Virgin America Gets PR Right

Unauthorized Bedtime Nonsense – Click for full size at Pinterest

Safety can be fun, even for big businesses like airlines.

I’ve written in the past about how refreshing it is to see a big company get public relations and customer communications right. In that case it was  Delta Airlines endorsing their mile runner superfans. I’m pleased to report another discovery of a similar company offering up some positivity and humor with their own messaging: Virgin America.

During a recent #PinChat on Twitter, the featured guest was Jill Okawa Fletcher, Virgin America’s Director of Social Media. Ms. Fletcher was sharing insights about Virgin’s use of Pinterest and I immediately referred her to my pin of Virgin Atlantic’s wacky insert card campaign (at right). We then had the following exchange:

Richard Smith@rsmithing11 Jul 12

@JillOinSF I'd just like to say: love those faux safety insert cards. #pinchatpinterest.com/pin/1907697341…

Jill Okawa Fletcher@JillOinSF

@rsmithing Wish I could take credit. Those belong to our friends at @VirginAtlantic (diff airline). But you may have seen our safety vid?

11 Jul 12

And Ms. Fletcher then referred me to Virgin America’s easygoing in-flight safety video:

Corporate Wackiness Can be Entertaining

As you may know, I’m a big geeky fan of this type of thing, and true to its brand spirit, Virgin makes the most of an opportunity here with its captive audience. Yes, safety is important, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have a little fun with it.

Coincidentally, back to Delta…. I first noticed this in Delta’s in-flight safety video, where an attendant’s shiny tooth actually goes “ding!” after demonstrating proper use of a seat as a floatation device. That’s so funny to me just because it’s very subtle and wacky in an otherwise fairly standard video. I’m such a fan that once on a Delta flight, I was ready with my phone to get a picture of the exact moment… voila:

My favorite part of Delta’s in-flight safety video. The guy’s smile literally sparkles. And makes a “ding” sound. Brilliant.

What do you think? Can you name any examples of companies having fun with their otherwise serious messaging? Does this influence your perception of the company or a brand? Let us hear from you in the comments!

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• An Airline Gets It… Right? (rsmithing.com)
• High-tech Virgin America again rated top airline (slashgear.com)
• Secrets of Social Media Buzz Marketing from CMO of Virgin America(hubspot.com)
• How Delta’s Tweet Saved The Day (unmarketing.com)