty, however shouldn't American focus some of their attending on attracting new customers in the hope that by providing an excellent service they will return?

[David Meerman Scott]

Stephanie - yes, of course. But that's not what my blog post was about. Hopefully they are doing that as well. I don't see it as either / or.

[Custom Facebook App]

American had a good CEO (Robert Crandall) that I think left the company in the late 90's.
Under his leadership the public loved American Airlines and the employees were proud to work at the company.

[Caloundra Bookkeeper]

I really appreciate it too.That the American air line is sending email too its customers before launching anything.A very good market strategy indeed.