I have to hand it to the two Viewzi hotshots. It’s apparent from their collections of spinach labels and IRS forms that they have been gathering material for this presentation for a long time. Strangely enough, one of the homework assignments got me thinking about the airlines’ principal marketing dilemmas: how to increase customer satisfaction and build brand loyalty.

The assignment was to more effectively organize and prioritize airline confirmation information. We were allowed to invent our own contexts. This is what it looked like:

(Thanks to Jared Farnum for scanning it.)

Unless you’re a computer, the above example is a
complete mess. The designers apparently didn’t think it was important
enough to allow people to easily find what they are likely to look for.

After all, the customer already bought the ticket. The airline got their money, and
now the passenger must walk the crucible of airport security and
undergo every examination short of a body cavity search just to visit
grandma in Chicago.

Mapping out this problem from an information design perspective requires we understand what the user is looking for. This is determined by the context of his interaction with the information.

Thinking through this, I sketched something out in class, but my work always seemed to resolve into an airline ticket. I guess that’s just where my head was, but since we were allowed, I followed that thought and came up with this rough design for the same fictitious flight:

Though I’m not much of a designer, I did a few things that Stephen and Travis recommended, and at first blush it seems to have worked out well. 

• Deleted information most people don’t need
• Grouped like information
• Prioritized the content according to the context
• Utilized icons to aid scanning

There is probably someone who thinks I shouldn’t have deleted something that I did. To that I say, with the deepest respect:

"That’s why these things shouldn’t be designed by committee. Now shut your mouth and go design your own ticket."

Kidding! Kidding! I can take the criticism. Maybe we can design a stop sign next. That isn’t the point anyway. The brand-endearing idea most useful to marketers comes next, and I didn’t even use a single logo.

If your ticket actually has it, the stub just repeats a lot of the information that was on the proper ticket, but in shorthand format and with greater emphasis placed on the seat number.

However, since these stubs are not used much anymore, I imagined what would happen if the airline decided to do something remarkable. Something memorable. Something endearing.

(The gray area in the lower right represents a bar code.)

Can you imagine printing off your ticket at the airport kiosk and seeing that message? It would be like winning a golden ticket from a Wonka Bar.

They wouldn’t have to do it for every passenger — that would be impossible. But the airline (in this case, American Airlines) under this hypothetical program would need to reserve 1-4 upgraded seats, depending on the size of the plane, on every flight, and give it to a random passenger (or group of passengers, if possible, to keep families together).

In the event the passenger was not one of the chosen few, he would be offered something else. Let’s look at these options:

• A 15% discount to a restaurant located in the arrival city.
• $3 off his next FedEx shipment, good for the entire time he’s there.
• 50% off a 15-minute chair massage upon return home.

Every one of these options can be relevant to the passenger, and the airline wouldn’t need any more information than is already on the ticket.

Even better, except for the upgrades, the airlines wouldn’t even need to pay for all of these promotions themselves. The companies who want more business from travelers would consider it an advertising expense.

It’s simple, unexpected, concrete, credible and perhaps even a little emotional. Plus, everyone who gets a free upgrade will tell his story. (Sound familiar?) Who would want to fly with anyone else?

Of course, this wouldn’t solve any management or customer service problems the airlines have. It would just build a lot of buzz and generate stronger loyalty and more paying customers.

That can’t hurt — whatever their other problems are.

What do you think?
Assuming it were technically feasible and the airlines went along with it, would it work? Why or why not?

They assume what they’re hearing or reading is what they get from everyone else, so they flush it from their mind.

A good example would be corporate boilerplate or a mission statement. These never seem to have enough bite to really make them stick …. hence you need to move from common sense to uncommon sense!
After hearing Chip deliver the conference keynote speech, I decided to ask him a few questions of my own to further illuminate the challenges facing the B2B technology marketer. I hope you enjoy –

About the Authors
Brothers Chip Heath and Dan Heath are the co-authors of the book Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, which has been a New York Times, Wall Street Journal and BusinessWeek bestseller.
The Heath brothers write a monthly column called “Made To Stick” for Fast Company magazine. They have spoken and consulted on the topic of “making ideas stick” with audiences from organizations such as Microsoft, Nissan, Fannie Mae and West Point.