Comments on: Jet Blue, Yearly Kos, and How to Offend Everyone

By: Jim Tuohig

Jim Tuohig — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 21:24:07 +0000

Jet Blue is at it again. They are promoting the New York Times on each seat back (This appeared to offend the two people sitting next to me; as per the “move on.org”, etc).
This is really stupid behavior
and, with Jet Blue’s stock price sinking every day, I’m surprised that the Board of Directors is not embroiled in a law suit.
They must be purposely trying to cause the stock price to fall further (I wonder if they are selling “short”).

By: Stephen Denny

Stephen Denny — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 01:20:08 +0000

Sounds like Jet Blue isn’t the only ‘no show’ at Yearly Kos, with Pelosi, Reid and Emanuel all abruptly canceling today.
http://michellemalkin.com/2007/08/03/meltdown-at-the-yearlykos/
The significant publicity that has been shed on this event has made a lot of people very skittish about associating themselves with it — including those who are ideologically aligned with it. Sounds like a Tipping Point, doesn’t it?

By: donallover

donallover — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 18:44:27 +0000

Bill OReilly busted this fiasco. His reporter confronted this chump about DKos and the guy couldn’t believe anyone would actually question this. Well, many in America do question this type of corporate behavior and they listened.
Now, if all the Demoncratic presidential candidates would only refuse to show up? But of course, the DemoDefeatist camp swoons to this type of nonsense…

By: Stephen Denny

Stephen Denny — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 19:38:49 +0000

The idea of increasingly radicalized brands and media self-segregating into their respective political camps dovetails well with the ‘politically correct’ sub-plot in the comments, don’t you think?
First, we have the major theme of a brand making the mistake of aligning with a political entity, only to be driven to apostacy by a media-fueled consumer backlash; followed by a growing awareness of the ‘backlash to the backlash’, with MoveOn.org trying incredulously to organize an anti-Fox crusade against local advertisers. Cam brought up the point that those who don’t completely embrace the idea of the causal role of humanity in ‘global warming’ are now being threatened (reported in Drudge, as well). And now, there’s a tar baby comment sub-thread.
I’d call 60 Minutes if I trusted them (I don’t, of course). Where’s Walter Cronkite when we need him most?

By: Chris Blackman

Chris Blackman — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 02:57:10 +0000

I had no idea about the phrase which shall not be repeated for fear of causing offence.
For non-US PC cognoscenti check it out at wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tar_baby
ChrisB

By: Ryan Turner

Ryan Turner — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 17:37:51 +0000

[Scipio Africanus: Give the enemy not only a road for flight, but also a means of defending it.]
Tom and Neil both hint an interesting direction that needs more emphasis here.
JetBlue also had the option to sponsor this, and all other”tech-centered lifestyle” events and/or major events in key hubs. Other airlines do the same (hence “travel and leisure”).
It would’ve fit their image as a forward-thinking airline, and with enough advanced planning, allowed them to see what events might send mixed messages to their customers and the public.
[Hannibal: I have met, in my time, many an old fool; but this one tops them all.]
Fair points Stephen. Whether it’s partisan purchasing or xenophobic sourcing, I see the spectre of “freedom fries” looming again (though without the trans fat, thanks to 100% domestically-produced safflower or canola oil– federally subsidized through bipartisan support– that could be reused as processed fuel, but likely won’t).
Also spot on regarding the “hit list/boycott” mentality that can enter such discussions.
Any firm can be a target ultimately, as groups seek links between sponsorship, individual giving by leadership, political activities of workers (heck, even the presence of a union!), or marketing tactics as evidence of political bias..
[Scipio Africanus: It is the part of a fool to say, I should not have thought.]
Take care to always distinguish the corporate social responsibility agenda of interests groups, the political agenda of partisan and affiliated groups, the interests of advertisers, and those enablers and individual intermediaries who provide a forum for it all.
Connections may abound, philosophies may intersect, boundaries may be crossed– but they are not the same thing.

By: Stephen Denny

Stephen Denny — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 04:31:49 +0000

If Roger were here channeling Heraclitus, I’d say that the current political/societal/economic climate is starting to resemble the warring factions of Blues and Greens in Justinian’s day (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nika_riots). Will we have Democratic and Republican brands in the future? (It’s happened before in more dramatic fashion than what the above AP pick-up suggests).
All this being said, I’d bet the proverbial fly on the wall at Jet Blue probably would tell us that this was all a few people not doing enough due diligence in picking a very cheap sponsorship, coupled with the absolutely worst case scenario unfolding with Bill O launching his cable-based scud and outing what was probably intended as a margin footnote in Jet Blue’s quarterly marketing budget.
Coming off their recent failures, this is just more bad news for a snake-bit company. First, you don’t have much confidence that they’ll get you there, and now you’re not quite sure whether they have any real judgement either. Great. Shareholders and customers alike must be wondering what their encore will be.

By: Ryan Turner

Ryan Turner — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 03:21:28 +0000

(Quick thoughts before meeting friends at airport)
Definitely should be called “Fly Right” instead…
Given the simple fact that a mere annoyance can cause a disruption, travel and transportation are among the most sensitive industries in existence when it comes to politics. That’s why any smart corporation takes care to hedge bets by separating its political interests from actual political activity, and further subdividing those pursuits such that leadership and management don’t appear to coerce the staff.
Worth noting: In the most recent campaign cycle, former JetBlue CEO David Neeleman is noted as a NY Republican (he supported Giuliani and even ponied up when asked to support an out of state campaign for HI Republican gubernatorial candidate)– yet he gave Democratically as an individual. Current CEO David Barger gave Democratically as an individual during the same campaign cycle as well… *except* for one race. The Democrats in question both gave to represent the Congressional district in which JetBlue is headquartered. The Republican in question both gave to– a Florida Congressman (key point)– serves as ranking member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
At any time, executives and staff may work or give resources on their own; through interest groups, trade associations, or political action funds; or directly as a company seeking to assert concerns more directly to decisionmakers or the public. When playing with this stuff, the basics always matter– who and what are you responding to and why?– more so when a political element is concerned.
For JetBlue, I really do have to wonder what they were thinking– not for the obvious reasons, but for something more basic: because the general public started to trust them again, and they’ve focused more attention on themselves instead of the customer.
Given the loss of customer confidence this past Valentine;s Day, as well as customer trust (recall they also sold their flight lists to defense contractors in the past as well), they cannot afford anything that serves to drive wedges in the broader traveling public– no matter how edgy/hip/clever.
For the same reason political consultants can do dangerous things to harmless product marketing, you don’t want product marketers developing political strategy (at least without careful supervision) as there are campaign finance and corporate accountability watchdogs waiting for an opportunity to exploit missteps along the way from either camp.

By: CK

CK — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 01:51:14 +0000

I’m waiting for Ryan Turner’s comment. His absence from this convo is palpable.

By: Cam Beck

Cam Beck — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 01:49:39 +0000

FWIW, I think these people are marginalizing themselves. My goodness… Now it’s verboten to even *question* global warming? Much less, it’s verboten to market environmentally friendly products to people who *question* global warming?
I think I understand what they’re trying to accomplish, but the crazier and more …what’s a good word to use without saying “fascist”?… they seem, they are just going to turn people off from their message, and they’ll get far less done.