The Brand Ascension Group | www.BrandAscension.com | 719.265.

1707



!"#$%&' )'!"* )+$&, $%& *-,$
wby blqb-poteotlol btooJs moy oevet moke lt to CkA1!
8y Suzanne 1ullen, rlnclpal & Co-lounder


l am wrlLlng Lhls wlLh sad news. AnoLher one of my newly experlenced, 'fav' brands l was so exclLed abouL
has fallen from grace. Ch, and lL sooooooo dldn'L have Lo be Lhls way!!!

A few arLlcles ago l wroLe abouL a new up and comlng brand ln Lhe alrllne lndusLry, and how exclLed l was
abouL Lhelr model, Lhe overall experlence, and lL's savvy poLenLlal ln a decaylng alrllne servlce buslness.
1hey were deflnlLely creaLlng Lhelr own '8lue Ccean' (te. 8loe Oceoo 5ttoteqy, by w. cboo klm ooJ keoee Moobotqoe)
ln Lhe alrllne lndusLry markeLplace.

And Lhen,.we flew Lhem agaln (opLlmal word, ACAln).

WlLh a falrly llmlLed fllghL schedule, l was so exclLed LhaL Lhls reglonal alrllne flew Lo Lhe desLlnaLlon we
were plannlng for my husband's blrLhday week (San ulego). A reasonably prlced, non-sLop, fun, easy fllghL
feaLurlng rare amenlLles llke xM 8adlo, a meal Anu snacks, $3 wlne and $1 beers, noL Lo menLlon a
'farewell' mlnL candy, a smlle and an audlble 'Lhank you' dellvered by Lhe fllghL crew as you sLep off Lhe
plane.

l Lold all my frlends. l LouLed Lhe brand ln my workshops whlle coverlng Lhe lmporLance of creaLlng
powerful dlfferenLlaLors, and l wroLe abouL my experlence flylng Lhem. lL's noL so much Lhe
embarrassmenL for '[umplng Lhe gun' and acLually bellevlng Lhey were dlfferenL and Lelllng 'Lhe world', buL
Lhe paln of reallzlng lL was only a or a 'one-off' experlence and Lhen knCWlnC LhaL lL dldn'L have Lo go
Lhere!

ln brlef, here's whaL happened.

1here were Lhree ln our Lravel parLy. As we were geLLlng seLLled ln our seaLs (Lwo on Lhe rlghL, one on Lhe
lefL wlLh an alsle ln beLween), our sLewardess lnLerrupLed Lhe hum of passengers seLLllng ln by announclng
on Lhe absurdly loud lnLercom LhaL we wlll noL be recelvlng a meal as Lhls clLy was noL a 'caLerlng
desLlnaLlon,' ln her shorL, sassy, memorlzed shLlck. l was confused as we were served a meal and snacks
Lhe lasL Llme we flew from Lhls same clLy [usL a few monLhs ago. ulsappolnLmenL #1.

ARTICLE

The Brand Ascension Group | www.BrandAscension.com | 719.265.1707

Cur Lravel buddy neglecLed Lo grab a seL of lndlvldually packaged
headphones from a wlcker baskeL aL Lhe LlckeL counLer (for llsLenlng Lo Lhe onboard xM 8adlo) and pollLely
asked Lhe sLewardess for an exLra palr. She abrupLly replled, 'you were supposed Lo geL yours before you
boarded Lhe plane, l doubL l have any onboard for you,' as she whlzzed by slammlng Lhe overhead blns
closed. We sLarLed Lo feel llke elemenLary school chlldren belng scolded by Lhe bus drlver. ulsappolnLmenL
#2.

Cnce alrborne and beyond 10,000 feeL, our sLewardess began her beverage servlce. We were close Lo Lhe
fronL of Lhe plane and one of Lhe flrsL Lo be served. As she pushed Lhe carL down Lhe lsle and asked us our
beverage preference, we noLlced LhaL her shorL, sassy commenLs were noL few and far beLween for her
passengers. When she approached our buddy and asked for hls order, Lhls ls whaL our frlend recounLed, l
wos Jozloq llqbtly ooJ boJ my eot pbooes lo ooJ tbe fllqbt otteoJoot oskeJ lf l wooteJ sometbloq to
Jtlok. l boJ o llttle ttooble pollloq oot tbe beoJ pbooes (J secooJs) ooJ wbeo l JlJ sbe solJ lm oot yoot
wlfe, l coot teoJ yoot mloJ. She dldn'L yell aL me buL dellvered a Lone Lo show cue me LhaL she was
frusLraLed wlLh my delay ln respondlng...?lkes! uld LhaL really happen? 1hank goodness our frlend was
mlldly Lempered and held back hls reacLlon Lo Lhe commenL. ulsappolnLmenL #3.

ulsappolnLmenL #4 - A 'no go' on Lhe candy mlnL farewell LreaL. A blg deal? ln Lhe scheme of Lhlngs, no,
buL when lL comes Lo creaLlng a memorable brand experlence LhaL caLers Lo small buL meanlngful
emoLlonal connecLlons, Lhen l would argue LhaL ?LS, lL ls a blg deal. As Amerlcans, we are lucky Lo have Lhe
array of cholces LhaL we do ln everyLhlng we seek Lo purchase. lL ls Lhe brand's [ob Lo carve ouL a unlque
poslLlon ln our mlnds and emoLlons Lo Lhe polnL of baslng our buylng declslons on Lhese emoLlonal
connecLlons.

ln a Lhe mosL recenL annual survey (2007 8rand MarkeLers 8eporL by lnLerbrand) on brands and brandlng
by experLs from Lop global brands, whaL was clLed as Lhe mosL crlLlcal aspecL of successful brandlng?
cooslsteocy! Pands down! AL 36! noLe LhaL 'MarkeLlng and AdverLlslng' raLed aL less Lhan 1 (.8),
and 'lnnovaLlon' raLed only 18.2.

1hls arLlcle ls really abouL mlssed opporLunlLy, lnconslsLency, and cognlLlve dlssonance of Lhe brand. 1hls
alrllne has a greaL concepL, super dlfferenLlaLlng behavlors, and much appreclaLed amenlLles LhaL no longer
permeaLe Lhe alrllne lndusLry, all losL ln a slngle experlence - a momenL ln Llme forever embedded ln Lhe
mlnds of Lhe cusLomers. 1he cusLomer quesLlon becomes, 'Pow do l LrusL my experlence wlLh Lhls brand?
WhaL wlll l recelve nexL Llme? When prlces and schedules are Lhe same (a 'commodlLy'), whlch brand do l
choose?"

Ooestloos fot yoot btooJ ote.
1) WhaL are Lhe Lrue cosLs of lnconslsLencles ln our brand's behavlors?
2) uo we Lruly know whaL our brand represenLs? Cur SLyle or values?

The Brand Ascension Group | www.BrandAscension.com | 719.265.1707

3) uo our employees undersLand, llve and embody Lhe brand
values?
4) WhaL lnvesLmenL do we make ln our people Lo assure Lhe brand ls arLlculaLed correcLly and
conslsLenLly Lo our markeL?
3) WhaL sysLems and processes can we puL ln place Lo assure proper cognlLlve resonance and
afflrmaLlon of Lhe brand wlLh our cusLomers?

AnoLher very LhoughL-provoklng sLaLlsLlc LhaL helps Lo [usLlfy Lhe case l am maklng:
A mete 5X locteose lo costomet k1N1lON coo ttooslote loto 25-95X
towotJ yoot 8O11OM llN ptoflts.
5ootce. lteJ kelcbbelJ, Aotbot of loyolty koles AoJ 1be loyolty ffect,
lellow - 8olo & compooy, ooJ loooJet of 8olos loyolty ltoctlce

8rands wlLh consclousness become mega-brands. 8rand consclousness conslsLs of belng fully aware of who
and whaL Lhe brand sLands for, noL [usL Loday, or Lhe flrsL 6 monLhs of buslness, buL everyday, ln every
behavlor, Lhrough every process. lL sLarLs lnLernally wlLh deflnlng Lhe brand's unA, lnLegraLlng lL lnLo Lhe
culLure, sysLems and processes, and leadershlp. lL's noL rockeL sclence, [usL LenaclLy, due dlllgence, and a
passlon for Lhe brand.

So, wlll l fly Lhls brand agaln? robably. 8uL l won'L be seeklng lL ouL, ranLlng and ravlng abouL lL or uslng lL
as an example of whaL powerful brands can do Lo dlfferenLlaLe Lhemselves. no, as of Lhls momenL, Lhey
have unforLunaLely been converLed lnLo a commodlLy (ln my percepLlon), lumped lnLo a blur wlLh every
oLher alrllne ln my mlnd. AnoLher promlslng ldea LhaL dldn'L conslsLenLly fly.sadly, anoLher one blLes Lhe
dusL.

Cur advlce? Cet btooJ-cooscloos ooJ Joot let yoot btooJ qo tbete!

P.S. Just got the news via email that as of September 2, 2008 -- the airline referenced in this article is officially
pulling out of our home town hub -- citing fuel prices and other market conditions.
Suzanne Tulien is Principal and Co-Founder of the Brand Ascension Group, LLC. She is
brand consultant, award-winning graphic designer, a certified trainer and certified in
Accelerated Learning Methodologies. She is author of The 6 Myths of Branding, and co-
author of Megapreneur. She regularly writes article on branding for entrepreneurs.
www.BrandAscension.com, 719.265.1707.