Living Up To The Promise
July 9, 2008
When brands deliver on promise -whether it’s being the cheapest, quickest or healthiest, they tend to make a big deal out of it, reminding customers about their commitment and reliance. But when brands don’t deliver, they tend to remain silent.
Case in point: I took a London-Rome return flight with RyanAir last week. When I arrived in Rome with a delay of about 30 minutes, there was no mention whatsoever of their longstanding brand promise, i.e. being the nr 1 on-time airline. But when I landed on time upon return, there was a rather tacky yet quite amusing trumpet jingle, with a reminder message that they remain the nr 1 on-time airline. I was too late to record the message, but found it here.
Although I think the tacky trumpet is a brilliant and simple device to remind RyanAir passengers about the brand’s commitment to deliver on their promise, they should have an equally simple device when they don’t deliver on promise. It’s an act of humbleness to admit you’re not perfect, and that you’re doing the best you can. And I would have forgiven RyanAir for their delay much more easily.
(stats on the slide above do not show the most recent data, but RyanAir still is the nr. 1 on-time airline)
Agreed. It’s a stupid brand that doesn’t use a setback in a constructive way. Nothing wrong with saying something messed up. Everything wrong with pretending it didn’t happen. Bit like when people pick up the phone and pretend they don’t know who is there. It feels artificial.
Comment by Charles Frith — July 9, 2008 @ 5:09 pm