Airline Seeks New, Reinvigorated Image

Fresh out of bankruptcy, Delta Air Lines is wasting little time in its attempt to reconnect with passengers, seeking to attract the support of undecided travelers while holding onto its faithful diehards.

If that sounds eerily like a political campaign, you wouldn't be wrong. The New York Times reports Delta hired the New York marketing firm of Shepardson Stern & Kaminsky last year -- the same firm Senator Barack Obama recently hired to advise his presidential campaign on nontraditional ways to reach young voters.

While each... er, campaign... seeks to achieve a different goal, the challenges presented to S.S.& K. are similar: to convince interested parties each of its clients offers something different from the same old establishment.

It's tough to say which goal will be more difficult for the firm to achieve. Obama -- a youthful Senator from Illinois -- has been riding high on the support of a voter bloc convinced he presents the best chance for Democrats to regain the White House in 2008. Delta, on the other hand, has been mired in bankruptcy for the past 20 months.

To convince flyers Delta offers something different, the Atlanta, GA-based carrier has unveiled a new livery, sporting a stylized Delta "widget" on the tails of its planes. (Delta notes it is the 19th "Brand Change" in the airline's 78-year history.)

The airline also kicked off a new advertising campaign Delta hopes will connect with viewers in much the same way past campaigns convinced viewers Delta "loved to fly, and it showed."

"Nowhere is it written an airline lives forever," an announcer intones in the campaign's inaugural commercial. "Even some of the great ones have come and gone. We can ignore your needs and face the same fate, or we can change."

Delta's marketing vice-president, Tim Mapes, likens Delta's image problem with "a political candidate who was great at one point and lost the way," but has "found a footing again, from the inside out."

"We only win as an airline to the extent we win you over as a customer," Mapes adds. "We do not want to set up expectations that are false." Later spots will focus on revamped inflight entertainment systems, and better food.

Mapes adds S.S.&K.'s political roots will aid Delta in its efforts to convey a new, more vibrant image, citing the agency's "nimbleness and agility."

S.S.& K. partner Lenny Stern says Delta's situation is similar to a political incumbent, presenting themselves as offering "not politics as usual."

"The most effective incumbents are those who never forget they have to conduct themselves as insurgents," he added. "That's what keeps politicians on top" -- as well as marketers.

"By being honest about what's at stake for Delta," Sterns adds, "customers will believe more that Delta is honest about changing."

FMI: www.delta.com/change, www.ssk.com