Quietly, Southwest starts marketing offensive

By Kelly Yamanouchi

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Southwest Airlines is starting to introduce itself to Atlanta through what it calls “Random Acts of Coolness.”

The charm offensive comes three months after Dallas-based Southwest closed its deal to buy AirTran Airways and take over its longtime role as the chief alternative to Delta Air Lines for Atlanta fliers.

Southwest is still at least several months from putting its own name on any of AirTran’s jets, as regulators still have to sign off on operational aspects of the merger. So for now the “Coolness” campaign is low-key. It’s being conducted at schools, public pools, and police and fire stations rather than at the airport or on billboards.

The effort began last week when a team of people clad in blue Southwest-AirTran shirts started visiting public facilities in Fulton, Cobb and DeKalb counties to hand out treats, ice pops and bottles of water to teachers, firefighters, police officers and others.

The airline also donated $100 gift cards to the schools and swimming pools.

“We wanted to get to know the city and introduce ourselves to Atlanta, well before Southwest planes land here,” said Quinnie Jenkins, Southwest’s community affairs and grassroots manager in Atlanta. The “Coolness” will continue into the fall, according to Jenkins.

Wednesday morning, the blue shirts stormed the doors of Tri-Cities High School in East Point to set up bagels, muffins, AirTran notebooks, Southwest tote bags and pens for teachers preparing for the new school year.

“Doing things for teachers makes a lot of sense because they tend to be influencers in the community,” said Ken Bernhardt, professor of marketing at Georgia State University. “I suspect it’s just the first of many things that they will do to attract attention.”

Tri-Cities High principal Dan Sims noted that the high school has had a relationship with AirTran, receiving a $20,000 donation after the high school band performed at an AirTran event, for example.

“We believe in the reciprocal relationship,” Sims said. “We want to help them promote their product.”

Bernhardt noted Southwest’s challenge will rise when it brings its own planes and service to the market. Due to its lack of assigned seating, “one of their tasks will be to educate the market to overcome the cattle car image that some people have,” he said.

The airline in recent years has begun offering different fare levels with higher fares offering priority boarding and other perks..

Another challenge could come from Delta, depending on how the hometown behemoth decides to respond to a Southwest invasion in its home market. Delta has long relied on staid marketing campaigns promoting its services, particularly to well-heeled business travelers.

Asked about the prospect of Southwest’s marketing blitz, Delta’s senior vice president of marketing Tim Mapes stuck to a buttoned-down tone.

In a written statement, Mapes said: “A primary tenet of Delta’s marketing philosophy, evident throughout the 70-plus years we’ve called Atlanta home, is to establish meaningful long-term community relationships partnering through sponsorship, civic and charitable support rather than less-substantive, sporadic tactics.”

Southwest, by contrast, more often highlights its “fun” brand personality, which Bernhardt said had been a key ingredient in its success.

“That’s their challenge, is to educate the Atlanta market on Southwest and how it’s different than other airlines,” Bernhardt said.