EWR764

If only!

JimInOhio

Who told these people at UA that their customers want to choose an airline where the employees are out "to make the world a happier, greener, more inclusive, more facinating place"?

DELee

The "creative agency of record".

David

fly18725

I think you’re overly focused on “good” and ignoring the word that immediately follows. The use of “lead” is pretty unambiguous: UAL wants to be first in the industry. Even if good means adequate, the slogan clearly states that UAL wants to lead by being the most adequate airline.

If you don’t overthink the advertising, the message is much simpler: UAL becomes a better company by focusing on being good to our employees, customers, the environment, etc. If you’ve talked to Oscar or spent anytime with UAL leadership, you would know this builds on their efforts to change the culture of the company, creating a shared purpose and improving customer service by first treating employees well.

UAL believes engaged and motivated employees will provide better service to customers.

angetenar

I've thought about this, and I actually think it's a reasonable advertising campaign. People here clearly have a skewed perspective with regards to what they want out of an airline, eg. food quality in business. United has been trying to cultivate a more premium image for itself recently, similar to what Delta has done in the past, and I think among the general population, the way to do this is not to focus on the product itself, but instead, to focus more intangible things. People (in my experience) perceive companies that care about ESG/DEI as better companies than those companies that do not. There might also be a generational factor at play; young people are more supportive of and care about things like DEI and ESG and unions.

JimInOhio

But that (bolded) is an internal message, not a marketing campaign. Does anyone think someone will choose UA over, say, Spirit to get to Florida simply because UA is motivating their employees with a shared purpose better than Spirit is?

fly18725

I don’t think employee engagement is the purpose of the campaign, but a benefit. I would say that consistent messaging internally and out is usually a good idea.

JALsnipe

I got a pop up for this in the United iPhone app last night.
Just the image, couldn't interact with it or anything. Tapping the image did nothing and I could only press the "X" to close it. Would have been nice if there was an explanation or link to a campaign instead of just interrupting my use of the app.

More like "Good _blocks_ the way" of using the damn app.

JimInOhio

I totally agree with you about consistent messaging, internally and externally. Benefits, though, are derived from features and I can't see (maybe I'm blind?) what feature UA is clearly trying to put in front of their customer base to create that benefit.

physioprof

I don't see any evidence that UA has to explain this new slogan to the people it is aimed at nor that it has failed to convey the intended message. It is not dignostic that the first thing that comes to mind in a self-selected subgroup of people inclined to see everything UA does & says in a jaundiced light that this slogan indicates that UA is fine being just adequate. It is not at all clear whether this "first impression" read of the slogan will be common. Maybe it will turn out that this slogan is, indeed, widely misunderstood, and maybe it will turn out that it's a "dud". But that remains to be seen.

zombietooth

I certainly understood what UA was going for, I just believe that it is wasted money. Air travel is virtually a commodity these days, since "loyalty" gets you so little, and service standards and quality have fallen so far. So I don't think that bragging about your virtuous ESG and DEI behavior and accomplishments is going to get UA any additional market share because most flyers shop by price.
Besides, if someone is really all-in on ESG behavior, they should quit air travel completely because it is literally the most carbon-intensive normal activity that one can engage in.

CApreppie

That app screenshot (which I saw when I opened the app yesterday) with the very enthusiastic FA is a bit overly enthusiastic. It is like something I would expect on a Southwest flight where off-script moments are to be expected. I would think - is she going to try to hug me?

fly18725

Have you looked at any campaign material? Customer features highlighted include IFE, elimination of change fees, ConnectionSaver, and
more destinations. Not to mention, engaged and motivated employees that should improve the customer experience.

noralawrence

Too bad that doesn't mean "you get what you pay for" - just see the Polaris meal thread.

JimInOhio

I watched the video twice and don't believe there was any mention of change fees or destinations. I do remember the "force for good" which they must have lisfted from that NAVY promo of years ago.

The whole campaign is all about the message "please feel good about us" or something like that. I don't see how that advances their cause in the end.