The Hot Iron

Monday, April 30, 2007

Why Repaint An Airplane?

Today Delta Air Lines came out of bankruptcy.  At an “event” to announce this, they unveiled a new logo and announced they will be repainting their aircraft with it.  This is 19th logo for Delta in 78 years, and you can see all the past logos courtesy of the Delta History Museum.  The following was from their press release announcing the new logo:

“Delta’s brand, which includes the customer experience and our financial stability, has been changing for the last 19 months thanks to the tireless efforts of Delta people worldwide,” said Tim Mapes, Delta’s vice president of Marketing.  “Now, it’s time to refresh our visible brand identity to mark the progress we’ve made.  It represents the very core of Delta people who are more passionate than ever to provide our customers with the very best experience possible.”

From this statement, the logo changes everything, correct?  All Delta employees, those remaining after layoffs who have taken pay cuts themselves, will be much happier, right?  Aircraft will be much cleaner and in and out of gates on time, no?

I see no need for this.  The physical airplane is the last step of the customer experience with the airlines.  And my only close-up view of the airplane is very limited, when I am at the gate just about to board the plane.  Sure, I may see other planes out the window of the plane I am currently on, but do I look out and say, “oh, I want to fly that airline, they have cooler colors?” By the time I am on the plane, I have made my decision who to fly, paid for my ticket and am ready to get to my destination.

I see the airline industry in line with the retail banking industry, where they change names, rebrand, throw big parties, but what really changes?  Is service improved, both in quality and cost of delivery?  Can I get personalized service and have a personal relationship with either?  How will a new logo on a sign in an airport and a new coat of paint on a plane make a difference to me, the consumer?

Delta isn’t the only one guilty of this.  When US Airways merged with America West, the combined airline decaled planes with the “throwback” logos of the airlines that merged to make US Airways.  Even frugal Southwest repainted the majority of their planes from desert colors to blue.  Once again, the painter and signmaker are the ones who truly benefit from these changes, just as in banking.

Now I am waiting for Hugo Chavez and his Citgo to challenge Delta on the similarities of their new logo to his longstanding one!

Chase purchasing BankOne was similar. They must have spent millions rebranding all of their branches and ATMs, money that could have been better spent paying me higher interest on my CDs or offering me more branch or ATM locations. Instead, my one local branch got a new coat of paint, and still doesn’t have a drive-up window. They sent me a 3-page, full-color glossy mailer and I switched to La Salle ... there goes $1.89 down the drain.

Of course, now I have to re-live it all again with the ABN-AMRO/BoA merger.

Well, seeing as how our attention span is rapidly diminishing, perhaps they should change their logo and marketing plan on a yearly, monthly or weekly basis.  I remember when we all had to sign this scroll at work pledging a “Declaration of Quality Service.” It was the latest push to raise service on the cheap.  I wonder where that scroll is today?

Although I completely agree that these companies should be spending money on better service as opposed to more marketing, I can see Delta’s thought process. Emerging from bankruptcy generally carries the connotation of a company that’s struggling to get back on its feet. By rebranding, Delta is showing that it has money to invest and gives the appearance of being revitalized.

It seems to me that finding new and innovative ways to screw your customers and employees is how most big businesses operate.

Unfortunately that is the case.  :(

mp/m

Yes I agree they seem to have their own set of rules - big business that is.

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