Courage to push the envelope
Marketing lessons come from the most unexpected places. I was scheduled to fly out of Las Vegas on the morning of August 10, 2006, which you may remember as the day after authorities thwarted a terrorist plan to detonate explosives disguised as shampoo aboard airline flights departing London. As had happened on September 11, 2001, security measures at airports around the world became suddenly more complicated. I spent a small eternity in the long and winding security line at the Vegas airport, making a few friends along the way, but mostly watching the mob around me get grumpier.
Still, I survived–even made my flight. It had been a strange morning, but what happened to me and the other passengers aboard the airplane that afternoon was even stranger. On this day of dark moods and thin tempers, the flight crew did an amazing thing: they made us laugh.
Here are some of the lines our flight attendant said into the microphone at the front of the cabin:
“For those of you who have not ridden in an automobile since 1958, this … (holding up a familiar-looking mechanical device) … is a seatbelt.”
“Should the cabin lose pressure, oxygen masks will drop from overhead. At that time, stop screaming and place the mask over your face. If you’re seated next to a child–or someone who is acting like a child–assist them with their oxygen mask. If you have more than one child traveling with you, pick your favorite.”
And as we took off: “Sit back, relax and enjoy the flight, or sit forward and be tense, it really doesn’t matter to me.”
Her delivery was flawless. She had timing, dynamics and just the right hint of a smirk. Had we not been strapped in, we would have been rolling in the aisles.
None of the jokes were kind. We, the passengers, were the butt of them. So why was it funny? Because she knew her audience–and knew that she could take us out of our normal comfort zones and get away with it. We had been in Vegas, a bold place with bigger-than-life personalities and rude security people, a place where the usual rules of etiquette don’t apply. She pegged us, and she did something unexpected, and she won.
The net effect was that I’ll remember that airline for a long time. And I’ll choose them again in the future. The moral: know your audience … and don’t be afraid to push the envelope, if it means getting noticed.
Today’s FREE BONUS CONTENT!
Something remarkable is worth talking about.
–Seth Godin
